May 14, 2021
The Gazette Editorial Board
Paperboy Love Prince, that is. It’s been ages since Treat Williams portrayed a dirty cop turning on his corrupt NYPD partners to save his own neck in a gritty movie called Prince of the City, so maybe a remake is in order? In this one though, the hero is a political outsider shaking up this year’s Democratic Mayoral Primary which will be held on June 22. In the crowded field of runners, Paperboy Prince stands out. And rather than flipping on their partners in this hypothetical remake, the hero re-imagines the entire premise of policing our city…
The Gazette took what felt like an eternal subway ride from Inwood to Bushwick, BK recently and caught up with this longshot candidate. We spotted Paperboy chatting with a passerby in front of the Myrtle Ave storefront that serves as campaign HQ, art gallery, vintage clothes rack, and community fridge. The Love Gallery, as it’s known, popped up during the pandemic last year and has distributed more than $2M of food locally so far.
Unlike the typical profile of a Mayoral candidate, Paperboy Prince is an artist and a visionary. And young. Sporting a glittery silver jumpsuit, diamond stud earrings, gold ropes and several chunky wristwatches, Paperboy Prince could never be mistaken for any other candidate in this race. The governmental, big business/C-Suite, or legal background the others tout as their relevant qualifications do not apply here. Rather, Paperboy Prince is a multitalented artist, a visionary, and perhaps even a prophet in the spirit of Kandinsky‘s triangle metaphor:
“The life of the spirit may be fairly represented in diagram as a large acute-angled triangle divided horizontally into unequal parts with the narrowest segment uppermost. The lower the segment the greater it is in breadth, depth, and area.
“The whole triangle is moving slowly, almost invisibly forwards and upwards. Where the apex was today the second segment is tomorrow; what today can be understood only by the apex and to the rest of the triangle is an incomprehensible gibberish, forms tomorrow the true thought and feeling of the second segment…
“In every segment of the triangle are artists. Each one of them who can see beyond the limits of his segment is a prophet to those about him, and helps the advance of the obstinate whole. But those who are blind, or those who retard the movement of the triangle for baser reasons, are fully understood by their fellows and acclaimed for their genius. The greater the segment (which is the same as saying the lower it lies in the triangle) so the greater the number who understand the words of the artist. Every segment hungers consciously or, much more often, unconsciously for their corresponding spiritual food. This food is offered by the artists, and for this food the segment immediately below will tomorrow be stretching out eager hands.”
They all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round, right? Some of Paperboy Prince’s proposals may seem kind of far-out. But isn’t that always the case with new ideas? When JFK vowed to put a man on the Moon in under ten years, it seemed far out too. Then it happened. Today it doesn’t even seem like that big of a deal. Likewise, abolishing the police and replacing their heavily fortified neighborhood precincts with community Love Centers might sound like science fiction. But until a month ago, remotely flying a drone helicopter on Mars from Earth also sounded like science fiction. And now it doesn’t.
We asked Paperboy Prince what’s NYC’s biggest problem. They replied that the housing crisis is the biggest one. It leads in turn to displacement and violence. The solution is housing for all. It seems at first obvious and possibly an oversimplification, but if you think about it, nobody’s ever even proposed housing for all.
Then, after explaining that the EMS Division of FDNY does most (95%) of the Department’s call volume with 20% of the personnel who earn 50% as much as Firefighters, we asked Paperboy Prince’s position on pay parity with cops and fire for EMS. The answer won us over: “I’d like to find a way to pay them more.”
Should privately owned cars be banned from Manhattan? After a long pause, “Not yet.” But a yes on taking strides toward making it happen and transforming more streets into green space.
Defund the Police? “Abolish and replace police with a Love Team. Find ways to direct NYPD funds to communities rather than contractors. The community paying for its own oppression is a problem.”
Paperboy Prince’s Utopia Plan:
- UBI of $2000/month for all.
- Speading Love (Love Centers).
- Healthcare for All.
- Futuristic Schools.
- Housing for all (End homelessness).
- Greener NYC.
- Turn Police into a Love Team.
- Turn NYCHA into mansions.
- Optional 3.5 day weekends.
- Wifi for all.
Many, perhaps even most, of Paperboy Prince’s proposals may seem a little pie in the sky, but they’re never going to happen unless somebody campaigns on them. Paperboy Prince is taking on that responsibility. It’s anyone’s guess how far along these ideas will go in this political cycle. But the ball has been set rolling and someday folks may point to this campaign and say “this is where it began.”
Mayors with more conventional background experiences have brought our amazing City to the brink. Homelessness is epic, crime is ticking up, and tension between cops and the communities they’re paid to protect and serve remains sky high. A year after the whole world watched Derek Chauvin nonchalantly choke the life out of George Floyd, launching a summer of #BLM mobilizations everywhere, something’s gotta give. Maybe it’s time to hand someone with fresh eyes and some bold, new ideas their shot? Maybe a young artist named Paperboy Love Prince has exactly what NYC needs right now in a Mayor? The Gazette thinks so and offers our endorsement to Paperboy Love Prince for Mayor of New York City.
The Gazette: What would you like to be remembered for as NYC Mayor?
Paperboy Love Prince: “The Mayor who turned it into the most loving city in history.”
Debate Night
