Straight-talking and fast-talking, assured and with a no-nonsense attitude, Mike Breen was first elected to the Yonkers City Council in 2011. He was reelected in 2015 and in 2018 was honored to be elected among his peers to the position of Minority Leader. WAG caught up with the Republican recently between a press conference and a wake.
Minority Leader Breen, how did it all came about?
“I was going to run in 2003 and I was told to get out. It wasn’t my turn. No, I’m not meant to say “turn” so I won’t say it. It wasn’t my time. But anyway, I got out in ’03, and I came back in 2011 and was elected. We had a three-way primary and a three-way election, so I earned my stripes and I’ve been on the council since then.”
And you had your own career, obviously, away from politics, so how did you find time to combine the two.
“For 35 years I ran a limo service, a car service. We took people to the airport. We went out of business in 2015. I blame Uber. I mean, I think everybody can blame Uber… But for 35 years we were a very good business, we were of our time and people liked the service. Then I got elected to the city council in 2012, so that curve was going in one direction while my business was going in another. We closed the shop in 2015 and I made this a full-time job.”
Talk me through a typical day.
“Before the elevator broke or after the elevator broke?”
Good one. Let’s start with “before.”
“The elevator in City Hall doesn’t work. They’re going to fix it in another month. So, I spend less time in City Hall. I work in the field and then I call the office, getting constituent things fixed, whether it’s getting city trees trimmed, or problems with the Building Department, or potholes to be filled. And then, at City Hall, we have committee meetings. The city council meets every Tuesday. One Tuesday is our rules meeting, to see what we’re going to discuss the following Tuesday at our council meeting, so that’s where I am on Tuesdays. But otherwise I’m out in the field, attending flag-raisings, civic events, wakes — in fact I’m going to a wake right after this interview.”
Which is why I promise not to keep you longer than we agreed.
“Thanks. So, today I was at the Yonkers’ Empire City Casino, because there was a big press conference. We were asking (New York) Gov. Hochul to let Yonkers have a gaming casino, not just an electronic video casino. So that was a big thing today and I was happy to be there.”
And how are relations with the new Governor?
“I’ve never met her. But they’re going to be better I think than they were between officials down here and the previous governor. They’re all asking her to give Yonkers the gaming license that he (former Gov. Andrew Cuomo) refused to let go of. Things are going to change and that’ll be a positive change. Post-Covid, we need the casino to switch to being a full-time casino — the employment, the tax money, the opportunities. So that was a classic day today, and a classic event to go to.”
As you say, you’re out on the job, you’re well-known locally and people must recognize you. Do you get buttonholed? Do you stop people to talk or do people stop you?
“Funny you say that. When I ran for office I went and knocked on doors, because that’s how you get elected. But when I ran for reelection, I didn’t have a strong opponent, and knocking on doors was like a half-hour event (every time). You didn’t cover much ground knocking on doors. So, now I don’t knock on doors like I used to. I do train stations instead, because people can’t stand around in train stations, they have trains to catch. They have to keep walking. That’s why I like train stations. I don’t mind talking to people but going door to door really doesn’t work.”
You’ve known Yonkers for a very long time — 34 years I think you said. Tell me how Yonkers has changed over that time. Three questions in one — the Yonkers you knew, how it is now and where it’s going.
“The Yonkers I knew growing up has cleaned up a little. The politics is also a little bit better than it used to be. People will tell you there’s less fighting in City Hall than there used to be. Where we were an industrial city at one time, we’re not any more. We’re cleaning up the waterfront for residential (use), so we can look like Brooklyn. Annapolis has a beautiful waterfront. We don’t quite have that yet, but we’d like to get there. And we used not to have major hotels, but now we have five, because we’re near Manhattan and you can spend a lot less staying in a major hotel here than (when) you go to a hotel in the city. We have a Hyatt, a Marriott, a Hampton — that’s something that’s really changed over the years. We’re moving forward.”
And you mentioned the mayor.
“Mayor Spano has been doing a great job the last 10 years. We were one of the few cities to have new streetlights that are really energy-efficient — the whole city was wired with new streetlights.”
And, of course, there’s been a huge amount of investment in the city in recent years, which looks like it’s continuing.
“If the rents start climbing again in Manhattan and Brooklyn, then Yonkers is a big alternative. We have the train stations that get you into Manhattan. It’s less than half an hour to get there.”
What are your real challenges now, things you would really like to get done, perhaps issues that you struggle with and find difficult to bring into effect.
“We’re trying to straighten out the Building Department. I don’t know if that subject’s come up before, but we have a Building Department that should be computerized but hasn’t been. If we could get it sorted out in the next two years, I could put my feet up and then light up a cigar and say that we really got the job done. But with the Fire Department, the Police Department, everything’s up to snuff.”
And your relationship with the Majority Leader? Is it a good relationship?
“Yep. Corazón (Pineda-Isaac, Yonkers Majority Leader) and I get along. The Republicans voted for her for Majority Leader. When we had the choice to make, we went with her. If you took 10 political items, of the big scope, we probably wouldn’t agree on any of them, but locally we agree on how to get things done in Yonkers.”
Moving on, I know a little bit about your involvement with St. Joseph’s Men’s Club. Are you still active there?
“Yes, I’m the softball coach for the girls’ team 20 years plus. That’s my therapy. In the spring, that’s what gets my legs moving. It gets me out of the house. And it’s good to be a councilman, because I get my permits pretty easily. The field’s usually pretty well-maintained for me. But it’s good to get out with the kids and I’ll continue to do that for a few more years I think.”
But you mentioned that the time will come when you put your feet up and light your cigar. Any future plans, personal ambitions to share?
“I’m 67 now. I’ve got two more years on city council, and (for sure) I’m going to find something else to do. I’m a licensed real estate agent although I don’t practice. But my wife is a licensed real estate agent, so that’s my other activity, assisting her in that in the future.
Lastly, we haven’t talked about Covid. Tell me about ways that it’s changed the city and what you see as any lasting effects, long after the pandemic – let’s hope – has been forgotten.
“We’re getting too easy on Zoom. On the city council, our (in-person) committee meetings have been optional. And the brick-and mortar-stores have been hit hard. People have discovered, if they hadn’t before, that it’s very easy to have things delivered to their home, and I think that will continue. But the good news is that our Yonkers sales tax grows, because when they shop online, sales tax is now funneled to the location. So, our sales tax is the beneficiary of Covid and I think that’s going to continue.”
Well, I know you have to get going so let me just say thank you for speaking to WAG.
Oh, it’s been a pleasure. I mean (journalists) can come at you with swords, but you’ve just been using a putty knife.
Ah, thank you, Minority Leader – and enjoy your wake, if I can put it like that.
“Oh, it’s all part of the job. No, wait, don’t print that. I mean…I would be going anyway.”
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