Who's running for City Council in Brooklyn: District 33
2021-04-29
By Curtis Brodner
(NEW YORK) Primary elections for the New York City Council will be held June 22.
The New York City Council is responsible for proposing and voting on legislation for the city, which is then approved or vetoed by the mayor. The Council can override a veto with a two-thirds majority vote.
The 51 councilmembers wield an immense amount of power in deciding how the city manages housing, development, policing, education and other elements of city life.
The Council negotiates a budget with the mayor every year. Councilmembers control a discretionary budget for their own district, which means your representative decides which projects will be funded in your neighborhood.
District 33 covers Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Fulton Ferry, Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill and Williamsburg.
Incumbent Stephen Levin is not running again due to term limits that prohibit holding office for more than two consecutive four-year terms.
Below is a list of candidates and the policies they are prioritizing in their campaigns.
April Somboun: Member of North Heights Community Group, Brooklyn Bridge Park Community Advisory Council, leads the BQE initiative for the Bridge Harbor Heights Condominiums, Brooklyn Book Bodega board member
Community: Continue Levin’s participatory budget in which community members vote for how district funds are distributed
Schools: Increase funding for schools
Childcare: Expand subsidized and free daycare, distribute free child care necessities
Business: Rent relief for businesses, eliminate fees for starting a business
Ben Solotaire: Community Liaison and Director of Participatory Budgeting for City Councilmember Stephen Levin, worked with re-entry program for formerly incarcerated people, Policy Chair of the Brooklyn Food Coalition and Leadership Committee Member of the Food Systems Network of New York City
Housing: Build more affordable housing, increase value of rent assistance waivers
Community: Expand Levin’s participatory budget in which community members vote for how district funds are distributed
Schools: Equitable funding for schools, reform classrooms to create equitable learning
Police: More training for police, empower Civilian Complaint Review Board, require police to live where they work
Elizabeth Adams: Legislative Director in the City Council, Planned Parenthood advocate
Housing: Empower communities to have larger role in city planning and zoning, increase funding for NYCHA, rent stabilization
Transit: Make open streets permanent, renovate Brooklyn Queens Expressway, expand bike and bus lanes
Police: Defund NYPD by at least $1 billion, decouple policing from mental health and child welfare response
Justice: Decriminalize sex work, expand SNAP/EBT
Lincoln Restler: Founding member of New King Democrats, housing activist, Community Board 2 member, Brooklyn Public Library Board
Environment: Switch from gas to electric power, tax incentives for solar, wind farm at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Housing: Lower rent by forcing landlords to list vacant buildings, mandate rent decrease for vacant buildings not sold over extended periods of time
Business: Streamline application, approval and permitting for businesses, tax penalties for landlords who keep storefronts vacant
Workers: Guaranteed paid time off, increase minimum wage
Sabrina Gates: Volunteer work and non-profit leadership, business owner
Housing: Says lack of affordable housing is a problem
Business: Encourage small businesses
Education: Fund schools, expand after school programs, encourage use of pre-k for all program
Healthcare: Says hospital closures and overworked hospital staff are problems, increase focus on mental health and wellness
Stu Sherman: Started the first free legal program in New York City for the families of people with dementia and Alzheimer’s
Healthcare: Provide homecare for seniors, open city-run pharmacies with price controls, separate mental health treatment from incarceration, stop hospital closures
Housing: Reform rezoning law so that all land rezoned for housing for residential use is 100% affordable housing, prioritize long-term housing for homeless people over temporary shelters, fund NYCHA
Business: Debt relief for small businesses, legal aid for small businesses, forgive lease payments during emergencies like extreme weather or terrorist attacks, create NYC public bank to provide loans
Police: Cut funding to NYPD, remove police from traffic enforcement, mental health response, homeless outreach, school safety and public hospital security
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