Some of New York City's most recognizable faces have teamed up for a new ad supporting Bill de Blasio's campaign to become mayor.
The black-and-white online video --- seen here first on The Huffington Post -- features music mogul Russell Simmons and actresses Susan Sarandon and Cynthia Nixon, among others. The famous faces urge New Yorkers to cast their ballot in the Democratic primary for de Blasio, currently the city's public advocate.
The commercial, which will be online-only, opens with entertainer Harry Belafonte saying, "What kind of New York do you want? Well let me tell you about it."
In quick succession, various celebrities rattle off policies in tune with de Blasio's platform. Sarandon calls to save struggling hospitals, and Simmons plugs reforms to the police department's use of stop-and-frisk. De Blasio's daughter, Chiara, adds that she wants a New York where "renters are protected."
"I want a New York where every kid can go to pre-k," Nixon, the former "Sex and the City" star, says in the ad, alluding to de Blasio's goal of raising taxes on New Yorkers making more than $500,000 to create thousands of new seats in pre-kindergarten classes.
Actress Martha Plimpton takes a crack at New Jersey, saying she hopes that under the next mayor, New Yorkers won't "have to move to New Jersey because they're not millionaires. No offense New Jersey."
After Nixon co-hosted a May LGBT fundraiser for de Blasio, described as "risque" by The New York Times, show business friends offered to appear in the ad, Nixon told HuffPost.
"He's everywhere you want him to be on every issue," Nixon said of her support for de Blasio.
One of de Blasio's chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, recently racked up a trifecta of endorsements from the city's leading daily newspapers -- The Times, the New York Post and the Daily News.
Nixon said there's good reason for voters to listen to the opinions of the A-listers in the ad. Many of them are politically active when it comes to local issues, she said -- like Steve Buscemi, who protested the closure of a Brooklyn firehouse with de Blasio in 2003.
"They should listen to people they know and like," Nixon told HuffPost. "They're also people who've stepped out on a lot of progressive issues."
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