De Blasio Calls for Raise in Minimum Wage in State of the City Speech

If New York City regulations didn't make the place so expensive to live ...

In his first state of the city speech, Mayor Bill de Blasio Monday outlined his progressive vision — advocating expanding living wage laws, pushing Albany to allow the city to raise the minimum wage and providing municipal ID cards to non-citizens.

In the speech at La Guardia Community College in Queens, the mayor also pledged to work towards rebuilding sections of the city devastated by Hurricane Sandy and to create a jobs plan to battle unemployment, especially among minority males.

De Blasio reiterated many of his campaign themes — calling for a more just society, where government is a tool to help the poor. He was introduced by Katherine LaGuardia, the granddaughter of the late Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who led the city through the Great Depression.