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Our Platform

We must work together to Build a Better Bronx for All of Us.
Problem solving in The Bronx requires a social justice framework. We must dismantle structural racism; uproot bias against all of our neighbors, protect immigrants, and fight to increase wages for workers.

Why I’m Fighting for The Bronx

We Deserve More: Building a Better Bronx
Growing up in The Bronx and living in District 15 has shown me how important it is to have the people most impacted at the center of decision-making. I have witnessed firsthand the divestment from the immediate and long term needs of our communities. In order to collectively problem solve for our neighborhoods, we require relentless activism and community organizing. My platform is a reflection of my community, my personal and professional experiences, and a commitment to co-governance. I welcome your input in developing a shared vision for our future.

We need rapid response and long term investment to face the immediate threats to our community—all of which have only been exacerbated by Covid-19. If elected to City Council, I will work with grassroots groups to build a coalition in The Bronx to advocate for policies informed directly by the community. I will fight for the betterment of those who are too often overlooked, under-resourced, and who despite all the odds still rise!
To that end, I am rejecting contributions from corporate PACs, pharmaceuticals, police unions, lobbyists, predatory real estate developers and will have a fully people-powered and people funded grassroots campaign.

None of this will be possible without the support and involvement of our communities.

Together we can build a better Bronx that works for all of us.

Community Health and Wellness

We Deserve Care We Can Afford
This past year has made it clearer than ever that our healthcare system is broken. No community knows that better than the Bronx. Covid-19 has taken so many lives in our borough, and so many of our neighbors have been the essential workers putting their bodies on the line for months. And yet, even before Covid-19, the Bronx was ranked the unhealthiest county in New York State. Poor air quality, lack of insurance, under-funded public hospitals have led to immense suffering. I worked for Bernie Sanders’ campaign for President, in part because of his unflagging commitment to Medicare for All. No one should go without insurance because of income, zip-code or immigration status. I will work tirelessly to radically rebuild our health system, so that all of us are able to take care of ourselves and those we love, and get the care we need to thrive.
Together with my community, I will fight to:

Implement sustainable healthcare options for every member of the community

  • Support the New York Health Act which aims to provide access to quality healthcare for all residents 
  • I signed onto this plan to address the disparate rates of maternal morbidity and mortality experienced by Black women. Together, with 40 other women running for city council, we promise to change maternal mortality in The Bronx and  New York to prioritize #JusticeinMaternity. 
  • Advocate  for LGBTQ and Undocumented sanctuaries

Invest in fair and equitable economic changes for community healthcare needs 

  • Fight for more funding for public hospitals to better provide comprehensive preventive and short-term responsive care
  • Invest in family, child, long-term, and disability care for all CD-15 residents 
  • Advocate for fair and equitable staffing levels and adequate wages for our healthcare  essential workers 
  • Update websites to have fully translated information in multiple languages and ASL. 
  • Develop a plan to implement health equity assessments for every neighborhood to evaluate community wellness and inform development priorities of CD-15. If elected, I hope to work with other city council members to prioritize this city wide. 
  • Keep law enforcement and ICE officers out of public hospitals and other wellness institutions

Combat Food Insecurity in The Bronx

  • Our communities deserve access to healthy food options so I will fight to expand the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) program for The Bronx 
  • Develop partnerships with local restaurants and supermarkets to support and expand meal home delivery service
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Housing is a 
Human Right

We Deserve A Homes Guarantee and Community Control
Everyone deserves to live in a stable and healthy home. Unfortunately, New York City’s affordability crisis keeps low income New Yorkers at constant risk of displacement. Our lives depend on whether we have a roof over our heads—which is why I am already fighting as a citizen to make sure housing is accessible, serving on the Associate Board of WHEDco. If elected, I’ll continue to fight for truly affordable housing by shifting the balance toward more ownership, empowering tenants and saving NYCHA.
Together with my community, I will fight to:
  • Ensure housing affordability and security for all, including investing resources to provide permanent housing for homeless New Yorkers
  • Strengthen landlord accountability and enforcement mechanisms
  • Protect homeownership by investing in small owner-occupied buildings, HDFCs, and cooperatives to be financially and physically sustainable for low-income residents
  • Invest in Community Land Trusts that guarantee residents' control and support collective tenant ownership through the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA)

Equitable Economic Development

We Deserve Access to Economic Opportunity
I started my career working at DEMOS, a national public policy think tank that focuses on issues such as raising the minimum wage and reducing student debt. Since then, I have made sure every campaign I work on centers economic liberation, from my work with WHEDco advocating for affordable housing to my work with Riders Alliance fighting for transit justice. The Bronx is made up of resilient communities that deserve intentional and collective economic investment. We deserve a fighting chance for upward mobility and to build wealth within and for our communities. That means fighting for our workers, supporting small businesses, creating new jobs and standing up to big business and the wealthy 1%.
Together with my community, I will fight to:

Prioritize workers rights 

  • Fighting for living wages and benefits for all workers 
  • Expand union jobs to provide sustainable employment for our communities
  • Set economic policy agendas for our economic future with Bronxites directly 
  • Increase funding for Workforce 1 Centers in The Bronx (NYS service that prepares and connects qualified candidates to job opportunities)

Invest in small businesses 

  • Support small businesses and vendors by fighting for fair commercial rent control 
  • Establish formal Merchant Associations and/or Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to strengthen CD-15 small businesses and increase community visibility
  • Allowing for more street vendor permits and advocate for legal protection for open street and lot business use
  • Expand access to high-speed broadband internet which will immensely help businesses during Covid-19 but also long term 
  • Help entrepreneurs and small business owners access credit
  • Expand resources available to Women and Minority-Owned businesses

Create pathways for youth development and economic upward mobility 

  • Invest in green and knowledge-based economy programs 
  • Expand the NYC Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and increase year-round youth-oriented economic opportunities
  • Connect and leverage the resources of our Bronx anchor and civic institutions: 
  • Fordham University, New York Botanical Garden, The Bronx Zoo, and St. Barnabas Hospital
  • Host free monthly financial literacy workshops to help arm our youth with the knowledge needed for economic security for themselves and their families

Bronx Educated and Proud!

We Deserve a Just and Quality Education
I attended public school my entire childhood, attending elementary and middle school in the Bronx and a specialized public highschool. I’m also the first person in my family to have graduated college. My teachers in elementary and middle school, mostly Black and brown women, helped me navigate our education system so I could succeed and thrive. They supported me in attending a specialized highschool, they did the work of translating information to my mom. I was tremendously lucky to meet such dedicated educators. But students should not need good luck to do well in our education system. We need better funding in the classroom, engagement with parents, high speed internet connection in every home. And we need to prioritize the health and well being of our students, remove police from school grounds, and make sure that every young person has access to world-class education in the Bronx.

Build Equitable Schools:

  • Get city and state investment in our public schools in each and every budget cycle
  • Institute internet access and tech education for all students, including those in shelters or homes, especially as NYC moves to the hybrid system of remote and in person schooling
  • Fully fund Pre-K to college career programs and pathways 
  • Provide free childcare and after school/Saturday programs for Pre-K to 12th grade students

Let Community Take the Lead: 

  • Dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and remove police from schools 
  • Hire and recruit culturally aware teachers, social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals in all NY public schools
  • Develop a plan with community members for a culturally responsive education. This curriculum and practice must centers the contributions of Black and brown communities in the history we teach our children 
  • Implement participatory budgeting process for students and parents so the decision-making within our school systems is a democratic process 
  • Invest in public libraries as a community resource hub

New Deal for CUNY

The Future We Deserve: Free & Fully Funded Higher Education
Since 1847, The CUNY system has been a role model for public universities all across the country. For generations, New Yorkers were able to take advantage of world-class education, free of charge. That all changed in 1976, when the city started charging tuition. Our communities have paid the price for this decision, and now forty years later, our CUNY system is in trouble.
Tuition has risen, adjunct professors are paid below the poverty line, facilities are in dire need of repairs, and the dropout rate is at nearly 50%. According to the CUNY website, 82% of CUNY freshmen are NYC public high school graduates and almost 75% of our CUNY students are students of color. This is a policy that is directly contributing to inequality and is keeping Black and Brown New Yorkers and residents in The Bronx from opportunities that were available to previous generations. I am dedicated to restoring a free and fully funded CUNY system so that every student in New York has the chance to attend college, free from debt, and with the support, they need to thrive.
Together with my community, I will fight to:

Fully Fund CUNYs  

  • Support the the full elimination of CUNY tuition 
  • Stand with faculty: fight for Part-time and adjunct faculty for higher pay per course
  • Join legislators and union leaders in calling for a tax increase on the richest 1% of New Yorkers, raising 7-9 Billion dollars (Funding the CUNY system will cost a fraction of that, 821 Million) 
  • Commit to fully funding CUNY ASAP, a nationally renowned program supporting students pursuing Associate’s degrees. 
  • Join the CUNY University Student Senate, CUNY for Abolition and Safety, and countless community leaders in calling on CUNY to cut all purchasing contracts with Corocraft and divest from prisons.  
  • Fund and advocate for a Community College Prison re-entry program. Education should be part of our services offered to returning members of our community.

Support CUNY Students

  • Advocate for a more culturally competent and directly representative learning environment by increasing the percentage of CUNY faculty who are people of color 
  • Fund mental health services so the ratio of students to counselors is at the recommended levels (1:1,000 versus the current ratio of 1: 2,700) 
  • Provide students with free metro-passes and stipends for books and living expenses, so students are able to thrive despite New York’s high cost of living.

Reimagining Safety for our Communities

We Deserve Safety and Dignity in Our Communities
My parents moved to the Bronx in their twenties, and it was through the support of this community that they were able to build a life. I am running for City Council because this borough raised my family, and made us who we are today. I want our city government to look out for the Bronx, the way we look out for each other. Right now, our criminal legal system is not looking out for us, and in fact it’s causing irreparable harm. Year after year speeches are given, statements are made, and nothing changes. That is no longer acceptable, and in fact it never was.

We need a complete transformation of our criminal legal system. We need to divest from law enforcement and end mass incarceration. We need to end racist policing and the school to prison pipeline. And we must invest in community-lead solutions that actually protect us. Because we know how to take care of each other in the Bronx, despite leaders who have left us behind.
Together with my community, I will fight to:

Defund The Police

  • Defund the NYPD to develop community-led public safety infrastructure
  • End profiling, stop and frisk and “broken window” policing 
  • Remove ICE and the NYPD from social services, homeless shelters, outreach programs, public hospital, wellness centers and New York City public schools

End Mass-Incarceration

  • Fight for the closure of Rikers before 2026 
  • No New Jails: Oppose the construction of new jails 
  • Fight against New York State’s “Blind Fold Law” which allows prosecutors in criminal cases to withhold police reports and witness statements from the defense until the day of trial. 
  • Decriminalize marijuana and expunge all marijuana-related records 
  • Decriminalize sex work and advocate for the same protections that other worker’s receive 
  • Abolish solitary confinement in New York City

Invest in our Communities

  • Prioritizing mental health by investing in community lead programs (such as the Kalief Browder Foundation’s work to end the school to prison pipeline) 
  • Pass the Renewable Rikers Act to transform this institution to a green, sustainable infrastructure. Goals include creating a solar farm and providing  jobs and training opportunities for  the formerly incarcerated 
  • Hold community workshops to develop strategies and preferred practices to generate safety and healing for all residents.

Serving Our Immigrant Communities

Every Bronxite Deserves to Thrive
I am a first generation Guyanese-American, born and raised in The Bronx. My parents, and our extended family, taught me the value of investing in community and fighting for a more just world. My campaign is deeply influenced by my immigrant upbringing and the culture of showing up for each other no matter what. When I am in City Council, I will gladly bring this level of love for the community to our budget fights and promise to prioritize all of our neighbors.

1 in 4 New Yorkers migrated here from other countries, and over 35% of Bronx Residents have this experience. Almost every New Yorker has a story of coming from somewhere else, whether recently or generations ago. And yet, our immigrant communities are consistently abused and left behind. The Federal Government has caused tremendous harm the past four years, but we need to not only reverse those policies, but build something better. I am eager to bring the same spirit of warmth, dedication and collaboration that I learned growing up, to work with our community to create a safe and fair Bronx for us all.
Together with my community, I will fight to:

Use Every Lever of Power I have to Abolish ICE 

  • Remove ICE and the NYPD from social services, homeless shelters and outreach programs, public hospitals, wellness centers and New York City public schools
  • Join calls for Hudson County Freeholders to end contract with ICE  
  • Support any and all efforts to limit ICE’s power in New York City and the Bronx 

Ensuring Immigrant Communities Thrive

  • Fight for the New York Health Act, which covers all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status 
  • Support efforts to pressure the state Assembly and Senate to expand public benefits regardless of immigration status. 
  • 200+ languages are spoken in New York, and all Government resources should be translated so that everyone in the community can access information and services. 
  • Adopt non-citizen municipal voting for local issues 
  • Make sure that the Covid-19 vaccine is accessible to everyone regardless of immigration status

Environmental Justice

We Deserve a Sustainable Future: Environmental Justice, Transportation, & Infrastructure
Climate change has brought our society to an urgent crossroads. We can either take care of our communities now, and invest in a sustainable future, or we can watch as neighborhood after neighborhood is devastated. I have family members in Far Rockaway who are just NOW rebuilding their homes after Hurricane Sandy. No New Yorker should wait eight years to restore their homes after severe weather. And no New Yorker should suffer poor air quality, or live in communities that are polluted with waste. And yet Bronx residents suffer the worst air quality in New York, and are disproportionately burdened by waste-handling. We need a Green New Deal for New York, and that means reimagining and rebuilding our infrastructure, our public spaces, our sanitation practices. Together we can fight climate change, and make our communities more affordable, more accessible, and more beautiful for all of our residents.
Together with my community, I will fight to:
  • Fight for a Green New Deal for New York 
  • Oppose any projects that support the city’s fossil fuel industry
  • Develop true public power like publicly-owned and democratically controlled utilities
  • Advocate for the use of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, to achieve a carbon-neutral New York City by 2030
  • Advocate for the decarbonization of NYCHA
  • Prioritize  low-wage workers and communities of color for new and high-paying clean energy jobs
  • Fight for publicly-owned power sources, prioritize waste equity, and invest in urban farming

Invest in Transit Justice

  • Fight for increased adequate funding for the MTA
  • Return streets to pedestrians, cyclists, and communities by creating permanent superblocks, investing in public plazas and greenspaces, and building more protected bike lanes and bus lanes
  • Transition control over the subways to the city so that capital improvements are made to improve signals, expand service, and guarantee accessibility

Sanitation

  • Reverse environmental racism surrounding interstate highways.
  • Enact high-road labor and environmental and establish accountability mechanisms in the commercial waste industry 
  • Expand the Department of Sanitation’s Clean Curbs Pilot  and the use of curbside bins for trash bags
  • Develop a Clean Trucks program with vehicle emissions standards for commercial waste trucks which will reduce harm to community health 
  • Cut our commercial garbage truck traffic in the city by at least 60% and create safer and smarter routes
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Access For All

We all Deserve Access
Every Bronxite deserves access to healthcare, housing, income and transportation. And yet in the Bronx there are over 35,000 people with disabilities who are uninsured, only 17% of our subways are wheelchair accessible, and employers are able to pay people with disabilities far below the minimum wage (sometimes as low as $3.34 an hour). I worked tirelessly with Riders Alliance fighting for more accessible and affordable transit, because I believe our city should be built for every New Yorker. Furthermore, Black and Brown people are already most likely to be targeted by law enforcement, but Black and Brown people with disabilities are even more at risk. 33-50 percent of use of force incidents involve a person with disabilities. Racial justice, economic justice, transit justice-- are all deeply entwined with disability justice-- and it’s time our leaders make it a priority.
Together with my community, I will fight to:
  • Pass the NY Health Act, which would insure every New Yorker. 
  • Expand affordable wheelchair-accessible transportation, investing in express busses, shuttles and more accessible subway stations. 
  • Increase funding for access-a-ride to improve service and hold drivers to higher performance standards. 
  • Amend Local-Law 28 to require all events hosted by elected officials and community boards be accessible to people with disabilities. 
  • Institute city-level regulations to outlaw people with disabilities receiving a sub-minimum wage.
  • Sponsor legislation to codify Obama’s executive order requiring at least 7% of federal employees be people with disabilities.

Governing Together

You Deserve a Say! Participatory Democracy and Co-Governance
Our democracy is strongest when all community members have a voice in government. I feel so grateful I got involved in organizing and movement building as a young person, and I want every young person to feel excited about engaging with their leaders. I also want every community member to have real influence in government decision making. Elected officials are public servants who should take every opportunity to share their governing power with those they represent. It's essential to have direct relationships with grassroots movements and community residents, so that we are able to build towards our future together.

An Open Door Policy

As both a candidate and an elected official, I will have an explicit open door policy with my constituents and ensure that they are a part of any decision making process. This is what The Bronx deserves.
Together with my community, I will fight to:
  • Institute local legislative assemblies that bring residents into a process of co-creating public policy and its implementation
  • Develop a comprehensive participatory budgeting process that engages residents of all ages 
  • Adopt non-citizen municipal voting for local issues
  • Increase civic engagement by supporting municipal voting for residents age 16 and older 
  • Invest and expand the Generation Citizen curriculum to provide civic education to all middle and high school students 
  • Support pre-voter registration for 16 and 17 year olds

Fighting for Bedford Park • Fordham • Mount Hope • Bathgate • Belmont • East Tremont • West Farms • Van Nest • Allerton • Olinville

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