Evening Roundup: Gov. Hochul’s Favorability Drops, Truckers Use Queens Neighborhood as Parking Lot, NYC Mayoral Race and Civics Week

Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC NOW, your source for local news in and around New York City, from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. Half of New York State voters say they have an unfavorable view of Governor Kathy Hochul. That's according to a new Siena College poll. 40% of voters in the polls said they have a positive view of the governor, while 50% said they have a negative one. Sienna pollster Steve Greenberg says voters seem to have their minds made up about Hochul.

Steve Greenberg: She's never hit 50%. She's never had a majority of New Yorkers view her favorably. That's in the last three and a half years.

Janae Pierre: The governor is still the frontrunner in next year's Democratic gubernatorial primary. The Siena poll found she has a 40 point lead over two potential Democratic challengers. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado and Bronx Representative Ritchie Torres.

[music]

Janae Pierre: Queens residents who live near JFK Airport say their neighborhoods are inundated with illegally parked trucks and other commercial vehicles. In 2022, Mayor Eric Adams vowed to crack down on the truckers, but locals say the issue persists. Sandra Long lives in Rosedale.

Sandra Long: Sometimes they separate the tractor trailers from the trailer from the tractor and they'll take the trailer, the tractor away and leave the trailer.

Janae Pierre: On a recent tour of the area, 17 vehicles were parked illegally. The sidewalk was littered with bags of trash and empty liquor bottles. The Port Authority says they've added 150 truck parking spaces at the airport. The NYPD says officers have issued more than 100 tickets in the area since December.

[music]

Janae Pierre: Mayoral candidates hit the campaign trail hard this past weekend, some for the first time. We'll recap the busy campaign weekend after the break.

Speaker: This is NYC NOW.

Janae Pierre: Yet another candidate is looking to make a splash among Democrats running for New York City mayor. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams held her first campaign event over the weekend. She joined the field last week with just over 100 days until primary day. My colleague, Michael Hill, talked with WNYC's senior politics reporter, Brigid Bergin, for the latest from the busy campaign weekend.

Michael Hill: Brigid, last week you told us about former Governor Cuomo officially entering the race in his first campaign event. How did it compare to Speaker Adrienne Adams this weekend?

Brigid Bergin: Yes, Michael, just as a refresher on that, remember that Cuomo event was up on the seventh floor of a union office building, actually around the corner from our station here in Manhattan. There was a protest outside, of women who wanted to remind his supporters and the press of the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation in 2021. There were wristbands and multiple security checkpoints inside. This was his walk-on song. It was New York Groove.

[applause]

Brigid Bergin: So you can hear New York Groove. That's that rock song from the 1970s. Under the cheers of his supporters. Now, of course, that's a song from the time when the city was in crisis, which is very much in keeping with the city in crisis theme that is so central to Cuomo's pitch to voters. The vibes and crowd at Speaker Adams launch event really could not have been any more different.

Michael Hill: How so?

Brigid Bergin: Well, no wristbands, of course. It was totally open to the public. Instead of unions hosting the event, there were local elected officials, tenant association presidents, and the AKAS, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and this was playing when Speaker Adams was introduced.

[MUSIC - Lizzo: Good as Hell]

Brigid Bergin: That's a little Lizzo for you this morning, Michael. A song about resilience, from this century. So, different vibes. Her event was on the ground floor of the Rochdale Village Shopping Center with about 250 people seated there, plus shoppers who just kind of gathered around. That location is incredibly important. Rochdale Village is the second largest Mitchell-Lama housing development in the state. Mitchell-Lama means home ownership. It's right in the heart of Southeast Queens. A vote-rich part of the city that can influence the outcome of a Democratic primary, and as Speaker Adams is establishing from the start. This is her home turf.

Speaker Adrienne Adams: Every New Yorker has their corner of the city that they call home, but Southeast Queens is my corner.

Brigid Bergin: Now, I'll note, Michael, she's really leaning into her first name in this race. Her campaign signs all say Adrienne for Mayor, trying maybe to distance herself from the baggage of the current mayor, Eric Adams. They do have a few things in common. Both are from that part of Southeast Queens, both went to Bayside High School, but of course, they're no relation.

Michael Hill: You mentioned the importance of Southeast Queens. Would you say a little bit more about why it matters so much in a primary election?

Brigid Bergin: I mean, Michael, Southeast Queens got a shout out more than two dozen times during the speeches on Saturday. As I mentioned, it's a very vote-rich area for Democrats. It's where one of the largest populations of middle class Black New Yorkers live in the city. We're talking neighborhoods like Rochdale Village, Hollis, Springfield Gardens, St. Albans, Baisley Park, Jamaica. All incredibly key to Mayor Adams success in 2021, and it's where the speaker is counting on making inroads in what will be a very challenging campaign.

As we look at the broader field of candidates, she was not the only candidate making a direct appeal to Black voters across the city this weekend. Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie spoke to Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network on Saturday. Here's a little bit of what he said, taking aim at another candidate who had traditionally relied on support from voters in the Black community.

Senator Zellnor Myrie: So called leaders who are coming before you today asking to be your mayor, who sat in the Governor's mansion, sat in our pews on Sunday, and cut our schools on Monday.

Brigid Bergin: I mean, I think you can probably tell who he's talking about there, Michael. He is going after former Governor Andrew Cuomo whose administration did make initial cuts to school funding and never fully funded so called Foundation Aid that goes to some of the neediest schools in the state. For his part, Cuomo was also on the campaign trail this weekend at Mount Nebo Baptist Church in Harlem and proposing 5,000 more police officers to improve public safety.

Michael Hill: What were the candidates up to this weekend?

Brigid Bergin: Really, all the candidates were out there trying to get their petition signatures. That April 3rd deadline is quickly approaching. I'm sure some of you maybe spotted them at farmers markets and your subways. Another big event some candidates were involved with was the interview process for the Working Families Party endorsement. They actually opened the process up to people to observe, and they scheduled a selection of the candidates to participate yesterday afternoon. Brad Lander, Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Adrienne Adams, Jessica Ramos, and Michael Blake were all scheduled to participate.

Michael Hill: So, no Cuomo and no former Controller Scott Stringer on that list?

Brigid Bergin: Yes. To say that Cuomo and the Working Families Party are at odds with each other would be an understatement. Governor Cuomo, when he was in office, really pushed legislation to threaten the existence of the Working Families Party. He wanted to increase the number of votes the party needed to keep their ballot line. That just has created kind of an ongoing existential crisis for the party. This was, of course, years after the WFP begrudgingly supported his reelection campaign way back in 2014 instead of endorsing the more liberal candidate, Zephyr Teachout.

Stringer also has a complicated history with the party. He had their endorsement in 2021, but then they actually rescinded it after reports of sexual harassment claims from a former campaign staffer two decades earlier. Stringer has consistently denied those claims. Not really a big surprise that neither would participate, but we will certainly be watching as the WFP decides what will likely end up being a slate of candidates it endorses in this election.

Michael Hill: Brigid, I think I can say, if there was no other political race taking place, this mayor's race would be enough.

Brigid Bergin: [chuckles] That is absolutely true, Michael.

Janae Pierre: That's WNYC's senior politics reporter, Brigid Bergin, talking with my colleague, Michael Hill. It's Civics Week at New York City Public Schools. All week long, students are focusing on the theme, Democracy Begins Here, with projects that encourage them to use their voices to advocate for changes in their community. As part of the curriculum, students were invited to submit soapbox speeches on issues they care about. Here's one from first grader, Famela Karsula, at P.S. 173 in Fresh Meadows, Queens.

[music]

Famela Karsula: Today, I want to talk to you about how some kids are being mean to other kids. This is a big problem because kids might grow up thinking that it's right to be mean to others. Imagine a world where people respect each other in school, at work, at home, and the community. There will be less hate in the world. We can solve this problem by teaching kids to use kind words and showing kids how to listen with respect. I need you to show people that kids can be nice. We can all choose to be kind, so let's do it.

Janae Pierre: That was first grader, Famela Karsula, at P.S. 173 in Fresh Meadows, Queens. Thanks for listening to NYC NOW, from WNYC. I'm Janae Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.

New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.