Q&A on mayor's reform proposals and outdoor dining interaction

Yeah.

Hi, Speaker.

I have a question about, I'm sorry, Ethan.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I'll let you go.

Thanks.

All right.

Yeah, so the mayor has his own set of reforms.

He said, you know, the code balance on the ballots.

I'm wondering whether you support those, some of those, take veto power away from the council, but the goal is to shorten the timeline.

So, you know, I want to get your thoughts on that and how they interact with this legislation.

Well, first of all, I think what we're really focused on is trying to make it easier for small businesses to operate in New York.

I say this as someone who owned a restaurant, catering, and market in New York many, many years ago.

And so it's not only this package of bills that's doing it.

It's also several weeks ago we passed Councilmember Susan Zhuang's bill to cut the red tape.

We're really, really focused on that.

We will obviously be working closely with the administration on any ways that we can support our small businesses, making it easier for them to open, making it easier for them to operate, and making it easier for them to sustain and

not close, which is unfortunately what we've seen a lot in the last few years.