NYC's best pizza, according to the front-runners of the mayoral primary.
"I'm not talking about Sicilian pizza, I'm talking about a slice.”
Good morning everyone.
I spent the weekend in Connecticut, exploring Grace Farms in New Canaan (very easy train trip) and drinking rosé on my friend’s boat. I went for one run, identified three birds, and did not read enough.
Today’s letter includes: the front-runners in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary answer your questions about the AI in classrooms and pizza, David bars raised $75mm from Greenoaks, I want to know your favorite beauty writers, Punchbowl news is doubling down on video, and why one influencer chose to post in real-time during the course of her wedding weekend.
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GUEST LECTURE: New York’s future mayor.
This interview is part of a Feed Me feature called Guest Lecture. In this series, I introduce you all to an expert who I’m curious about, and give paid readers an opportunity to ask them anything they want. Past guests have included Keith McNally, Rachel Karten, and Reggie James.
These responses have been condensed for brevity.
Why do you love New York?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: “Because it has so many cities in one!”
ANDREW CUOMO: “I was born here. My father was born here. My grandparents came to New York from Italy, chasing the promise of opportunity, and they found it here, in New York City.
New York City has always been special to me, but not just because of my family or my roots. It’s special because of what it represents. We are a city of immigrants, of cultures and languages and dreams from every corner of the globe. That diversity doesn’t just enrich us, it defines us. They say, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” And I believe that. Because New Yorkers are a rare kind of tough—New York Tough. We’re resilient, we’re relentless, and we rise to every challenge with grit. That’s what I love most about New York City—the people. The people are the energy, the heartbeat, the brilliance of this city. They are the economic engine and the creative force. They are the reason this place is like nowhere else in the world.”
BRAD LANDER: “First Saturdays at the Brooklyn Museum. Fuschka carts. CUNY graduations, at which most of the graduates are first-generation college students. Celebrate Brooklyn summer concerts in Prospect Park. The subway. Shakespeare in the Park. Coney Island with the kids on the last day of school. Walking over High Bridge. The polar bear plunge on New Year’s Day. The violinists who play in the Endale Arch. The fact that the brilliant new asset managers and entrepreneurs we invest the pension funds with are so likely to live here (or to want to). That you can get any kind of food delivered – and that we’re the first city in the country to guarantee that the deliverista who brings it earns a living wage.”
SCOTT STRINGER: “Because it’s the only place where a kid from Washington Heights could grow up to run for mayor. It’s the city that raised me and now it’s raising my kids. What makes New York magic isn’t the skyline or the celebrity sightings (go Knicks), it’s the people. I'm talking about the strivers, the folks who move here chasing better opportunities, the artists pouring their souls into their work, the night shift workers keeping this city humming. You couldn't pay me to live anywhere else, but that's precisely why I'm running – because this city is pushing too many good people out.”
As Manhattan feels more and more like a playground for the rich, where working class New Yorkers serve the upper class, what are your plans to keep New Yorkers affordable for the working class?
LANDER: “Unlike most politicians who give this issue lip service, I know what it takes to make housing affordable because I’ve actually done it. I’ve built and preserved affordable housing as a nonprofit developer and City Councilmember. The Gowanus rezoning will create 3,000 affordable units and invest in open space and infrastructure. As Comptroller, I saved 35,000 rent-stabilized homes after Signature Bank failed. As Mayor, I’ll build 500,000 homes in 10 years—including 50,000 on city-owned land—and expand affordable childcare and co-ops to restore the path to ownership.
I’ve already passed laws guaranteeing a living wage for Uber drivers and deliveristas, stable schedules for fast-food workers, and strong protections for freelancers against getting stiffed. As Mayor, I’ll focus on improving job quality for the working-class New Yorkers who make this city run.”
MAMDANI: “As Mayor, I will freeze the rent for more than two million rent stabilized tenants, build hundreds of thousands of new permanently affordable homes, make the nation’s slowest buses fast and free, and deliver universal no cost childcare for every New York family. And unlike any other candidate in this race, I am quite clear about how we’re going to pay for it: raising taxes on the most profitable corporations and wealthiest individuals. It doesn’t take much. If we just match the top corporate tax rate of New Jersey and add a flat 2% tax on incomes over $1 million dollar, we can raise enough to pay for this entire agenda and protect our city against Trump’s vindictive cuts. We’re the richest city in the richest country. There’s no excuse for 1 in 4 New Yorkers living in poverty.”
STRINGER: “This isn't a new fight for me; I’ve been in this fight since my days as a Mitchell-Lama tenant organizer. While others talk about affordability, I’ve got the receipts. As Comptroller, I exposed City Hall giving land to luxury developers. As Mayor, I’ll launch Mitchell-Lama 2.0, convert city-owned vacant lots into affordable housing, protect NYCHA, and fully fund childcare. As a parent myself, I know firsthand that childcare costs have gotten out of hand and that the options for our kids get more limited every year. Everyone’s got good plans, but what makes me different? I’ve done this work, and I’ll keep doing it.”