No, this post isn’t about Venezuela, though, given the title, it could have been! No, this post is about this initiative by shiny, new Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, who yesterday announced the following (boldface mine):
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the city will be holding “Rental Ripoff” hearings with tenants across the five boroughs and taking action against “unconscionable” business practices in the coming months.
Mamdani signed an executive order Sunday directing his new Office of Mass Engagement and other city agencies to hold the hearings within his first 100 days in office.
The mayor’s office said New Yorkers will be able to testify about their biggest challenges as renters, from shoddy building conditions to hidden fees, during hearings in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island…
The administration said it will publish a detailed report on the hearings’ findings, including “common themes and areas of opportunity.”
No, this by itself won’t make housing more affordable. But using this to build up support for good housing policy is smart. And having an Office of Mass Engagement is good: people want to have opportunities to be heard, and having an office that does this, and makes an effort to get people involved is good for democracy.
Performative politics does matter.
mikethemadbiologist
Its too bad the only performative politics the democrats are open to are saying the republicans have a point with their bigotry and corruption.
May I suggest that “democrats” in that sentence be restricted to the national Democratic leadership, corporate Democrats, Democratic consultants, and dipshit centrists?
Government can HELP its citizens ? Can and should protect us from corporate entities and criminals ? It’s as if I have gone back several decades in time.