wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

I hope SOMEONE can knock Bloomberg out of office, but it ain't Tony. Let's be real - Queens is not going to elect the mayor of manhattan. (yes, I meant manhattan)

ca
you're right but don't forget u get what u pay for. don't know where ur heading i understand alabama has low taxes(in part because my federal tax dollars go down there) but i won't want to live there or guatemala either.

hjs
thanks. Everyone chooses where they live for their own personal reasons. There are things I will miss greatly about NYC, and things that I won't miss at all.

ca
so u'll pay lower taxes-go-enjoy-u'll never get what u have here!

To #14: Fair enough, but the argument is that the vast majority of rich people will not leave the city.

To #14
Not sure I agree. Avella stated that he has no problem with taxing us "rich" people since we can't go anywhere else (as echoed by Dorothy #13). I am stating that this is a false assumption since my wife and I are in the high-earning bracket and are moving to a location with much lower income taxes.

NYC will always have higher taxes than almost any part of the U.S. For better or worse, that is the high cost of living here. Obviously this will affect mid- to lower-income city dwellers.

But to think that billionaires and multi-millionaires are going to flee the city is ridiculous. They literally have to be here for business, status, travel, their boutiques, etc. Where are they going to live? Boston, SF, Miami, Santa Fe. What? NYC is still the place to be for the wealthy, with the exception of London (and maybe Dubai).

Let's eliminate overtime pay from the calculation of pension benefits for all City workers. No pension system is sustainable under such a plan. These workers are "playing" the pension system

Interesting comments by a pol I haven't heard much from or about, but that interview could have been a wee bit longer.

To #11: but the inequality in the tax structure that you mention is exactly what Avella wants to address and change

This guy is absolutely right about Bloomberg -- This is someone I could vote for. I've already decided that I will never, ever vote for Bloomberg (term limits).

If the rich were to leave, where would they go? Philadelphia? DesMoines?

Brian sounds like he's in training for a job at WABC.

And i love his idea of eliminating waste in city govt. When I worked for the city I was shocked by all the uselessness that went on there.

Rich people may not leave because of taxes, but those of us in a transition state will. I am between jobs, and have offers in NYC and other places. I have accepted an offer out of state, and a large reason is because of the difference in income taxes.

Mike Bloomberg has 5 houses with a combined value of something like $100 million.

Again, Avella is right. Bloomberg is an oligarch. He doesn't view himself as Mayor of New York City but as Boss Bloomberg telling the people how to live their lives.

Can you ask your guest his attitude toward the police, and whether he will stand with them when difficult times arise, such as controversal shootings?

Totally agree about with Mr Avella about how Bloomberg has sold out to real estate developers.

I'm not a Bloomberg fan, but Mr. Avella said "Bloomberg is trying to buy" the election- and that Mr. Avella "can't be bought.

This is logically incoherent.

"Being bought" is a very different thing from trying to "buy" an election!

Indeed, many people like the idea of a billionaire mayor precisely because he cannot be bought, being too rich. Whether or not Mr. Avella can be bought - ( and he deserves the benefit of the doubt), he has no evidence that Bloomberg has been "bought".

It's about time NYers heard some straight talk on real estate and schools. Too bad Avella gets shut out of most mainstream outlets - and good on WNYC for getting him in on the issue.

Brian - please ask him about PC Kelly's record running the NYPD, civil liberties, and/or the stop and frisk numbers.

What should the city do about all the "pits" that are now dotting the city, i.e., the unfinished building sites?

I love his idea about firing Klien.

Mr. Avella is absolutely right. Bloomberg is not just out of touch. He is arrogant and contemptuous of the people.

Here's what Bloomberg had to say when parents raised concerns about waitlisting for kindergarten:

"They complained about a couple of hundred kids not being able to get into the schools that they wanted to get into.

“I can tell you how to fix that: just lower the quality of the schools. . . . Isn’t it wonderful that kids want to get into schools?”

Bloomberg has said similarly callous things about high-steel workers injured or killed and about New Yorkers injured or killed in the rash of improperly wired electrical fixtures around the city.

Avella hit the nail on the head with the real estate interests of Bloomberg. Communities should have a say about having the New Jersey Nets in Brooklyn.

What does Mr. Avella think of the MTA situation in the state senate? What is his plan for the future of the MTA?

What does Mr. Avella think of the gay marriage bill in the legislature?

What does Mr. Avella think of mayoral control of the schools? Overcrowded classrooms?

Do you believe we should eliminate offices such as the borough president which is a sinecure with little powers?