Policy Platform

Affordable Housing

We are at an urgent moment in the city’s growth. More people are leaving the city than moving here, largely due to the cost of housing - and the pandemic certainly has not helped. I have lived here my entire life, and I have never seen the housing crisis as urgent as it is now and the city is significantly hurting its ability to attract and retain people. This impact is felt exponentially more by our seniors and lower income residents. We need action now.

United for Housing, a coalition of more than 80 housing organizations, has put forth a report that I am fully ready to support. Building off of this foundation, we must do the following:

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• Make a $4 billion capital investment each year which includes:​​

  • $200 million in rental assistance​

  • ​​$2.5 billion for HPD for affordable housing and homeownership opportunities

  • $1.5 billion for NYCHA – to be matched by State funding – so we can restore the quality of our public housing

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• Build and commit to a strong racial equity strategy to combat the historical racism in housing policy

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• Build new affordable housing and preserve existing affordable housing – especially through the thousands of HDFC co-ops in our city

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• Promote homeownership

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• Examine upzoning proposals in higher income neighborhoods

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• Support the permitting and building of accessory units

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• Create new rules and regulations around international real estate – this includes:

  • Downzoning “hot spots” that are being overdeveloped

  • Prevent real estate owners from hiding behind LLCs

  • Tax Airbnb properties and pied- à-terres

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• Expand rent-stabilization across the city, in both market-rate units and those that are below market-rate

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• Build up public ownership of land and scale up public land trusts in the city

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• Ensure that all new projects on NYCHA land are 100% affordable

We have to protect existing affordable home-ownership sites such as the thousands of HDFC cooperative properties throughout our city. We must preserve HDFC co-ops by broadening shareholders' and tenants' rights, and continue to enable HDFC co-ops to have self-determination. We will work to extend tax-exemption for this greatly needed resource of long-time affordable homeownership units to remain viable and affordable.

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The next Mayor and members of the City Council should begin with community planning first: get input from communities before drafting a housing plan. Feedback from residents will help us avoid making costly and painful mistakes.

Public Education

Our public schools represent the future of our city, but it is vastly uneven, and unfair. We can fix that.

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When it comes to the needs of schools across District 7, New York must be focused on the varied needs of each community. First and foremost, the quality of education in the richest city in the world should not depend on your neighborhood or income level. Equity in education is paramount to the future of our city and improving income inequality, higher education levels, and local economic success.

Our goal should be to do everything we can to help teachers, students, and parents alike achieve a high quality educational experience. Things like smaller class sizes, better technology, expanded second language instruction, increased teacher pay, and programs that include surrounding neighborhoods are vital to creating a community investment in our schools.

Public Transportation

If we are going to be a 21st century city, we must have a 21st century transportation network built on transportation alternatives, affordability, and sustainability.

We must look to plans like the 2021 Transportation Equity Agenda – put forward by organizations like StreetsPAC, Riders Alliance, and Transportation Alternatives – as a basis for making fundamental change to our city’s transit infrastructure. We must start with the following:

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• Have an equity-centered agenda that expands accessibility and affordability and keeps New Yorkers safe

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• Fund public transit through mechanisms like congestion pricing

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• Invest in the workhorses of our community: local buses - rather than further service cutbacks, we should expand the only public transportation in NYC that is 100% ADA compliant and use technology to improve the flow of service

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• Look into innovative solutions like utilizing the Amtrak lines under Riverside Park to put a station at 125th Street and 12th Avenue to reduce stress on the overcrowded and dangerous 1-line

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• Prioritize the climate by:

  • Investing in electrification projects across the city

  • Expand the NYC pilot made for electric delivery bikes

  • Create a network of micro-mobility through modes such as e-bikes and scooter

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• Continuing and expanding the Fair Fares program, ensuring that public transportation is affordable for all

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• Keep our cyclists safe by creating and maintaining dedicated bike lanes

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We have the opportunity to become a leader among the largest cities in the world for having a socially, economically, and environmentally fair public transportation system. The MTA needs a plan that is both affordable and more broadly available to the neediest New Yorkers.

And we cannot ignore the fact that the pandemic has caused the MTA's revenue to decline drastically in 2020. We need to pressure the federal government to provide funding for NYC's transportation systems to ensure long-term viability.

Environmental Justice

Climate change is the biggest issue that our city – and our planet – is facing. We need strong and comprehensive policies that will combat climate change, while also addressing the systemic inequities in our city.

We can do this by listening to organizations like WEACT for Environmental Justice, Sunrise Movement, and NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, and doing the following:

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• Advocate for a Green New Deal for NYC

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• Pursue the passage of the Renewable Rikers Act, which would provide the opportunity for NYC to build solar at-scale

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• Electrify school buses, which will reduce emissions and protect our children from harmful exhaust and pollution

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• Pass the Energy Efficiency, Equity, and Jobs Act in the NYS Senate, which would explicitly put energy efficiency retrofit money into communities of color and low-income communities

Small Business

The business of New York has always been small businesses who invest in our communities.

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Around 200,000 businesses operate in NYC. 98% have fewer than 100 employees and 89% have fewer than 20. In order to grow our local economies, New York needs to encourage further small business development while assisting and protecting small businesses instead of providing incentives to just big business. Most small businesses are facing similar issues to individual New Yorkers: rising rents, job automation, and the threat of economic recession.

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COVID-19 has only made these issues more prevalent. With so many local businesses at risk due to the pandemic, we can and must do more to ensure that these local engines of our economy remain afloat through direct support and relief programs targeted toward keeping businesses in their spaces and allowing them to continue to pay their workers.

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We must work to disincentivize leaving retail spaces vacant for landlords, provide low interest loans to established retail tenants that are pillars of our communities, and encourage further investment in minority and women-owned businesses. Our economy has the ability to thrive despite outside economic threats if we invest in our communities.

Criminal Justice Reform

New York needs a more restorative criminal justice system, rather than a retributive one that causes undue hardship on everyday New Yorkers and stresses our justice infrastructure.

Under the current District Attorney, opportunities for restorative treatment - alternatives to incarceration, restoration of certain rights, and the clearing of personal records have been poorly conducted. We have made strides in bail reform, we are still far too focused on punitive measures for low-level violations rather than focusing on wealthy lawbreakers and white collar crime which has a far greater impact on all New Yorkers.

There is plenty we can do to change the culture of our criminal justice system including eliminating unnecessary fees, divesting from private, for-profit prisons, ending the lifetime felony ban on jury duty, closing Rikers, and much more. While most of the criminal justice laws are governed by the state, we can all be advocates for the changes we need.

Disability Rights

According to Human Rights Watch, over one billion individuals worldwide have a disability and according to the New York State Department of Health survey, 1 in 5 New Yorkers report having a disability. This is an area where New York can and must improve its policies, programs, and awareness.

We must advocate for equal rights for all our fellow New Yorkers and take concrete actions to create change through:

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• Ensuring our public transportation system, including our subways, are fully accessible

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• Work to ensure that all buildings are accessible at the door, the curb, and for parking purposes

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• Support and expand community programs that that lead to long-term job stability

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• Advocate for caregivers to be covered by health insurance

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• Pass legislation requiring city cultural institutions to allow free entry and to incentivize private businesses to offer discounted services and fees

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• Expand the city's 55a program and increase the number of people with disabilities hired for city positions

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• Increase school funding to ensure that all students with disabilities are able to receive the specialized teaching they need

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• Audit the Access-A-Ride program and reform the way it operates to better suit the needs of the disabled and senior community

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• Expand eviction protections to specifically include disabled New Yorkers