PRIORITIES
"This district is full of brilliant, resilient, hardworking people who deserve more than politics as usual. They deserve a leader who will listen to them, fight for them, and stay focused on delivering results that matter. I’m not running to talk about problems. I’m running to solve them. I believe in public service that’s rooted in empathy, guided by integrity, and driven by a deep respect for the people it serves."
Affordable Housing
New York’s current approach to affordability is deeply flawed, often tied to metrics like Area Median Income (AMI) that do not reflect the true financial realities of local residents—especially in working-class and historically marginalized communities. In neighborhoods like Greenpoint and Williamsburg, luxury towers have risen while longtime residents struggle to stay. We must reevaluate how affordability is defined, basing it on neighborhood-specific data to ensure new housing is actually accessible to the people who live there.
We will push for stronger, more equitable deals with developers across the board. Building more housing is great but we must also demand higher percentages of deeply affordable units in new projects, not just token amounts. Public subsidies and tax incentives must be tied to genuine affordability, not luxury development dressed up with minimal community benefit.
Additionally, local voices must be central to the development process. Residents deserve a real seat at the table when decisions are made about land use, zoning changes, and public land sales. That means strengthening Community Board input, improving transparency, and investing in community-based planning.
Climate Resilience
District 33 is on the frontline of climate change. With its extensive coastline and aging infrastructure, our communities are already feeling the effects. From regular flooding to extreme heat and air quality concerns in densely built areas like Downtown Brooklyn.
We must make bold investments in green infrastructure including street trees, rain gardens, green roofs, and permeable pavement—to absorb stormwater, reduce urban heat, and relieve pressure on the city’s overwhelmed drainage systems. In Greenpoint, where industrial toxins and environmental injustice still linger, green infrastructure must also serve as a form of healing and renewal.
Flood prevention is especially urgent in coastal neighborhoods which are vulnerable to storm surges and sea level rise. The city must move faster and more transparently on resiliency plans and include the community in decision-making about shoreline protections, sewer upgrades, and emergency preparedness.
We must also fully fund our parks, not just the flagship ones like Brooklyn Bridge Park and McCarren, but also neighborhood green spaces like American Playground and Under the K Bridge Park. Parks are climate infrastructure, public health lifelines, and community hubs. We need more equitable distribution of resources, better maintenance, and expanded green space access for those living in areas with fewer trees and less shade.
Environmental justice is not optional. We must partner with frontline communities, especially in historically neglected areas like North Brooklyn, to ensure climate investments don’t lead to displacement, but instead to stability, safety, and sustainability for all.
Education
Families are struggling to find affordable, accessible childcare, especially for infants and toddlers. Waitlists are long. Costs are high. And many neighborhoods, from Greenpoint to Downtown Brooklyn, are childcare deserts. We need a city government that treats childcare not as a luxury, but as the essential public infrastructure it is.
We need to secure greater public investment in 3-K and Pre-K, while making the enrollment process easier and more transparent for parents. No family should have to navigate a maze of forms and waitlists to get their child into a program that should be a public good.
We will advocate for expanded, fully funded afterschool programs that support both creativity and academics. Kids need a safe space where they can play, explore, and also receive help with homework, reading, and social-emotional learning. Parents should have peace of mind that their children
Our district is home to passionate and dedicated educators—but far too many are priced out of the neighborhoods they teach in. We must bring back and strengthen affordability plans for teachers, including housing incentives, rental assistance, and homeownership programs that allow educators to build lives in our communities, not commute from far away. A stable, supported teaching workforce means better outcomes for our children.
Mental Health
Whether it’s a young person struggling in silence, a senior coping with isolation, or a working parent overwhelmed by stress, every member of our community deserves compassionate, accessible, and culturally respectful mental health care. We must make support services as local and visible as possible. That means increasing funding for mental health clinics and mobile crisis units in underserved parts of District 33 and expanding walk-in services at NYC Health + Hospitals facilities. We will prioritize partnerships with trusted community-based organizations, especially those led by and for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and faith communities—and expand access to bilingual and culturally specific services, particularly for Polish-, Spanish-, Yiddish-, and Chinese-speaking residents. By supporting anti-stigma campaigns and pushing for city contracts with culturally competent providers—not just large institutions—we can help shift how mental health is viewed and supported across our diverse neighborhoods.
Our schools, too, must be equipped to meet the mental health needs of students who are navigating anxiety, trauma, and depression at increasing rates. We will fight for one full-time counselor or social worker in every school and expand restorative justice, peer mediation, and trauma-informed care practices throughout District 33. Mental health support in schools should go beyond crisis response—programs centered on arts, movement, mindfulness, and mentorship can help build long-term resilience and wellness. We also propose training high school peer leaders in mental health first aid so they can recognize signs of distress and connect their classmates to help. Finally, to address the shortage of mental health professionals in schools, we will partner with CUNY and local graduate programs to create paid fellowships and residencies that place counseling students directly in our schools—establishing a sustainable pipeline of future counselors who reflect and serve our communities.
Small Business
Small and locally owned businesses are the heart of District 33’s vibrant neighborhoods—from family-run cafes in Greenpoint to boutique shops and creative studios in Williamsburg. Supporting these businesses means preserving our unique community character, creating good jobs, and keeping our local economy strong and resilient.
To support the vitality of local businesses, we will establish a District 33 Small Business Advisory Council to identify needs, provide direct feedback, and inform city agencies about the challenges faced by entrepreneurs on the ground. We will advocate for streamlined permitting and licensing processes to cut through red tape and make it easier for small businesses to open and operate. Additionally, we’ll push for local hiring initiatives that connect neighborhood residents to jobs within small businesses, ensuring economic growth benefits the entire community. By working with the city and private developers, we will increase access to affordable commercial leases that prioritize independent businesses over chain retailers. We’ll also promote mixed-use developments that include commercial spaces specifically designed for local entrepreneurs and support the creation of shared storefronts and pop-up spaces—giving new and seasonal businesses an affordable way to test and grow their ideas.