Andrew Yang Can Go Away Now

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | May 21, 2021 |

By Jen Maravegias | Politics | May 21, 2021 |

I was born into a small, California Ranch-style home in Queens, New York sometime in the mid-’70s (that’s all you need to know about THAT thankyouverymuch.) I was raised there, went to school in Queens, spent a lot of time on the streets of New York City narrowly avoiding trouble. I also spent lots of money in amazing stores in The Village (RIP Trash and Vaudeville.) I attended a state college, and the only beaches I knew until I was an adult were the ones on Long Island and in Rockaway.

Basically, I’m about as New York as you can get. I tried to leave and ended up back here anyway. So, I feel like I’m qualified to tell Andrew Yang to Go The F Away Forever.

I know, I know, SOME people like him. He’s got the “Yang Gang” pulling for him. They impress me about as much as The Bernie Bros did. Sycophants, the lot of them, willing to overlook all of the red flags and valid criticisms of their candidate because …? What DOES Yang bring to the table that other mayoral candidates don’t? Universal Basic Income? Are we all meant to be one issue voters over the idea of $1,000 a month? Psht. That wouldn’t even cover rent in most of the five boroughs. Based on this reporting from last month, more than half of Yang’s financial support is coming from outside of New York. The folks inside New York who support him? Mostly the uber-rich, who don’t pay their share of taxes and are desperate to ensure no one holds them accountable for that. Guys like Kenneth Griffin, a Chicago-based hedge-fund dude bro, who recently dropped $240 MILLION on a townhouse off of Central Park. And Daniel Loeb, a Charter School investor who resigned as the Chair of Success Academy after making some racist statements about state politicians. He also managed to piss off George Clooney. You have to be a real schmuck to piss off George Clooney.

Those are the kind of folks who are carrying water for Yang. What about those of us who want a better leader for our city? Some folks object to Yang because they say he’s not a “real” New Yorker. Let me quash that right now. If you live in New York, you are a New Yorker. End of statement. He was born in Schenectady, which is only like three hours away from the city. He has an apartment down the street from my mom. Although I’m pretty sure it’s a lot nicer than my mom’s place. But. BUT. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut he really seems to have no idea how to live here. Or how to run a city, let alone a city like New York, where there is very little separating the rich and the beautiful from the poor and homeless on every street, every day.

According to The City’s “Meet Your Mayor” election tool, Yang hangs in with the progressives across most of the issues, although he skipped a bunch of questions. But, there are clearly better progressives, who have more experience in government, and who aren’t weighed down by quite as many bad hot takes as Yang. Like this pro-Isreal tweet from earlier this month. Or that time he said he wants NYC to be a Bitcoin hub despite cryptocurrency’s disastrous effects on the environment. What about when he backed the Yeshivas in a transparent attempt to garner favor with a very powerful NYC voting bloc, even though the religious schools are under fire for not providing enough secular education.

But wait, there’s more! Just yesterday, YESTERDAY, he talked about implementing some sort of two-strike rule for mentally ill people who have disruptive episodes in public places.

On @PIX11, @AndrewYang mentioned implementing a kind of two-strike rule for handling encounters with mentally ill people:

"What we need to do is document that with a warning, let the person know 'if you do something like this again we're going to take much firmer action.'" pic.twitter.com/SWIqpZ6dk5

— NYC Mayor's Race 2021 (@MayorsRace2021) May 20, 2021

Whut? Someone in the middle of a psychotic episode on the corner of 38th St and 9th Ave is not going to be fazed by a citation. They need actual assistance. From trained professionals, not cops.

Also yesterday? His bright idea was to open homeless shelters dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence. Of which there are already quite a few. Thanks though, Andy.

"One thing that would be extraordinarily helpful is to have specific shelters for domestic violence," says @AndrewYang talking about improvements to family homeless shelter system. There already are domestic violence shelters.

— Courtney Gross (@courtneycgross) May 20, 2021

Earlier this week (gosh, he’s been busy) he proved that he doesn’t understand MTA financing, even though reforming transit is a big part of his platform. And he showed us how out of touch he is on the need for police reform by whiffing a question about the repeal of 50a - the state law that shielded cops’ disciplinary records from the public until it was overturned last year.

He also came under fire during the Covid lockdowns for some very out-of-touch Tweets that were just such, ugh, out-of-touch rich guy nonsense I’m surprised he could even show his face around town once the masks came off. I mean, show this guy to a real bodega, please. Someone. Anyone. The way his team allows him to keep running his mouth on social, I feel like maybe even they don’t want him to be elected.

Obviously, I have strong feelings about this guy. Who DO I like for mayor? I haven’t decided yet. It’s a crowded field where things are shifting every day. I’m still waiting for more info on the allegations against Scott Stringer, and some of the other Dem candidates have red marks against them too. I’ve got time, but what I don’t have is patience for Yang’s nonsense. No candidate is perfect by any means. But New York can do a hell of a lot better than a guy who sees our city as a consolation prize for losing the Democratic Presidential primary, and who is obviously just trying to make a name for himself here before another attempt at the national stage. So, Andrew Yang, I say unto you: Shoo. Go away. Buzz buzz. Let the qualified people have a conversation now. Go get a slice and STFU.