New York City’s mayoral candidate Andrew Yang detailed his plans on Friday to “speed up” the city’s return, saying that technology could play a role in the safety of residents as the city recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. . Yang, a technology entrepreneur who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, is one of dozens of candidates running for Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I think I can speed up our coronavirus return. I think I can help make New York the post-COVID return city that it will need to be for so many New Yorkers to regain our lives,” said Yang CBSN anchor Lana Zak, at Friday.
Yang said that just vaccinating residents will not be enough for the city to recover, as many may not be comfortable dining at restaurants and bars or watching Broadway shows if people around them have not been vaccinated.
“One way to speed up this process is to have a vaccine passport that you can have on your smartphone,” said Yang. “You can demonstrate very quickly that you have been vaccinated and you can enter that restaurant or place and then take off your mask and literally breathe easier knowing that everyone there has been vaccinated.”
Yang also suggested using ice cream trucks as mobile vaccination sites to speed up vaccination. “We need to try to get vaccines for people in their neighborhoods. The reality is that many New Yorkers are not as mobile, they may be old and sick, they may not be able to easily take a subway or bus,” Yang said. “So, if we can get a vaccine for them in their parking lot, close to their building, either by vehicle or by having a location that is right on their block, that is what we have to do.”
Yang was never elected to public office, but launched his political career during the 2020 presidential campaign, in which he overcame Blasio. He was known for his universal basic income plan, which promised adult Americans $ 1,000 a month. He wants to offer a modified plan to New Yorkers, giving $ 2,000 a year to residents in extreme poverty.
In announcing his campaign, Yang pledged to improve access to high-speed Internet, “take back control” of the subway system and “reopen intelligently.”
Yang faced criticism for leaving the city with his wife and two children during the pandemic. He said his family moved to the Hudson Valley during the crisis, in part to help his autistic son adapt, and noted on Friday that, during that time, he also campaigned for President Joe Biden and the Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as for Democratic candidates in Georgia.
But he was also criticized for saying it was difficult to have two children attending a virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment while trying to work from home, a situation faced by others who did not leave.
“I think people understand that families are fighting in big and small ways now. I think very deeply and constantly about what families are going through,” he said of criticisms that were out of reach. “People understand that if you see a printed quote, out of context, it doesn’t mean that I don’t think every day about what people are going through.”
Democratic voters in New York City will vote in the June primaries. The winner of this race is expected to win the November general election.