An Equity & Empowerment Agenda
As a Member of the New York City Council – representing my home, my heart, my Harlem – I pledge to fight to move our community forward through an Equity & Empowerment Agenda: a set of policies and values grounded in the faith of fellow Harlemites to determine a future for ourselves and our families that reflects the history, the culture, and the promise of our world-famous village.
Our Equity & Empowerment Agenda is community-centered, and will grow and develop with thoughtful input from all of Harlem, particularly those who have been the most marginalized – Black and brown communities, women, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities — because we know that those closest to the pain are often closest to the solution.
Housing Justice
📢 Housing is a human right!
Harlem residents deserve stable, truly-affordable housing so we can plan for the future, boldly commit to ending homelessness, and support pathways to homeownership so we can have certainty about our cost-of-living and not be at the mercy of landlords looking to squeeze profits. I pledge to work together with the residents of District 9 to:
Prioritize the approval of developments that include the creation of units that are affordable to current residents and increase the availability of community-centered social services.
Ensure sufficient funding for eviction prevention services, to help keep Harlem residents in their homes
Support individuals and organizations who provide housing justice services to ensure tenant protections are being enforced.
Host multidisciplinary roundtables and working groups that include subject matter experts from relevant City agencies to create a comprehensive housing plan for Harlem that addresses the challenges of gentrification, displacement, development, and homelessness.
Economic Justice
📢 Harlem has value!
We will invest in workforce & economic development opportunities that provide opportunities for career advancement, as well as investments in our local entrepreneurs who have created and continue to maintain the culture of Harlem. I pledge to work together with the residents of District 9 to:
Ensure Harlem is a model of collaboration with the public and private sector entities providing high paying jobs.
Support direct payments to our low-income neighbors in the form of baby bonds.
Support legislation that protects and incentivizes small businesses that hire locally.
Justice + Safety
📢 We Keep Us Safe!
Across the world, the safest communities are not those that are the most policed, but rather are those with the best resources – those that meet their residents where they are, and strengthen trust between community and government. We cannot chase quick fixes to feel safe at the expense of justice, rather we must invest in resources Harlem needs to truly be safe. We must fight to implement equitable public safety measures that keep Harlem secure while ensuring the human rights of our community are respected. I pledge to work together with the residents of District 9 to:
Invest in jobs & training, health & mental wellness, after-school programs, wrap-around services, programs for the aging, alternatives to incarceration and other vital programs – for Harlem, by Harlem.
Right-size the scope of the NYPD to meet our communities’ true safety needs.
Fight to protect the monumental criminal justice reforms passed in recent years that have attempted to address the systemic failures of over-policing and mass incarceration.
Provide more funding for public defenders to ensure that all defendants have competent and adequate counsel.
Fight to end qualified immunity for police officers to ensure the public is no longer financially responsible for the misconduct of law enforcement.
Human Infrastructure
📢 Bet on Harlem!
A city’s budget is a moral document, but it’s also an IQ test. The lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic require that we be smart about how and where to invest – prioritizing what works, not what’s-been-done. That’s why we will increase investments in our human infrastructure like schools that enrich, mental health programs that uplift, and culturally competent hospitals and community centers that address our neighbors’ holistic needs – because we know that the most vibrant neighborhoods are not the ones that are most policed, but the ones that are the most invested in. I pledge to work together with the residents of District 9 to:
Ensure parents have various, high-performing education options that are suitable to their students’ unique needs.
Work with all levels of government to expand the capacity of service providers to address the short-term and long-term needs of Harlem residents.
Partner with local organizations to address food deserts and ensure food pantries continue to serve Harlemites.
Fight to reverse the past history of government locating a disproportionate number of substance abuse treatment centers, homeless shelters and other similar programs in our district, which has had an adverse impact on Harlem residents, by ensuring that other neighborhoods accept their fair share of such facilities.
Environmental Justice
📢 Our Streets!
With recent Federal and State investments in fighting climate change – which disproportionately impacts Black & Brown communities like Harlem – and preparing for a cleaner, greener future, Harlem has the opportunity to be a shining beacon to the world, showing what a modern city can be when it commits to the full health of its community. Systemic racism and intentional disinvestment in our community has left us open to the worst impacts of climate change. And we demand environmental justice! I pledge to work together with the residents of District 9 to:
Hold industries accountable for polluting our beloved community & incentivize cleaner, greener streets.
Protect our community from the ravages of climate change through smart infrastructure development, desperately needed in places like Esplanade Gardens.
Work with all levels of government to ensure Harlemites are offered subsidies to offset the upfront costs correlated with the clean energy transition.
Improve the cleanliness of our community by supporting the Zero Waste Bill Package, and increasing street safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and those on public transportation.
Ensure that major infrastructure projects include Project Labor Agreements that provide worker protections and livable wages to workers.
