Former Mayor David Dinkins is publicly questioning whether Bill de Blasio will be able to get Albany to pass a tax hike on the rich to fund universal pre-K — a signature initiative of the mayor-elect’s campaign.
The ex-mayor raised the issue Monday after de Blasio, who was a low-level aide in his administration, gave a half-hour speech at Columbia University on early-childhood education.
“So many people dislike the notion of taxing the rich for the poor,” Dinkins said after the New York City Summit on Children. “I don’t, but many do.”
Dinkins recommended he consider restoring the city’s commuter tax instead.
“I would urge you to have your experts take a good, hard look at that, weigh where the votes are in the Legislature, and see whether or not this might be more easily done,” he told de Blasio in front of a crowd of top educators.
But de Blasio stuck by his plan to hike income tax on the city’s wealthy.
“I’m always an open person, but I think a leader leads. I’m convinced this is the best way to get this done,” he said afterward.
De Blasio also announced he was forming a team to weigh the logistics of expanding pre-K. The team would recommend curriculums, create a plan to train teachers and find new space.
He admitted he was closer to picking an NYPD commissioner than he was a schools chancellor.
“The conversations are just being arranged now,” he said.