NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is accused of CHEATING on a NYTimes pop quiz about cost of life in the city after he answered all three questions precisely
- Andrew Yang correctly guessed all of the answers to the three quiz questions
- He was the only candidate in the mayoral race to get all three correct
- Many of his answers were lengthy, however, leading to accusations of stalling
- One candidate's adviser wants video of the interview to be released
- The video interviews were to be held alone by candidates on Google Meet
- The cheating whispers came before Thursday night's mayoral debate
- The primary, which essentially decides the mayor in NYC, is set for June 22
New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is facing accusations of cheating after he was the only candidate to correctly guess all three questions on a recent quiz from The New York Times' Editorial Board.
The accusations came ahead of the first debate between the candidates, which took place on Thursday night.
Earlier this week, two candidates in the race - Ray McGuire and Shaun Donovan - proved to be a little out of touch after both completely failed to correctly guess the median cost of a home in Brooklyn, which stands at $900k, with both guessing around $100k or less.
Yang did not have that issue, becoming the only candidate to correctly guess the $900k answer.
In fact, he was the only candidate to get all three questions right, also correctly surmising the median rent for a Manhattan apartment (he guessed between $2,800 and $3,000 when it's just under $3,000) and the 10 percent of NYC schoolchildren who are homeless or in a temporary shelter.
![Andrew Yang is facing allegations of cheating on a recent New York Times pop quiz](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/14/42988294-9579057-image-m-18_1620998901199.jpg)
Andrew Yang is facing allegations of cheating on a recent New York Times pop quiz
![Yang was the only candidate to correctly answer all three questions asked by the paper's Editorial Board](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/14/42986512-9579057-image-a-11_1620998231426.jpg)
Yang was the only candidate to correctly answer all three questions asked by the paper's Editorial Board
For each question in his interview, Yang said a few sentences before giving his answer, leading some to believe he was stalling while looking up the answers.
For the homeless schoolchildren question, Yang said, 'Oh, gosh, I saw this number relatively recently, and it’s garishly high. I want to say there are — so there's 60,000 people in the sheltering system. A lot of them are kids. But that's too low a number. What is the category, Mara?' Yang said, before being asked the question again.
'Homeless or living in temporary shelter. So, I mean, the temporary shelter would be in the tens of thousands, and then homeless would be a similar number. We have about a million schoolkids. So I would say maybe 10 percent are homeless or in the shelters, would be my estimate,' Yang concluded.
Yang's first response to the Brooklyn median price question was, 'Oh, my gosh. Brooklyn! Such a diverse place.'
Yang then continued, 'I know. I am the math guy. But this is, like, a median. This is, like, blowing my mind, this question. So median home — could be any size, right? So some of them would be very substantial. But you're looking at the median, so you have to, like, whittle down.
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![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/13/42986490-9579057-image-a-1_1620995507883.jpg)
'I would just say that the median — it's going to be something, like, much higher than it should be. So the number that popped into my mind is $900,000,' Yang finally concluded.
Yang had a lengthy answer for the question of Manhattan median rent as well.
'Again, you're looking at, like, you know, different types of apartments and all the rest of it. The number that’s popping into my head — I really should hone in on one-bedrooms because I figure that’s the median. Right. So, like a one-bedroom in Manhattan probably costs you — there’s been something of a decline — but the range in my head is, like, $2,800 to $3,000 a month,' Yang said.
Many of the other candidates gave quick one- or two-word answers to the same questions, leading some people on Twitter to believe Yang was stalling.
'These are great answers that speak to Yang’s greatest strength, and we'll never be able to prove it, but I am convinced he is stalling and Googling on all three,' Nick Rizzo tweeted.
Yang's rivals anonymously suggested to Intelligencer that he may have been looking up the answers.
Shaun Donovan's senior adviser wants tape of the Yang interview to be released following his own candidate's off-the-mark answer to the Brooklyn house price question.
'The Times should release the video of his interview,' Rick Fromberg said to New York Magazine.
He added, 'Andrew’s campaign should immediately release any correspondence he and they had during that time period.'
There is no evidence at this time that Yang cheated on the pop quiz.
Each candidate was asked the same quiz questions and they each needed to be alone in a room with a laptop opened to Google Meet for the Editorial Board interviews.
Yang's interview took place on April 30, but all of the interviews were released at the same time earlier this week.
Members of the Editorial Board did express some surprise that Yang was able to nail the questions.
'Did someone feed you these questions?' Alex Kingbury asked.
Mara Gay chimed in, saying 'You should be on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire.''
The accusations were not addressed during Thursday night's debate, where Yang was a frequent target.
During the debate, Yang veered away from other candidates, saying 'Let me be clear: defund the police is the wrong approach for New York City.'
Meanwhile, Yang's biggest rival, Eric Adams, called Kathryn Garcia's call for an increase in gun buyback program a 'cosmetic' way to approach the rise in shootings.
The cheating accusations come as several candidates were blasted for their answers to the quiz.
Both Wall Street banker Raymond McGuire and former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan own multimillion dollar properties; McGuire an apartment on the Upper East Side's iconic The San Remo building and Donovan a townhouse in Brooklyn.
But neither was able accurately answer The New York Times' Editorial Board's interview question; 'What is the median sales price of a home - house or apartment - in Brooklyn?'
![Yang remains one of the frontrunners in the mayoral race (pictured with wife, right)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/14/42986502-9579057-image-a-22_1620998971382.jpg)
Yang remains one of the frontrunners in the mayoral race (pictured with wife, right)
'It depends on where in Brooklyn,' McGuire, who served as an investment banker as well as an executive with Citigroup, told the Times. 'It's got to be somewhere in the $80,000 to $90,000 range, if not higher.'
Donovan did not get much closer.
'I would guess it is around $100,000,' he ventured.
Both candidates appeared incredulous when learning of the real answer, for which they guessed way too low: $900,000.
After his interview, Donovan went back to the Times via email to say that he was referring to the assessed value of homes, and even tweeted that he had misunderstood the question. He did not respond to how he'd misunderstood the question.
The remark looks particularly unfortunate for Donovan, who was the New York Housing and Urban Development secretary from 2009 to 2014, and director of the US Office of Management and Budget from 2014 to 2017.
Donovan previously made headlines when he and his wife purchased a four-story carriage house in Boerum Hill, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, for $2.3 million, in 2019. The Real Deal reports that Donovan and his wife previously sold a townhouse a block away in 2010 for $2.4 million.
![Both Wall Street banker Raymond McGuire and former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan own multimillion dollar properties; McGuire an apartment on the Upper East Side's iconic The San Remo building and Donovan a townhouse in Brooklyn](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/17/42856722-9566741-image-a-8_1620751619543.jpg)
![Shaun Donovan, a candidate for NYC mayor, was tripped up by a question on real estate](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/17/42850066-9566741-Shaun_Donovan_a_candidate_for_NYC_mayor_was_tripped_up_by_a_ques-m-7_1620751613240.jpg)
Both Wall Street banker Raymond McGuire (left) and former HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan (right) own multimillion-dollar properties; McGuire an apartment on the Upper East Side's iconic The San Remo building and Donovan a townhouse in Brooklyn
![Shaun Donovan's $2.3 million home is a four-story carriage house in Boerum Hill, a neighborhood of Brooklyn](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/17/42856092-9566741-image-a-13_1620749795025.jpg)
Shaun Donovan's $2.3 million home is a four-story carriage house in Boerum Hill, a neighborhood of Brooklyn
![Raymond McGuire's $13.5M home is an apartment on the Upper East Side's iconic The San Remo building](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/18/42855172-9566741-Pictured_The_iconic_San_Remo_building_which_McGuire_and_his_fami-m-9_1620752659088.jpg)
Raymond McGuire's $13.5M home is an apartment on the Upper East Side's iconic The San Remo building
McGuire, meanwhile, lives in a co-op apartment in the iconic The San Remo - a luxury building that is a favorite with celebrities including Steven Spielberg, Tiger Woods and Dustin Hoffman, located just off Central Park.
Homes have sold for more than $45million in the building, although Zillow estimates McGuire's apartment is worth around $13.5million.
Donovan and McGuire were not the only two candidates tripped up by the question from the Times, with Maya Wiley overshooting the median sales price with a guess of approximately $1.8 million.
Douglas Elliman reports that the median sale price for a Brooklyn home soared past that mark for the first time during the first quarter of 2021.
A chart provided by Miller Samuel Inc. shows that the average sale price is even higher, at more than $1.1 million.
The median sales price in Brooklyn actually dropped below $800,000 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic before seeing a drastic uptick in recent months.
The earliest data available shows the median sales price hovering around $300,000 in the first quarter of 2003, still at least triple the amount the two candidates suggested.
![This chart shows the median sales price in Brooklyn (blue) is around $900,000, with the average sales price (red) even higher at over $1.1 million](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/16/42851162-9579057-This_chart_shows_the_median_sales_price_in_Brooklyn_blue_is_arou-a-20_1621006867442.jpg)
This chart shows the median sales price in Brooklyn (blue) is around $900,000, with the average sales price (red) even higher at over $1.1 million
![A search for real estate in Brooklyn for $100,000 or less yielded zero results](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/16/42851168-9566741-image-a-6_1620748400892.jpg)
A search for real estate in Brooklyn for $100,000 or less yielded zero results
![Pictured: The lowest-priced home in Brooklyn, listed for $150,000 in Flatbush](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/16/42851166-9566741-image-a-7_1620748413718.jpg)
Pictured: The lowest-priced home in Brooklyn, listed for $150,000 in Flatbush
![Donovan has already responded to the controversy, saying he 'misinterpreted the question'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/11/17/42856296-9566741-image-a-22_1620750020902.jpg)
Donovan has already responded to the controversy, saying he 'misinterpreted the question'
A search for Brooklyn homes costing $100,000 or less on StreetEasy yielded zero results.
The cheapest home in the borough found on the website was a one-bedroom co-op located in East Flatbush that was 'in need of TLC' for $150,000 - it has been on the market for 223 days.
Donovan defended himself on Twitter, saying he 'totally misinterpreted the question.'
That didn't prevent the two candidates from getting slammed on social media, though.
'Shaun Donovan was freaking HUD for crying out loud,' Jon Munitz tweeted.
'McGuire I think is just an out of touch rich guy,' another user said.
'Ray McGuire and Shaun Donovan should immediately drop out,' another user added.
Both Donovan and McGuire are lagging behind in the polls with the June 22 primary coming around the corner.
In a poll conducted by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Donovan polled at eight percent, while McGuire received six percent of the vote.
The New York Post reports Adams was in the lead of the poll at 21 percent, with Yang checking in second at 18 percent.
Donovan entered the race in February after a few years out of the limelight of national politics.
He served as the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development under Michael Bloomberg from 2004 to 2009.
He was then appointed by Barack Obama to be the US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development after working on Obama's campaign.
After being succeeded in 2014, Donovan was nominated as director of the Office of Management and Budget, a job he held from 2014 to 2017.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/16/42856728-9579057-image-a-21_1621006867458.jpg)
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![Twitter was quick to mock the candidate's 'out of touch' estimates, with some even calling for them to drop out of the race](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/05/14/16/42856730-9579057-Twitter_was_quick_to_mock_the_candidate_s_out_of_touch_estimates-a-22_1621006867459.jpg)
Twitter was quick to mock the candidate's 'out of touch' estimates, with some even calling for them to drop out of the race
Donovan is married with two children. On his campaign website, Donovan says he is 'running for Mayor of New York City to repair the fabric of the city, pull New Yorkers together to rebuild from the damage wrought by COVID, and reimagine an innovative city that truly works for everyone.'
McGuire, meanwhile received his A.B. and M.B.A. from Harvard, as well as a J.D. He started working for Citigroup in 2005.
He was one of the longest-serving African American executives on Wall Street and helped advise the Time Warner Caple split, among other significant business dealings.
By mid-January, McGuire has raised almost $4.9 million from donors, many who come from Wall Street and corporate America.
Two of his biggest priorities are fighting for social justice after the racial unrest of the past year, as well as helping the city recover from COVID-19.
McGuire is also the chairman of the Studio Museum in Harlem. He is married with three step-children, including NBA player Cole Anthony.
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