The following is an extended version of the story that appeared in our Dec. 12, 2024 print edition.

 

The Hon. Rev. Michael Blake, a former Bronx assemblyman for Assembly District 79, announced his campaign for mayor of New York City at Sankofa Haus in the South Bronx on Tuesday, Nov. 26, under the theme “Tomorrow Begins Today.”

 

Blake is also a former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and served as a White House aide to former U.S. President Barack Obama. His campaign also describes Blake as “a small business owner, entrepreneur, and national democracy leader.”
Campaign officials said Blake brings 20 years of public and political service and said he is focused on creating jobs, raising wages, advocating for affordable housing, and improving public safety, schools, and health in all communities.

 

“We need a fresh start at City Hall so that the headlines are not about the Department of Justice and investigations but about jobs, justice and education,” said Blake.

At the launch, Blake was introduced by Chef Grace Ramirez and small business owner, Alfredo Angueira, who both praised his dedication to New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure families were fed and healthcare workers received masks.

 

Rev. Frederick Crawford later concluded the event highlighting that in his opinion, many people simply talked about helping people, whereas Blake actually got things done for New Yorkers and Americans across the country.

 

As a member of the State Assembly, Blake’s campaign team said he ensured New York businesses contracting with the State were paid faster by spearheading the bipartisan “Prompt Pay bill,” which later became law and led to more jobs and better wages.

 

They said Blake also created the “My Brother’s Keeper” program, the only statewide initiative of its kind in the U.S. for Black and Brown boys and young men. An initiative of the Obama administration, the organization works “to unleash the power of communities, working together to solve problems for boys and young men of color, at a level to improve real life outcomes.”

 

Meanwhile, as chair of the Mitchell-Lama subcommittee, Blake’s campaign said he also advocated for housing rights and secured historic funding for NYCHA repairs. The New York State Mitchell-Lama program provides affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate- and middle-income families. Tracey Towers in Bedford Park is a Mitchell-Lama housing complex.

 

“I am running for mayor with a bold “Our City, Our Home, Our Dreams” policy platform, which advances universal childcare, faster payments to nonprofits, tax incentives for college graduates and businesses to return to the city, and a balanced approach to public safety, public housing and public schools in our neighborhoods,” said Blake.

Blake’s campaign said the former assemblyman also co-led the successful effort to pass “Raise the Age,” a law that prevented 16 and 17-year-olds from being unjustly tried as adults. He also spearheaded initiatives to increase the number of Black and Brown doctors statewide.

 

During his time as a White House aide to Obama, they said he lead African American, county and state elected officials and minority-owned and women-owned business outreach. They said he helped pass the Affordable Care Act, the economic stimulus package that ended the Great Recession, and a student loan bill lowering college costs.

 

They said he also created the White House Urban Entrepreneurship series to generate jobs nationwide and co-led the administration’s initiative for small, minority, and women-owned businesses, increasing access to contracts, capital and counseling.

 

Blake was previously interviewed by the Norwood News in the context of the Black Lives Matter protests and spoke about his experience with the police growing up as a young Black man. He later worked with then-assemblywoman and now State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34) on the passage of The  Andrew Kearse Act, named after Andrew Kearse who died while in police custody after experiencing a health episode in the back of a police vehicle.

 

Norwood News asked Blake how he plans to address mental health crisis and if he would be open to launching mental health courts like those in Westchester County, where people are offered mental health support as an alternative to incarceration.

 

One hundred percent,” he said. Citing his work on the Affordable Care Act, Blake added in part, “Firstly, there’s truly no one in this race that has done more on healthcare than me. We can’t continue to treat health in isolation. It’s the totality of the individual. It’s mental, it’s emotional, it’s social, all intertwined.”

 

He continued in part, “When we think about New York City and what the Department of Health is, and mental health collectively, that will be a cornerstone of our approach. Touching on the public safety impacts of poor collective mental health, Blake said, “A lot of times right now, people are not feeling safe because they’re actually not helping those that are in mental health crisis, and so not only would it be a priority, but we would provide funding and additional support around this as well.”

 

Meanwhile, the Area Median Income (AMI) for all cities across the country is defined each year by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 2023 AMI for the New York City region is $127,100 for a three-person family (100% AMI). The AMI is used to determine eligibility for affordable housing. Given the cost of living is higher in New York City than in other parts of the country, we asked Blake, among other questions, if he would be open to renegotiating the Area Median Income (AMI) with the federal government. He said he would be.

 

We also discussed with Blake an October 2024 report by New York Focus about the Bronx Democratic Party’s failure to disclose more than $400,000 in campaign contributions over the past four years, an apparent violation of campaign finance law, which the Party put down to an oversight and has committed to rectifying. We mentioned there had been speculation about what the purpose of such funds could have been, and whether they were potentially used to help centrist Democrats beat progressive Democrats in given primary races. We asked Blake if he was looking for the endorsement of the Bronx Democratic Party.

He said he hasn’t received any endorsements to date as he had just launched his campaign and added, “Of course, there has to be transparency in how funds travel through all entities. I don’t know what happened in that situation. I do think we have a moment right now where New Yorkers desperately want to know that they can trust you, and I do think one thing that distinguishes me in this race, twofold. I was a national vice chair of the Democratic Party so I know how it’s supposed to be done, and I’m a reverend from the community. If there’s someone who can come in and give people someone they can trust, I think it would be me.”

 

Blake’s campaign said he chose Nov. 26 to launch his campaign because 1/1/26 marks the start of the next mayoral term, with mayoral elections taking place in 2025.

 

 

“We still believe in jobs and justice, public safety, public housing and public school, housing and healthcare,” Blake said. “For us to achieve that vision for our City, our home, our dreams, it’s time for a new leader to declare that Tomorrow Begins Today.”