FAQ NYC

Councilman Jumaane Williams was thisclose to becoming the Lieutenant Governor Andrew Cuomo dreaded. He fell short, but his political stock has never been higher. He talked with the FAQ crew about the change coming to Albany, the state of New York City and what's next for him — including the friendship that might keep him from running for public advocate.

Here's a taste of Jumaane Williams, on clearing the lieutenant governor's for the Working Families Party with a new "campaign" against state Senator Simcha Felder; full interview up soon.

Azi talks with the Green Party gubernatorial hopeful Howie Hawkins, who makes his case and talks some stuff about the Working Families Party.

Scott STRINGER or STRINGER Bell? ——You have any idea what I had to do to get where I am today? When I say I’m ready, you best believe it. (The youngsters?) Look, I’m going to empower this generation.… learning how to work the system. I had to learn it when I was 30; and they will learn it as well. If the man coming, make ready for the man. I don’t think it has to be about me vs. new people. Why not embrace new people and collectively work? Everybody making money sharing the real estate. This wasn’t my first rodeo. I was paroled after 13 years (from a place where hope) dies in the middle of the night or is never heard—and that was the fault of the collective system. You gotta be fierce, I know that, but more than that, you gotta show some flex, give and take on both sides. —— We had New York City Comptroller SCOTT Stringer, who said half those things, to talk about his housing plan that’s about to drop (Mitchell Llama 2, he called it) and much more.

New York's Democrats came out in force, to punish local incumbents even as they stood behind Cuomo and helped Tish James, his pick for attorney general, make some history.

A week before primary day — the moment of truth in most New York elections — we pull back the curtain on the voice of the papers in a conversation with editorial board members Mara Gay of the New York Times and Alyssa Katz of the Daily News about how they decide who gets the nod, and why this may be the rare year in which endorsements really matter.

In a supersized episode 5, we ask aspiring Attorneys General Zephyr Teachout, Tish James, Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve to say whether or not Donald Trump and his crew are emblematic of the New York real estate world, and what would change if each of them gets to be the new sheriff in town. Plus, former A.G. candidate Mark Green runs down this year's race and revisits several of his old ones.

Are you listening, Cynthia Nixon? The original Democratic underdog has some thoughts on what it’s like to run against the party powers that be for governor of New York.

Mayor Bill de Blasio sat down with us at Gracie Mansion to talk about his Murdoch-oriented media critique, how his progressive Democrats have already won the fight for the soul of the party, and why — hey, Cynthia Nixon! — he still he isn't ready to endorse some of those progressives.

New York City is the center of the universe, at least we think so. But what if it turned out that the universe didn’t revolve around us but in fact we revolved around… Albany? If the Democrats finally retake the state Senate and the Empire State turns deep blue, everything changes for Mayor de Blasio. Or at least that's what he hopes. We talked with political science professor Jeanne Zaino and Working Families Party boss Bill Lipton about the high stakes in this year's elections, plus City Council Speaker Corey Johnson calls in to run down what he says Harry Siegel got wrong in episode one.