Andrew Yang: New York's much needed upgrade

New York City has always been a fascinating place: it is a melting pot that is beaming all sorts of culture and diversity. I lived my entire life on the east coast: I was born in Florida, lived in Long Island throughout kindergarten and first grade, moved to Philadelphia for the rest of my childhood, lived in Connecticut throughout high school, went to community college in South Jersey, and returned to Connecticut. Throughout my life, I have constantly visited this amazing city: I would ride the train from Milford to Grand Central and take the ferry to Hoboken, NJ to visit my father during my High School years, I would visit my aunt when she lived in Queens, I went to New York Comic Con in 2008 and got to (along with many others) shake hands with the late Stan Lee, and I have been to great eats such as "Jekyll & Hyde" and "Carmine's". New York City has also been a special place in the heart of my family: My mother was born in Manhattan, My late Grandfather was a preacher at a church in the Bronx, & My aunt and uncle teach in the city as well.

While my memories of the city that never sleeps are mostly fond, It's track record with political leadership has not reflected that. New York has not had a history with great leadership as of recent. Mike Bloomberg introduced the infamous "Stop & Frisk" policy which has only made matters around systemic racism worse. He weaponized police against minorities throughout his time as mayor and has been blatantly sexist towards women in his workplace. I remember during one of the 2020 presidential primary debates when Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren rightfully shredded Bloomberg on the debate stage for referring to women as "Fat broads, and horse faced lesbians" and refusing to release the women he harassed from his non-disclosure agreements drawing comparisons to former president and fellow New Yorker, Donald Trump.

New York's current Mayor, Bill DeBlasio, has sadly not fared any better than Misogynistic Mike. His response in terms of the COVID-19 virus hitting New York City was not only pathetic but, downright idiotic. He took 5 weeks to close down schools putting teachers, students, and their parents in avoidable peril. Once he finally closed down NYC Schools, he reopened them again and then closed them back down. When social distancing was being enforced in the city, Mayor DeBlasio was caught violating said rules along with his wife and entourage (what kind of leader has one?) at a park far from his home. When confronted with this transgression, he chose the cowardly method of running away as opposed to showing his fellow NY residents if he had any dignity to admit any wrongdoing.

Throughout the year of 2020, DeBlasio became increasingly lazy and lackluster as New York's mayor when it came to the civil unrest that erupted around the Black Lives Matter protests and the soaring of COVID cases. He would flip-flop on the issue of defunding the police and show no signs of care to struggling business owners. He was only for defunding the police when it was convenient for him: He went on Twitter to weaponize the NYPD against the local Jewish community days after being caught violating social distancing rules himself. His popularity plummeted so far down, that even comedian and podcast host, Joe Rogan, said the he was worse than L.A.'s mayor, Eric Garcetti.

This brings me to a man who ran on an idea, a man who wants to help and solve problems, an entrepreneur, a parent, and a patriot: Andrew Yang. I have previously written on how Yang's presidential run has had a positive and lasting impact on me. So, you can imagine how much hope and joy was renewed when his mayoral run was officially confirmed and frankly, I feel like he is the upgrade that New York City desperately needs, especially in the time of COVID-19.

Why is this election so important to me if I don't live in New York City? It's actually quite simple: I don't trust very many politicians and Andrew Yang is not a politician thus making him a strong choice for a leader. Yang has been fighting for us since the beginning: When New York attempted to cancel their June 2020 primary, Andrew Yang was one of the people who sued the state of New York and won (Twice! after the NY Board of elections tried to pull the wool over his eyes as well) squashing New York's attempt at voter suppression. Andrew has also fought tirelessly for cash relief during this pandemic which has ravaged many businesses leaving people without. He has been proven right on the steady rise of automation especially especially since it has accelerated during the pandemic thus making jobs disappear for good.

Andrew Yang has also tried (in his own way) bridge the national divide that has gone on in this country: He has displayed his willingness to talk across the aisle with people who either agree of disagree with him. He has garnered praise from many across the political spectrum which include: Joe Rogan, Right-Wing Commentator Ben Shapiro, Former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, CNN Commentator Van Jones, Both Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti of The Hill's Rising, Philosopher and bestselling author Sam Harris, The View Co-Hosts Whoopi Goldberg & Meghan McCain, and many many more. Yang's reach ever since he dropped out in February of 2020 has only expanded.

Now, in New York City, he is ready to go to work but, he is not alone. His allies have come to bat for him: NY-15 congressman Ritchie Torres, New York lawmaker Ron T. Kim, Martin Luther King III, His campaign manager Zach Graumann, and his greatest ally of all, his wife Evelyn Yang. Between this year and last year, it is like night and day in terms of the name Andrew Yang being recognized. Last year, Yang and his team have had to face an uphill battle just to be considered worthy of debating on stage. Andrew was not taken very seriously when he was on stage and his mic was even cut at one point while stating a point during one of his debates. Now, Andrew Yang is attracting all sorts of press: some good and some not-so good. While The New York Post (which is essentially what happens when the tabloids go mainstream) and elitists like Jane Lynch (who hasn't really been funny since the 2006 Will Ferrell movie, "Talladega Nights") keep attempting to attack Andrew on baseless and illogical claims, there have been far many others showing great enthusiasm for this man.

Andrew Yang's universal basic income platform has only gained more and more steam throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and he plans on bringing that to NYC in a valiant attempt to end poverty. Yang has faced heat for a recent comment in reference to his home in upstate New York during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that was a statement that was both cherry picked and taken out of context by the smear-happy New York Times. Granted , Yang is not perfect after all, he is human. Everyone is going to say or do things that are stupid: no one is immune to that. Also, people like Trump, Biden, & Bloomberg have both done and said far worse and managed to be elected into office.

I would hope that when Andrew Yang is elected Mayor of New York that he shows the rest of the country how universal basic income is done and how he can heal the city from the damage caused by both the pandemic and years of lackluster leadership before. I hope he can bring on most of his policies from 2020 presidential run such as his autism policies in regards to early intervention and ending the stigma against people on the autism spectrum.

I hope he can restore the amazing place that is New York City. I have very high hope that he can pull off improving the city when he's elected: He is a very logical, intelligent, and pragmatic person. He is a strong example of leadership, He is the upgrade the New York City desperately needs. As someone who loves New York, I leave you with this: It's time to move forward.