Brian Benstock Calls De Blasio’s Remarks on Autos, ‘completely irresponsible’

Last Thursday evening, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio made some controversial statements in a press conference regarding whether New Yorkers should purchase or own vehicles in city limits. When the topic of mass transit during the COVID-19 pandemic came up, de Blasio told reporters, “cars are the past, the future is going to be mass transit, biking, walking…I’m never going to own a car again, I can tell you that much.” He later admitted, “People are concerned about their health and safety, I totally understand that,” but he assured New Yorkers that public transit was safe to use. 

To share his response to Mayor de Blasio’s recommendations, we’re pleased to welcome back Brian Benstock, Partner GM and Vice President at Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura located in the Queens’ neighborhood of Woodside.

“Every time Paragon sells a car, between 2,000 and 3,000 dollars in sales tax is collected,” says Brian. “And with the number of cars Paragon sells, that’s several million dollars a month that we’re contributing. So, I think [de Blasio] really needs to be careful when he goes to bite the hand that’s feeding him.”

Brian Benstock is an acclaimed keynote speaker, author, podcast host, and contemporary thought leader in the automotive industry. Since beginning his career in 1982, Benstock has been featured on CNN Money, Bloomberg Technology, and CBS News. Today, the dealerships sell more than 1,000 cars per month and 34 cars every day.