Politics

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 ...

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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.