Affordable Housing, Fracking, Safe Streets And More: Manhattan Residents Talk Issues Join Town Meeting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The first in a series of five town meetings was held last night at the Schomburg Center in Manhattan. The meetings give an opportunity to hear from New Yorkers what they want from the candidates for Mayor, City Comptroller and Public Advocate.
1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon, CBS 2's Maurice DuBois, WCBS Radio 880's Steve Scott and El Diario/La Prensa's Marlene Peralta were on the panel of local news reporters to listen to voters from Manhattan.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE MEETING: PART 1 | PART 2
Jobs and housing affordability were some of the top themes at the meeting, Rincon reported.
Ian Hoffman asked the panel to grill candidates not just about minimum wage but a living wage.
Manhattan Residents Talk Election Year Issues At Town Meeting
"If you adjust it from 1968, the minimum wage right now would be $10.50 nationwide. In New York City, I think it should be even higher."
One Harlem resident named Larry said he was concerned about rising rents pricing out folks who grew up there.
"What are they going to do about it?" Larry asked. "Are we going to continue to remain silent or act like it's not raining when everybody's drowning?"
A downtown resident named Timothy lamented the loss of St. Vincent's Hospital.
"Right now, no politician has done anything to return a hospital or emergency room or trauma center to the west side highway," he said.
A man named Leroy from Harlem had one burning question about education, Rincon reported.
"Who is going to return penmanship to the schools? I will vote for the one who returns penmanship to the schools," he said.
CBS 2 News, WCBS Radio 880, 1010 WINS, El Diario/La Prensa, CUNY and Common Cause NY have teamed up to hold one meeting in each borough.
Click here to attend an upcoming meeting as we continue our collective listening tour around the five boroughs of New York City. The next meeting takes place June 11 at Lehman College in the Bronx. Additional meetings will be held in Brooklyn on June 18 at St. Francis College, in Queens on June 25 at the N.Y. Hall Of Science and on Staten Island on June 27 at Wagner College.
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