Brad Lander took a risk last summer when he entered the New York City mayor’s race instead of running for a second term as comptroller.
But he was worried then, he says, about the city’s future under the leadership of Mayor Eric Adams — and later about the possibility that former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo would join the race, as he did.
He has run as an earnest technocrat with a stack of progressive plans. But he has not had the same momentum as Zohran Mamdani, who has risen in the polls and received the first-choice endorsement of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (She ranked Mr. Lander third.)
Ahead of the June 24 primary, the leading Democrats in the race visited The New York Times for interviews. We are publishing excerpts from those interviews, and this is the sixth in the series; our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
We asked Mr. Lander, 55, questions about 10 themes, with the occasional follow-up, touching on his management of the city’s finances and the two good things he thinks Mr. Adams has done as mayor.
We’ve written previously about Mr. Lander’s plan to end street homelessness for people with severe mental illness, his criticism of Mr. Cuomo and how he seriously considered becoming a rabbi.
1. What’s the most important issue in the race: affordability, public safety, President Trump or something else?
In that order — affordability, public safety, Trump and then just cleaning up corruption and making the city run better. But I’ll put affordability first. That is what’s pushing people out of New York.
2. Who was the best New York City mayor in your lifetime?
The best New York City mayor ever was Fiorello La Guardia, and he was not in my lifetime. Alas, I wish he had been.
The mayors in my lifetime have done great things, but I hesitate to say which one. If you want the mayor who managed the city best — picked up the garbage, made the city function well — Mike Bloomberg certainly did that the best. But the gap in seeing how much income inequality was growing, and stop and frisk, were real.
The best single accomplishment of any mayor is universal prekindergarten, which has been incredible and life-changing for a lot of families, but there were a lot of other issues in the de Blasio administration.
3. Should the Elizabeth Street Garden in Manhattan be closed to build affordable housing?
Yes.
4. What’s one issue in politics that you’ve changed your mind about?
I’m pleased to say I’m open to admitting when I get things wrong.
We did some research on Hudson Yards. I had put some things out when I was the director of the Pratt Center for Community Development that I thought the city was going to get screwed, basically, and not benefit financially. I thought it was all for the developer.
My team in the comptroller’s office did some research, then came to the office and showed me: We’re making between $200 million and $300 million a year. We published it. I put a cover note on that said: “I got this wrong. The research says this is actually working for New York City.”
5. There have been questions about where Mayor Eric Adams lives. Where do you live?
I live on 13th Street in Park Slope.
How much is your rent or mortgage?
Our mortgage is $3,300 a month.
Do you own a car?
We do own a car.
What model?
We have a Toyota Prius.
How often do you take the subway or bus?
I take the subway or bus a couple of times a week.
6. What do you consider yourself when it comes to your finances, growing up and now? Middle-class? Upper-middle-class?
My mom was a public elementary school guidance counselor. My dad was a legal services lawyer and then a private-sector lawyer. We grew up middle-class.
I would say we, my wife and I, are upper-middle-class. We made the very fortunate decision to buy a co-op in Brownsville, Brooklyn, for $125,000 in 1996, and that is why we’ve been able to raise our family. We sold it, and then bought our rowhouse on 13th Street, and that has enabled us to live in a neighborhood that we couldn’t afford now, if we hadn’t bought then.
7. Mayor Adams has said that you’re not investing in Israel as comptroller and criticized your management of the city’s pension funds. Why?
I mean, Eric Adams lies every day and twice on Tuesdays — probably more than that, honestly.
Investments in Israel have grown on my watch, so it’s just a lie. And our pension performance — you can look at it. We’re actually the first to publish it online. They’re right out there for everyone to see.
Why do you think the mayor has targeted you?
I do my job. The job of city comptroller, in addition to managing those pension funds well, is oversight of the mayor — is to be a watchdog, and I have been a good watchdog.
We worked to cancel that $432 million DocGo contract. [Mr. Lander criticized the city’s decision in 2023 to grant DocGo, a medical services company, a no-bid contract to help care for an influx of migrants.] Our audits have been hard-hitting in all kinds of places.
I went early on to him and said: “Let’s find some things to work together on. Let’s try to have a strategy for what to do when it’s my job to say ‘This contract stinks’ or ‘This agency isn’t getting its job done.’”
And he smiled, like he does, but not one time have they been willing to work with us to fix something that’s broken.
8. What’s one good thing that Mayor Adams has done?
I’ll give him two.
NYC Reads — the focus on literacy, phonics education, kids with dyslexia. A lot more to do there. There’s only two of those structured literacy schools. I think there should be one in every district, but it’s a good start.
And trash containerization. It shouldn’t have taken us so long to put lids on the trash cans. There’s a long way to go there as well. And probably Jessie Tisch gets more credit than Eric. But a big part of the job of mayor is hiring good people. He has hired a lot of bad people, but he’s hired some good people as well.
There’s going to be a couple of big mayoral priorities that I’m going to deliver — ending street homelessness, building a lot of affordable housing, expanding child care and after-school — and then my commissioners and deputy mayors are going to do a whole bunch of great things we haven’t thought about yet. That’s what happens when you hire really good people and have their backs.
9. What’s your bagel order?
My bagel order is an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, a slice of tomato and lox.
Toasted or not toasted?
Not toasted.
10. What’s the last TV show you binged?
We’re watching “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
I haven’t heard of that one.
Should I pick something that people have heard of? The thing I’ve seen that people should watch is the “Station Eleven” mini-series on HBO. That is like the best thing ever on television. “Watchmen” is a close second.
Jeffery C. Mays contributed reporting.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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