Latest / Go News To Go: More Good News / Good Morning. We have a seat for you! Meeting with NYC Comptroller *Mark Levine* and his senior leadership team, along with Pastor Monrose.

Transcript

Good Morning. We have a seat for you! Meeting with NYC Comptroller *Mark Levine* and his senior leadership team, along with Pastor Monrose. · Go News To Go: More Good News

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I love that guy. Feels like I've been here a
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: hundred years.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: Wealth of the city may be measured by those we
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: serve and.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Not by the millions that we have.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: I will hope today soon that a conversation will help
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: us move from awareness to access. from access to opportunity,
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: and from opportunity to transformation. We are happy that you
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: are here.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: And we just welcome.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: You, and I'm going to turn it over to Nina Saxon.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: Good morning.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Good morning.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Good morning.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Good morning. Good morning. That is great.
• 1:12
  Speaker 5: My name is Venus Jackson, and I am the liaison
• 1:17
  Speaker 5: to the.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: New York City Comptroller.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: Marvin Bean.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: I deal with his clergy, and I deal with United Charities.
• 1:23
  Speaker 5: I love, on behalf of the controller's office, I want
• 1:27
  Speaker 5: to welcome.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: All of you.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: I feel like we are both in all of.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Our houses right now.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: I see a mountain top of everyone.
• 1:35
  Speaker 5: And this is your opportunity to talk to the city
• 1:40
  Speaker 5: controller right now. about your issues and your concerns and
• 1:45
  Speaker 5: how you can partner with.
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: So this is your opportunity, so make sure that you
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: just use it really well.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: And thank you again, and now I'm going to turn
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: it right back to Pastor Evelyn. Thank you, thank you.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: And now at this point, we're going to ask Bishop Faria.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Bishop Faria, we're.
• 2:05
  Speaker 4: Going to ask you to come and do the invocation
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: for us.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Can I.
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: Ask everyone to stand?
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: I'd like to.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Father God, we're here today.
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: We know your presence is here. We are here representing you.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: And as government and clergy come together, let your will
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: be done.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Amen.
• 3:11
  Speaker 6: Super?
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: No, it's going to be a short trick or two.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, whatever.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: You know, for a joke.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure. I hear you.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: I am glad they.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: Didn't ask me to pray. I'm one.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: Of those long-winded ones.
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: But we are so glad we serve a God that
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: we are short and long.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: And he works. A God who works on behalf of
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: his people.
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: It is my delight this morning and extreme pleasure to.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: Welcome all of you today.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: And especially Comptroller Levine and his team, we welcome you today.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: We thank you for.
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: The opportunity of coming under the great leadership of.
• 4:18
  Speaker 7: Dr.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: Gail Monroe, here at Sovereign Life.
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: We want to take this opportunity just to welcome you
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: and encourage you to.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Make good use of this opportunity.
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: It's one thing to talk, it's another thing to do.
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: So I'm going to challenge all of us, and I
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: hope I'm not stepping out of my place, that while
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: we talk.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: We ensure that we have action and have fun.
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to lay a heavy weight on October 11th.
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: And this week, because that's when we serve our community.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: That produces and also engages every living being, one nation,
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: every language, every tongue, every tribe represented. And we ask
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: that as we collaborate today, that we will have.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: A great time, not just.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: In talking, but in putting words into action.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I want also to recognize the pastor of.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: This church, Reverend Leroy Spencer, who.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: Is bifurcational and could not make it today, so I'm
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: just standing in the gap, and I thank him for
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: the opportunity.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: And it's already light on behalf of Rehobotho Pilgrim.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Church and St.
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: Kyan leadership to welcome you here and pray you do
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: have an engaging, productive time today.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: God bless you.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: Thank you. And I condition to know that we appreciate
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: the space.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you.
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: At this time, I will call Mr.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: Connor. And he's not a preacher.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: So three minutes will be good for him. He's one
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: of our community partners and the manufacturer of school colleges.
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: We just want to thank him. Thank you.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 6:21
  Speaker 7: Long day to meet Dan here in Brooklyn. We're from
• 6:24
  Speaker 7: upstate New York area, so a little bit of a
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: tough drive to get Dan here. Rob, my uncle, actually,
• 6:30
  Speaker 7: with me, who's director of the Burger.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Rock community, which is a big supporter of community play
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: and the furniture company that I work for. And you
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: also step in and maybe give a brief word on
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: more about who the Bird of Crop Communities is and
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: what we try and do.
• 6:47
  Speaker 7: But maybe just a quick pitch for community places and
• 6:51
  Speaker 7: how we're looking.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: To expand within the New York City market is obviously
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: there's great opportunity with universal childcare and all that is
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: going into that. And we believe from our standpoint that
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: our furniture and environments that we can create in classrooms.
• 7:08
  Speaker 7: And faith-based organizations and churches and libraries and these types
• 7:13
  Speaker 7: of areas can really.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Benefit our youth going forward.
• 7:18
  Speaker 7: And that environment that we create at Standby will last
• 7:21
  Speaker 7: for a long time and will put the future of
• 7:27
  Speaker 7: New York City and our children in general in the
• 7:31
  Speaker 7: best way forward.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, thank you for all being.
• 7:34
  Speaker 7: Here and thank you for giving me a second pastor
• 7:36
  Speaker 7: to pitch our product.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: And, yeah, if there's anything from the Burger Cop angle
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: that you have to buy, that would be great. Well,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: it's good to be in the house of worship, and Mr. Conoco,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: thank you so much for being here, and that's an
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: excellent invitation.
• 7:53
  Speaker 8: So, behind the Olympics is a faith-based Christian community organization, and.
• 8:00
  Speaker 7: One of the things that your assistance in the future
• 8:08
  Speaker 7: is to help streamline.
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: The contracts that we have.
• 8:12
  Speaker 7: With New York City because that is a perennial issue.
• 8:16
  Speaker 7: So we hope with your assistance we can.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Get some support because we do.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: We make these products out of love from our Christian background.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: And we believe they are the best products which children deserve.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: But because we are faith-based, sometimes one.
• 8:33
  Speaker 7: Of these challenges, which probably some of you understand.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: So thank you. God bless you.
• 8:41
  Speaker 8: Thank you.
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you. And we need everyone, right? Our
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: schools need a volunteer.
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: Now at this time, I'm going to call the man
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: who brought all of us into this room, Pastor Gilbert T.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: Munson.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: I don't think he's a stranger.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Is there anyone who doesn't know who T.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Monroe is? You don't know who he is?
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: Okay, so Pastor Monroe is an international recognized civic leader.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: You know that person?
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: He's a public safety strategist. You know that person? He
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: was a big advisor to Eric Adams.
• 9:44
  Speaker 6: You know that person?
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Arnold Morton, you might know him.
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: As the founding president of the 67th Precinct Clothing Company.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: Known as the God Squad.
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: He's the founder of the Brooklyn Center for Quality of Life,
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: and he.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: Loved to describe this.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: He's also the lead.
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: Pastor of the historic.
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: Mount Zion Church of God Seventh Day in Brooklyn.
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: Please join me in welcoming Pastor T.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Like a good church, there is a tight envelope, but
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: it's not a tight envelope. It's the information that we have.
• 10:27
  Speaker 8: So the work that we're doing comes from the Brooklyn
• 10:31
  Speaker 8: Center for Paul and his.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Wife, and I wanted to reintroduce myself to you. I'm
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: here for T1 Rose.
• 10:41
  Speaker 8: But a lot of the work that we do in
• 10:43
  Speaker 8: black immigrants, the justice that we're working with, Bishop Indian,
• 10:48
  Speaker 8: some mountain boots here, all the work that we're doing
• 10:52
  Speaker 8: in our own HFBAs, we also run one of the
• 10:56
  Speaker 8: only farmer's market in East Flatbush, or in.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: Brooklyn, there's only two. We are one of those. And
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: so there's a lot of work that we're doing. So
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: just so you know that when you follow me, Again,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: I'm coming back home to build a quality life. A
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: lot of my friends ask me why I'm not coming
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: to Queens and Staten Island anymore. I said I did
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: that for four years. So I'm back home in Brooklyn.
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: All right?
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: I'm back home in Brooklyn, doing the work here in Brooklyn.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: So very grateful. So I'm going to review it to
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: you as well, just want to let you know that
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: I'm from the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the governor now,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: who is, was at one time the only black governor
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: in the U.S., actually is term limited, and we're going
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: to have the first... female black governor in the U.S.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Virgin Islands, hopefully come January, we actually go Tuesday. And
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: so one of my tasks back into my island.
• 11:52
  Speaker 8: Here is running a group of enlightenment meeting for the government.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: To really take care of violence in the Virgin Islands.
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: So great assignment, leaving tomorrow to get that done.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: My civic guide is here, who is from St. Croix,
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: who's helping us out. and all of us on the team,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: so very grateful for all of you. So today, the
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Comptroller is here. He is not City Council member. He
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: is not a public advocate. He is the Comptroller. He
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: is the Comptroller. That means that his office is not
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: in Washington, D.C. And there are some things that are federal.
• 12:35
  Speaker 8: That we're not going to discuss today because.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: He is the? Consul. All right. In the word control,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: he controls a lot of things. He controls our lives
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: and his balance. Now FOMO, control, used to say that
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: you sign a check, right? And so he signs a
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: check if you ever work for the city.
• 12:55
  Speaker 8: If you have any investment in your retirement, this.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Gentleman is the one who, again, we have to.
• 13:02
  Speaker 8: Pray for that he does the right thing, right?
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: And he's in the church. So he's also.
• 13:08
  Speaker 8: From a religious background, so everybody says to me he
• 13:12
  Speaker 8: will not lie, because.
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: He is deep.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: So we have some questions, but.
• 13:23
  Speaker 8: I wanted to first, when you, I wanted to listen
• 13:26
  Speaker 8: to you with your heart. because his job is.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Specific to the city.
• 13:32
  Speaker 8: I know that we have a lot of different issues,
• 13:35
  Speaker 8: and we have a lot of different things in the city,
• 13:36
  Speaker 8: but the control.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Office is very unique.
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: It's not an office, what you doing back there?
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: The very unique in it is that they are not re-granted, but.
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: Really invested, so we have to switch.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: Our minds to investments, okay? The only thing that I.
• 13:57
  Speaker 8: Will say to you is the question that I don't
• 13:59
  Speaker 8: want to ask you to say today is, you know, no.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: It's okay, you can say it. Sorry.
• 14:07
  Speaker 8: He's the controller, and he will answer what he can answer.
• 14:12
  Speaker 8: I'm very grateful to all of you.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: So ladies and gentlemen, great.
• 14:15
  Speaker 8: Peace to both of our friend, controller Michael D. Thank you.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: Let's see if you were paying attention.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: I am the....
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: Good morning, everybody. Good morning.
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: I am so thrilled to be here.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: Will you please give it up for Dr. Gilbert T. Monroe.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Do you know what the T
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: stands for? Ah.
• 14:54
  Speaker 8: Yes, we know.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: It stands for tell, like tell a baby. We've been
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: doing it the whole day here.
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: Seriously, I am so grateful for your leadership and for
• 15:04
  Speaker 6: your friendship and your partnership, Pastor.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Who knew that a kid from St. Thomas would take
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: over New York City? Well, you did it. And thank you,
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: Pastor Spencer. and Dr.
• 15:18
  Speaker 6: Samuel, and Reverend Spencer, who is white.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Over there, she's in the back. Reverend Spencer, please give Dr.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: LeRoy our best. Thank him for welcoming us into this
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: beautiful space.
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: This actually used to be a synagogue.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: And so I'm feeling right at home.
• 15:37
  Speaker 6: I'm not going to be able to quote much of
• 15:40
  Speaker 6: the New Testament today, unfortunately.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: But I'm pretty good with Deuteronomy.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: Justice, justice, thou shalt pursue.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Chapter 16, verse 20.
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: Pretty good.
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: There we go.
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: We have an all-star lineup of team members from our
• 15:57
  Speaker 6: office here.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Please give it up for Nina Saxon.
• 16:02
  Speaker 8: We have a deputy councilor.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: For policy, Jordan Stockdale. Thank you.
• 16:16
  Speaker 6: We have our Deputy Comptroller for Contracts, Charlotte Magian, she's here.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: We have our Deputy Comptroller for Public Affairs, Alana.
• 16:30
  Speaker 7: Cantillo.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: We have our Brooklyn.
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: Director, Ed Senn.
• 16:35
  Speaker 6: We have our Main and Special Events Crew, Marietta De
• 16:38
  Speaker 6: La Cruz, she's here with the camera.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: I'm not sorry about that. I'm sure Naz is. She
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: did the back working. Live for the girls. And we
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: also have Brenda Badillo and Brenda Coyote.
• 16:51
  Speaker 6: So, awesome team from the Council's office.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: So, we're going to.
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: Talk about the very serious.
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: Challenges that New York City is facing, the economic challenges
• 17:05
  Speaker 6: that we're facing in housing and the job market and
• 17:09
  Speaker 6: for small businesses and nonprofits. But this I know, everyone
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: in the room, the people in the room, the state
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: leaders of this borough and city are critical to addressing
• 17:21
  Speaker 6: every challenge.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: New York City faces.
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: You all have the trust of the community, you have
• 17:26
  Speaker 6: the relationships, the deep history, you have the community institutions
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: that are rooted.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: In these neighborhoods. You can do things and move things
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: and communicate things.
• 17:35
  Speaker 6: That city government never will because of that trust and
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: the relationships that you have.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: So you are critical partners for city government.
• 17:45
  Speaker 6: And our goal today is for you to understand what
• 17:49
  Speaker 6: the comptroller's office can do and how we can partner
• 17:52
  Speaker 6: together on our many challenges.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: And we're going to talk about our pensions. How many,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: by the way, are.
• 17:58
  Speaker 6: Current or future pensioners for New York City? Thank you
• 18:01
  Speaker 6: for your service. I'm going to sign all the broken
• 18:03
  Speaker 6: checks first.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: We're going to talk about contracts, which are very important.
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: We're going to talk perhaps about audit and oversight, if
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: it comes up, and wage enforcement and policy work and
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: so much more. This is our chance to build a
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: partnership with you. We also, I believe, have a representative
• 18:22
  Speaker 6: from the Department of Finance coming or is already here
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: as well, so we're grateful for that.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: How is New York City's economy doing? Yeah, you know,
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: it's kind of a contradiction.
• 18:36
  Speaker 6: Right now because on one level, Wall Street, the stock
• 18:41
  Speaker 6: market is.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: At close to an all-time high. And the financial sector
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: in the first half of this year.
• 18:50
  Speaker 6: Has had the most profits it's ever had in American
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: history in 2026.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: And office space is.
• 18:58
  Speaker 6: Being rented at a pace we haven't seen in 20
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: years in Midtown.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Who saw that coming out of the pandemic?
• 19:05
  Speaker 6: We are seeing demand for housing, including ultra luxury housing,
• 19:09
  Speaker 6: off the charts. At the same time, for working class
• 19:15
  Speaker 6: people trying to find a home, The median rents in
• 19:18
  Speaker 6: the borough of Brooklyn are now $ 4, 300 a month. So
• 19:22
  Speaker 6: we are now pricing out not just a low-income family,
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: but a bus driver, a nurse, a social worker, a teacher,
• 19:30
  Speaker 6: true middle-class families are now able to pay those rents.
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: And the direct connection between that and the fact that
• 19:38
  Speaker 6: we have lost 200,000 black New.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Yorkers since 2010.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: Rents and housing are the number one driver of that exodus.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: But there's more. The job market right now is not
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: getting enough attention. New York City has.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: Lost 13,000 private.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Sector jobs in 2026.
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: And if you take out one category of healthcare, and
• 19:59
  Speaker 6: specifically home healthcare aides, we've lost 38,000 private sector jobs
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: in New York City in 2026.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: That too is hitting the black community particularly hard.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: We have a black unemployment rate in New York City
• 20:12
  Speaker 6: that is double the white unemployment rate right now. This
• 20:15
  Speaker 6: is especially hitting young people who are trying to break
• 20:20
  Speaker 6: into the job market.
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: And we see high youth unemployment rates as well.
• 20:25
  Speaker 6: And it just breaks my heart that we tell young people,
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: do the right thing, go out, get a college degree.
• 20:32
  Speaker 6: They do everything we ask of them. They graduate, good grades.
• 20:35
  Speaker 6: They come back to their neighborhood. They cannot find.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: A home they can afford.
• 20:40
  Speaker 6: They cannot find a job in their major that allows
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: them to pay their bills.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: No wonder they're mad at us.
• 20:48
  Speaker 6: They have every reason to be mad at us.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: And so much of what we're going to talk about
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: today is how we can.
• 20:54
  Speaker 6: Do better as a city for our young people and
• 20:57
  Speaker 6: the people who are struggling right now. I know you
• 20:59
  Speaker 6: care so deeply about that. I want to give you one.
• 21:04
  Speaker 6: This statistic which jumped out at me in this crazy
• 21:07
  Speaker 6: job market.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: We track unemployment for people in their 20s in New York.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: City by whether they have a college degree.
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: And for decades, the unemployment rate for those without a
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: college degree was higher than those with a college degree.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: You would expect that. But now in New York City,
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: the line's across. And unemployment rates for people in their
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: 20s with.
• 21:29
  Speaker 6: A college degree is higher than it is for those
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: without a college degree.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: Something is wrong.
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: In our job market right now. This is happening when
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: there is a new record on Wall Street.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: And I have a.
• 21:41
  Speaker 6: Lot of theories for what this is, but I do
• 21:44
  Speaker 6: believe potentially AI is starting to impact the job market,
• 21:47
  Speaker 6: particularly for entry-level white college jobs.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: Maybe we'll talk more about that.
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: We certainly have to do more to help our young
• 21:55
  Speaker 6: people get those jobs which are out there that use technology.
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: But we're seeing shifts in the job market that are
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: very worrying to me.
• 22:03
  Speaker 6: We are all in and using the tools of my
• 22:05
  Speaker 6: office to tackle every one of these challenges.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: We are investing our pension money We made.
• 22:12
  Speaker 9: An announcement that we're going to invest $ 4 billion in
• 22:15
  Speaker 9: pension money in a way that's prudent and gives good
• 22:18
  Speaker 9: returns in housing in the five boroughs of New York City.
• 22:22
  Speaker 9: To build new housing, including affordable housing and workforce housing.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: Do you know what that term workforce housing is? Where
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: did the pastor go? He already had four in my speech?
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: Unbelievable.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: I'm sure he's out there working the park. The term
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: workforce housing means.
• 22:39
  Speaker 6: Maybe it's not the lowest income, but if he is
• 22:43
  Speaker 6: a bus driver or.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: A social worker or a nurse, this is some of
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: what we're going to finance with pension money.
• 22:49
  Speaker 6: We're going to finance preserving existing affordable housing. We are
• 22:54
  Speaker 6: also going to finance conversion of vacant office buildings to housing,
• 22:59
  Speaker 6: including affordable housing.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: We're doing this.
• 23:01
  Speaker 6: We have almost 20,000 homes in Midtown right now that
• 23:05
  Speaker 6: are in the process of being converted, and thousands of
• 23:08
  Speaker 6: those are affordable. So maybe we'll have some people from
• 23:12
  Speaker 6: Brooklyn who will make a home in this vibrant new
• 23:15
  Speaker 6: neighborhood of Midtown.
• 23:17
  Speaker 10: And we are also in many ways partnering with the
• 23:21
  Speaker 10: faith communities through an investment we have with the Community
• 23:26
  Speaker 10: Preservation Corps, or the PPAR program, which has a long
• 23:29
  Speaker 10: history of helping.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Churches and other faith-based institutions build and preserve affordable housing.
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: Our first investment in this initiative.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: Is $ 500 million into that fund.
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: We are also making sure that.
• 23:43
  Speaker 6: The people who manage our money, who manage the New
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: York City pension money, reflect the diversity of the city.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: And they have not historically. And we are very proud
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: of the fact that we have.
• 23:54
  Speaker 6: Now $ 27 billion in our pension money that is managed
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: by diverse managers, including $ 9 billion of that which is
• 24:02
  Speaker 6: managed by black managers, and even some of our real
• 24:06
  Speaker 6: estate portfolio is now increasingly managed by black real estate
• 24:11
  Speaker 6: fund managers.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: But you.
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: May have in your congregations emerging fund managers, people who
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: want to break into this business.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: And we want to talk to them. We have an
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: open-door policy. If you and your.
• 24:26
  Speaker 6: Congregation know people who are trying to get New York
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: City pension money to manage, whether they're doing private equity
• 24:33
  Speaker 6: or infrastructure.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Or housing, come to us. We want to talk to them.
• 24:37
  Speaker 6: It's a big part of who we are in building
• 24:41
  Speaker 6: diversity of our investment management.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: So please, send your people to us.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: We do a wonderful conference every February.
• 24:48
  Speaker 6: Where we have a more diverse and emerging fund manager.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: We have 1,000 people came last year and we sold out.
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: If you'd like to join us next year or if
• 24:57
  Speaker 6: you have young people in your congregation who are trying
• 25:00
  Speaker 6: to break into.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: the field, we welcome you as well.
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: We are also supporting small businesses. We also have a
• 25:23
  Speaker 6: small business loan program for any of you who have
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: small businesses among your congregation.
• 25:28
  Speaker 9: So we have a loan fund of up to $ 60, 000.
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: At zero interest for small businesses in Brooklyn and the
• 25:36
  Speaker 6: five boroughs.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: So it could be a storefront that wants to do
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: a renovation. It could be a company that wants to
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: do a marketing campaign.
• 25:44
  Speaker 6: Or a startup that wants to buy technology or computers.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: So again, we have a loan fund with $ 60, 000 loans.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: I want to see if you've been paying attention. What
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: is the interest rate on those loans?
• 25:56
  Speaker 8: Zero.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: Very smart crowd.
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: So please, if you have people in your congregation who
• 26:02
  Speaker 6: want to get access to these loans, come to us.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: We have been joined by a real icon and a
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: legend in New York City. Thank you. We salute you.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: We support you. We adore you, Reverend.
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: And you made it all the way this morning, so
• 26:31
  Speaker 6: thank you.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: You have permission to ask me marble questions. You have
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: standing for that.
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: Thank you very much for all your support.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: We know that non-profits.
• 26:49
  Speaker 6: Are critical to this work and that many churches in
• 26:52
  Speaker 6: New York City have non-profits.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: That you have built with the ultimate requirement.
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: How many of your institutions have a community-based non-profit.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: That's part of the Church of the Common Good? So
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: many of you. Okay, that's wonderful.
• 27:05
  Speaker 6: You're probably doing housing and social services.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: And education and new programs and senior programs. These are
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: really vital, absolutely vital to our communities. How many of
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: you have or have had contracts with the city?
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: Some of you have.
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 27:23
  Speaker 6: Whoa.
• 27:23
  Speaker 7: Whoa.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Raise your hands in the seat. Surprise. I don't like you.
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: I'm just texting you.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Look at your phone.
• 27:32
  Speaker 8: In Brooklyn, there's one, two, three, four, five, six of
• 27:37
  Speaker 8: us in this room have a contract with CDL. There
• 27:39
  Speaker 8: should be many more. There should be many, many, many more.
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: Some of you are seeing what I saw.
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: At the contract. So some of you, okay. And is
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: this for housing? Yes.
• 27:52
  Speaker 6: How many of you are doing housing or formal housing?
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: Okay. Oh, good. Okay. How many of you are doing
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: social services like seniors and youth, et cetera?
• 28:05
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 28:06
  Speaker 8: Many, many hands.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: Wow. we want to help you on that.
• 28:13
  Speaker 6: We want to help you navigate the process of getting
• 28:17
  Speaker 6: the contract, and we want to help you, once you
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: get a contract, in actually getting paid.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: On that contract. Because those of you who have a history.
• 28:29
  Speaker 6: Or contract with the city know that there are shameful
• 28:33
  Speaker 6: delays in getting paid out, and if you are new
• 28:37
  Speaker 6: to this, I'll tell you the way it works is,
• 28:39
  Speaker 6: you get a contract, And then you.
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Lose the work, and you pay the salaries, and the.
• 28:43
  Speaker 8: Rents, and the expenses, and then you file for reimbursement,
• 28:48
  Speaker 8: and then sometimes you have to wait a few months,
• 28:50
  Speaker 8: or six.
• 28:51
  Speaker 6: Months, or a year, or a year, and then you're
• 28:54
  Speaker 6: not able to bargain for two years?
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Unbelievable.
• 28:58
  Speaker 11: And there are some organizations which just go under because
• 29:03
  Speaker 11: it's too difficult to slow years of expenses while you
• 29:07
  Speaker 11: still have to pay salaries and other costs.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: We really want to help you in that process. And
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: we actually have control over one piece of it.
• 29:16
  Speaker 6: The last stage of the contracting process is when you
• 29:20
  Speaker 6: get it registered.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: And we review and register every contract. Now we're the
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: only part that has a clock.
• 29:26
  Speaker 6: We have a rule that the charter says we can
• 29:28
  Speaker 6: only take 30 days.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: We average 18 days. So we're proud of that. We're
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: trying to keep it speeded up. But if you ever
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: have a contract who.
• 29:36
  Speaker 6: Is stuck at the phase of the control of losses,
• 29:39
  Speaker 6: you come to us.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Because we will help you. We'll help you at any stage,
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: whether you're stuck at an A to C or O
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: to B. We are here to help, but particularly if
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: you're talking to Tom Ford's office. But we are way
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: behind in this at the city. We just launched a dashboard,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: which you can check out.
• 29:56
  Speaker 6: It's part of a checkbook that tracks agency by agency
• 30:01
  Speaker 6: how long the delays in getting contracts registered are.
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: And we found that 90% of.
• 30:07
  Speaker 6: The contracts are not even registered by the start date.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: So by definition, you're getting paid late.
• 30:13
  Speaker 6: That doesn't count for delays in getting your invoices paid.
• 30:16
  Speaker 6: If you're not even getting your contract registered on time,
• 30:19
  Speaker 6: then we know we have a problem. And I think
• 30:21
  Speaker 6: it was, over six months, it was about 50% delayed.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: So this is unacceptable.
• 30:29
  Speaker 6: You can look up all the statistics on our late
• 30:33
  Speaker 6: payments dashboard.
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: We hope to expand it in the future.
• 30:36
  Speaker 6: This is just one way we are trying to shine
• 30:39
  Speaker 6: a light on the contracting process. So we want to
• 30:45
  Speaker 6: help you navigate the system.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: We want to help you build the housing you need.
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: We want to help you get the tiniest thing that
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: you need. We want to help you provide the social
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: services that you need.
• 30:55
  Speaker 6: We want to help diverse fund managers get access to
• 30:59
  Speaker 6: pension management. We want to help entrepreneurs get access to loans.
• 31:04
  Speaker 6: We're here to partner with you in every way.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: So I am thrilled to be here. I'm going to
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: stick around. We have the whole team. We're going to
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: do Q & A. Thank you so much for coming
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: out today. Thank you.