Education
As a proud alumni of the public school system, I can confidently say that New York schools are among the best in the country. Giving children access to quality education is one of the most important investments a society can make in its future. We should continue building on the current fully-funded education system by: 1) Expanding education to include child care – As examined in depth by NY Senator Brisport in his 2021 Report “THE CHILD CARE CRISIS IN NEW YORK STATE”, most New Yorkers live in child care deserts. Child care facilities have neither the space nor ability to pay adequate staff salaries. This inherently promotes inequality and discourages new families if financial future is uncertain. I want to make sure New Yorkers can rely on a robust, well-funded child care system when it comes time to have a family. For me personally, guaranteed child care would make me want to start my family in New York. 2) Creating additional afterschool programs - After-school programs give students opportunities to learn skills, explore their interests, and discover new things. In addition, research shows that availability of after school activities drastically reduces juvenile crime. 3) Make CUNY & SUNY free for in-state students – Pass a New Deal for CUNY. Similar to how child care would expand education to an earlier age group, free and guaranteed college will allow for more education at the other end one’s education career. Removing the variable of affordability will allow more New Yorkers to receive a quality college education.
Transportation
New York would be nothing without an efficient transportation network that can serve everyone. We use this transportation network for everything! (commuting to work, trucks delivering groceries to the local supermarket, seeing friends and family at a local park) For the system to function efficiently and serve the public well, all the movements within the network need to be seamless. To achieve a seamless transportation network in our city I would push to: 1) Redistribute existing road space to accommodate those that use it most and have the most to benefit – For example, we can reduce availability of street parking during rush hours on commercial streets so that trucks don’t need to constantly double park when unloading deliveries. With tailored street re-design we can achieve higher driver and pedestrian safety. Efficient use of curbside access will reduce congestion and allow more people access to these busy areas. 2) Expand creation and automated enforcement of bus lanes to increase the average bus speed from the current 8.8mph to a more New York pace.– In this chicken and egg problem, we can’t expect public transit ridership to increase if it is not an efficient means of transportation. We need to focus on making our buses reliable, fast, and safe. 3) The public transit system needs to be updated for the 21st century commuter. All we ask for is a clean , on schedule, free of loitering, safe, and 24/7 system. It may seem like a lot, but in order for the system to continue being a success story of New York we must insist on these basics.
Public Health & Safety
Do we mail a bill to those that call the police for help? The way we interact with health care urgently needs change. Health care is a right and not a privilege. I am a strong supporter of a single-payer healthcare system on a State level. According to research, a single-payer healthcare system would lead to substantial savings already within the first year of implementation. In addition, we need to focus on addressing the rising crime rate in our city. I advocate for the use of a data driven approach to tackle the bigger causes of crime such as: mental health issues and housing/food poverty. In addition to fixing the root cause, the reality is that not all crime can be prevented in a single approach. I believe we need stronger gun-safety legislation to curb the gun violence that is plaguing our city. Possession of a loaded firearm should carry a heavier punishment than the current Class E Felony designation, and we should give our police the tools necessary to remove any illegal firearms from our community.
Public Space
Highlighted by the pandemic, everyone’s view of public spaces, such as sidewalks and parks, evolved in the last two years. Programs like NYC’s Open Restaurants re-imagined the normal dining experience, all while saving thousands of restaurant jobs. Meanwhile, the DOT expanded the use of safer intersection design and constructed nearly 30 miles of bike lanes in 2020 alone. To me, this is only the beginning. I will advocate for DOT to action critical pedestrian projects such as the Vernon Boulevard Mall re-design and for use of the protected bike lane design in any new bike lane projects while working to upgrade the existing network to this safer design. We also need to consider how we interact with nature in a city filled with steel and concrete. According to the Conservancy Report, “Trees are one of the simplest, cheapest, most effective ways to effect climate change of any you can imagine.” I stand together with NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ “Percent for Parks” plan that would commit 1% of the budget to the Parks department as well as the city’s first million trees initiative.