Politics

Andrew Yang Announces Candidacy For New York City Mayor

(Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced his candidacy for the mayor of New York City Wednesday.

“I moved to New York City 25 years ago,” Yang tweeted. “I came of age, fell in love, and became a father here. Seeing our City in so much pain breaks my heart.”

“Let’s fight for a future New York City that we can be proud of – together.”

“I ran for president because I saw the economy was not working for everyday Americans. Seeing my city the way it is now breaks my heart,” Yang said in a promotional video. (RELATED: Poll Shows Andrew Yang Slightly Favored For NYC Mayor Among Democratic Voters)

Yang is running on policies similar to those he ran on during his presidential bid.

“We need to realize Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of a Guaranteed Minimum Income and get cash into the hands of people who need it most.”

Yang’s plan includes increasing internet access, creating a “people’s bank” which will allow public funds to be directly reinvested into people and communities, and ensuring that 15,000 small businesses can open in 2022. Yang is also calling for a vacancy tax, which would charge landlords who leave a storefront vacant for longer than a specified period of time.

Yang will have to convince New Yorkers he’s one of them after he recently said he left the city during the pandemic because his living space was too small, according to The New York Times.

“Can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?” Yang said.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer who is also running for mayor quipped on Twitter that he actually could imagine living in small living quarter with children in online school.