Brad Lander makes his case to business leaders

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, pitched himself to city business leaders Thursday, positioning himself as someone equipped to work with all New Yorkers regardless of their political affiliation.

Lander has largely avoided stressing his progressive roots while rolling out his mayoral campaign, seeking to hone a broad-based approach to issues that will appeal to a wide spectrum of New Yorkers. His remarks Thursday at an Association for a Better New York power breakfast in Times Square struck a similar tone. 

“This is not a time for ideology or political lanes – this is about actually delivering a better run city that New Yorkers are so hungry for. There are so many priorities that New Yorkers overwhelmingly agree with whether they are conservative or moderate or progressive,” Lander said.

While the audience of business leaders wasn’t necessarily Lander’s obvious political base, the left-flank Democrat stressed the importance of City Hall, leaders in finance, real estate and business, labor unions and community groups forming partnerships. He said all these stakeholders – ABNY included – came together back in the 1970s amid a period of crisis and helped the city escape fiscal doom. A similar set of challenges exist today that again require such a response, he said.

Lander’s remarks centered around themes that have been central to his campaign since he announced he was challenging New York City Mayor Eric Adams in late July. He’s charged that the mayor has failed to effectively steer the city as New Yorkers face high housing costs, the lingering aftermaths of the pandemic, elevated levels of mental illness, heightened fears about crime and the arrival of over 200,000 asylum-seekers. While Lander acknowledged Thursday that some of these circumstances are outside of the city’s control, the challenges have been compounded by the Adams administration’s “lack of vision,” “lack of management to deliver on the basics,” and now the “distrust and distractions” amid the multiple ongoing federal investigations into the mayor’s orbit.

“My definition of good government does not include multiple FBI investigations … What we need right now is high quality, non-ideological, trustworthy, solutions-oriented leadership at City Hall,” Lander said, drawing applause. “That’s why we are here today.”

He also detailed aspects of his campaign platform, including a plan to tackle homelessness among severely mentally ill New Yorkers, municipal control of CUNY to aid in integrating the City College of New York with the city’s K-12 education, and better police management. 

Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams spent the last couple of days focusing on quality-of-life issues in outer borough neighborhoods.