Education
Education is the passport to the future, New Yorkers deserve access to free and quality public education from K to College.
Our students have been shortchanged for far too long. Years of austerity budgets and empty promises have hurt our young people, and it is time for us to get our schools the money that they deserve. We are running to Keep New York true to its promise of ensuring a high-quality public education to all students regardless of race, class, or zip code.
As your Representative I will ensure that our office demands:
- Advocate for the passage of the African African History and Achievement Bill aka Black History Education Bill.
- Fully Funded Foundation Aid Our public school students deserve so much more than the crumbs they are given and as your Assemblymember, I pledge to fight for the full funding of foundation aid money that is owed to our families in the NYS budget.
- The passage of a New Deal For CUNY CUNY used to be a free institution, and we have a chance to make it free once more. City College alone generated $1.8 billion for the NYS economy in 2018, proof that a CUNY education pays for itself.
Race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship status should not determine a person’s eligibility for health care coverage. New Yorkers deserve a state that prioritizes their health and well-being, and we must start with addressing the inequities in our healthcare system.
Health and Childcare
Healthcare is a human right not a privilege, and every New Yorker should have access to universal healthcare and childcare coverage.
Even though the 43rd district has 3 major hospitals, we still have some of the highest rates of black maternal morbidity rates, which show that our hospitals are desperately in need of more resources. Brooklyn has some of the highest rates of Black maternal morbidity rates, and we must make every effort to provide quality treatment to our expecting mothers and members of our community. Our state needs to eliminate the barriers to healthcare by ensuring our working families are covered by a universal healthcare system that is accessible to every New Yorker regardless of age, income, or class status.
As your Assemblymember I will fight for:
- The passage of the New York Health Act As your New York State Assemblymember, I will fight to ensure that our communities have access to universal healthcare by advocating for the passage of the New York Health Act.
- Universal Child Care I fully support the Universal Child Care Act which will invest critical resources in the child care industry, and ensure that child care workers are paid just wages. I also fully support the allocation of $5 billion dollars of state resources to support the implementation of this act, and will fight to ensure there are no barriers to child care in our community.
- More investments in Black Maternal Health Health-care facilities should offer biannual anti-bias training and insurance companies should be covering the costs of midwives and doulas, which are linked to lower maternal mortality rates and reduced postpartum depression.
Race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship status should not determine a person’s eligibility for health care coverage. New Yorkers deserve a state that prioritizes their health and well-being, and we must start with addressing the inequities in our healthcare system.
Housing
Our communities need more access to low-income housing, not kickbacks to developers.
Over 80% of our district are renters, and as your next Assemblymember, I plan to advocate for the working class families of the 43rd to ensure that we bolster our tenant protection laws. We must start by passing legislation to protect our tenants and ensure that people can stay in their homes as there is still an ongoing pandemic. We cannot allow for mass displacements/evictions to occur in our district or anywhere in our state. Although tenant protections are the first step, we must
I will cosponsor:
- Housing our homeless neighbors by funding 30,000 units of supportive housing for those leaving our shelter system and foster care. In addition to ending 421a and 485a tax breaks and advocating for more taxes on the wealthy.
- Investing much needed funding in public housing, by prioritizing NYCHA residents who have lived in buildings with much needed repairs and lack of resources.
- Allowing tenants to collectively purchase and run their buildings by passing Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), that would give tenants of rental buildings facing sale, foreclosure, or demolition the option to purchase the building where their apartments are located, individually or as a group
- Good-Cause Eviction legislation to protect our tenants amid the ongoing pandemic.
Race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship status should not determine a person’s eligibility for health care coverage. New Yorkers deserve a state that prioritizes their health and well-being, and we must start with addressing the inequities in our healthcare system.
Public Safety & Accountability
The safest communities are the ones that have the most resources, not the greatest police presence.
In 2018, Brooklyn had its safest year on record, and much of the credit for that is due to grassroots organizations such as Save our Streets, Man Up, and other community violence interruption programs. Community problems require community solutions, and I look forward to continuing to build with local leaders and organizations to make sure our neighborhoods stay safe. Public safety goes hand in hand with accountability, and any public safety conversation must include investment in our most under-served communities. Mass incarceration is not the solution to solving the issues that we are faced with. Hate has no place in our state, and we will do our due diligence to ensure that our office is meeting the needs of the various stakeholders in our community that we are responsible for serving.
As your Assemblymember, I will be an advocate for:
- Ending Qualified Immunity
- Resources to combat Gun Violence
- Ending forced Labor in Prisons - I oppose the notion that prisons are the answer to rehabilitation. Incarcerated people are being forced to provide labor against their will or under the threat of punishment (A3481/S416), and I support the state constitutional amendment to end forced labor in prisons (A3142/S308)
- The passage of Clean Slate Legislation - I also support “clean slate” legislation to create a process to automatically seal and eventually expunge past convictions, so those who have served time can find work and housing opportunities more easily.
- Much needed Parole Reform - Fair and Timely Parole & Elder Parole
Race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship status should not determine a person’s eligibility for health care coverage. New Yorkers deserve a state that prioritizes their health and well-being, and we must start with addressing the inequities in our healthcare system.