1. What is the most important issue in Council District 2 you would address if elected?

We must ensure that our community provides opportunities for all New Yorkers. This means addressing the growing gap between incomes and the cost of living, housing, and health care. I will focus on what the City can do to narrow that gap. We can relieve the burden of high rents by expanding housing production through zoning reform and more capital subsidies, while protecting rent regulation, NYCHA and Mitchell-Lama tenants, and coop/condo tax abatements. We can increase the income and benefits available to working families by expanding access to earned income tax credits and food stamps, both without cost to the City. And we can halve the number of people who lack health coverage by enrolling everyone eligible for an existing program.

2. What other important issues would you address if elected?

As a former Council Chief of Staff, I know what a great Council office can do to address community needs, like stopping irresponsible development and improving schools. But it’s just as important to respond to each constituent. At Council Member Brewer’s office a senior once called to say she was having trouble crossing the street in front of her home. The light was changing too fast for her. Many might have seen this as just a fact of growing older, but our staff was trained to act. We found that the light could be slowed within the normal range without unduly affecting traffic, and our constituent was able to cross her street. I hope to bring this kind of responsiveness to District 2.

3. What makes you the best candidate for this office?

I believe I have the most experience – in our neighborhoods and in government – to make our community stronger. I’ve learned what it takes to make a difference in our community, one life at a time, having spent 20 years as a youth counselor, volunteer, and board member at the Lower East Side’s Nativity Mission Center, where I’ve helped at-risk kids get on the right track. I also know how to advance a progressive agenda on bigger citywide issues – just as I did coordinating a crackdown on dangerous fire code violators after the Happy Land Social Club fire or, more recently, getting a law enacted protecting domestic workers. I am running to put my breadth of experience to work for the children, working families, and seniors of Council District 2.

(Reprinted as supplied by the candidate.)

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