Here’s How a Clinton or a Trump Victory Would Affect New York City

By Jeff Mays, MIDTOWN — No matter who wins Tuesday’s presidential election, there will be a New Yorker in the White House come Jan. 20. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is a native New Yorker who was born in Queens and keeps a home in Manhattan. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton moved to Chappaqua, New York, about an hour outside the city, after she and her husband former president Bill Clinton left the White House. Clinton also formerly represented the state in the Senate, and her husband had an office in Harlem before moving it to the Financial District. Having two New Yorkers vying for the most powerful office in the land is a rare thing in presidential history that has happened only twice before (when Franklin Roosevelt faced Thomas Dewey in 1944 and when Theodore Roosevelt faced Alton Parker in 1904). But will the candidates’ familiarity with the Big Apple make a difference when it comes to major issues facing the city such as education, infrastructure, housing and transportation? Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has served as surrogate for his former boss on the campaign trail, believes a Clinton presidency will be the most beneficial for the nation’s largest city. “There are so many things that we could do to help the people of New York City if we had a federal government on our side,” de Blasio said last month when asked why he was campaigning for Clinton. Most experts DNAinfo New York spoke to felt a Trump presidency could have an uncertain or negative impact on the city since the GOP candidate has not refined certain policy positions. “It’s hard to imagine what a Trump presidency will look like because there is nothing to anchor our understanding,” said Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy. EDUCATION When it comes to education, David Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and The CUNY Graduate Center, said both candidates’ hands might be tied by the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced No Child Left Behind earlier this year. “In short, the federal role has been vastly curtailed so that the Common Core and high stakes testing are now largely in state hands,” said Bloomfield. But if elected, Clinton might be able to make some changes to benefit New York City by creating “a middle-class, CUNY-friendly college tuition aid agenda with appeal to both parties — especially if Democrats are in the Senate majority and the Republican majority in the House is narrowed,” said Bloomfield. Clinton would also likely increase federal aid to K-12 early childhood programs and also both district and charter schools. “There is also the chance that Clinton’s Education Secretary will pursue a strong civil rights agenda on behalf of girls, LGBT students, those with disabilities, and Black and Latino students,” Bloomfield added. “This might even spur New York City desegregation efforts, including competitive high school admissions.” dnainfo.com/new-york.