Lowering the Cost of Living

Rent and taxes are too high. Our neighbors are leaving due to the rising costs of living. Too many are working two jobs and still struggling to get by. I believe Local Law 97 is unsustainable, favors the wealthy, and will raise costs for all stakeholders. I support all bipartisan efforts to implement Intro 913, which would delay the enactment of Local Law 97 for seven years. Unlike Caban, I will always support all measures that reduce the cost of living in a time of rampant housing insecurity.

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Protecting Small Business Owners

As retail thefts and burglaries skyrocket around our city, our businesses continue to suffer the brunt of it. Smashed windows, stolen merchandise, and terrorized workers paint the picture of our local economy. Criminals must be held accountable, and I intend to work day and night to ensure our officers are given the resources they need to safeguard against these threats. I will work with businesses and associations to ensure they are equipped with proper safety measures. Workers deserve the utmost security in their workplace, no matter the zip code.

 

Better Student Outcomes & Aid for Teachers

To combat learning loss, we must work with all stakeholders involved to help students struggling to meet standards. In a time when the City is cutting the education budget, I will be the loudest voice in city hall to demand we not cut, but invest in our children and teachers. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs can also be expanded to help improve student outcomes. Any medium that allows students the opportunity to develop real-world job skills, explore new career paths, learn about workplace demands and responsibilities, and improve social awareness and professionalism must have more funding.

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Additionally, we must introduce financial literacy as a mandated course in high school curricula. To adequately prepare our students for the real world, we must equip them with skills such as budgeting, saving, and the basic concepts of financial literacy.

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By improving working conditions for educators, we will foster a just schooling environment for our students to thrive cooperatively. We must provide teachers with the resources and updated technology they need. In virtually any other industry, it is blasphemous to ask employees to shoulder the cost of basic supplies. Yet, teachers paying for resources out-of-pocket has become commonplace. We must support our teachers with the resources they need to educate our children. My plan provides teachers and classrooms with updated technology, like laptops, smartboards, and Promethean boards, to get them on track for the 21st-century education they deserve.

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I support the expansion of Charter Schools in NYC and reject the State legislature's decision to block Governor Hochul's plan to expand charter schools in New York State. Charter Schools provide parents and students a choice in their education, leaving the student with more options to reach their potential in their educational careers. I will support all measures to provide families with more choices for children, even as waiting lists leave so many without choice.

 

Long-term solutions for the Homeless and/or Emotionally Disturbed Persons (EDPs)

Our city faces a mental health crisis that is continually ignored by city officials. The emotionally disturbed and homeless continue to crowd our streets and hospitals, desperately seeking the proper care they deserve. Yet, Tiffany Caban and City Hall think handouts and empty rhetoric can solve this monumental problem. As your Councilwoman, I promise to tackle this crisis with efficiency and practicality, working with public and private partners to ensure every resident here is able to access medical resources and treatment within affordable means.

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Our city has seen a huge decline in the number of psychiatric beds reserved for the emotionally disturbed and mentally ill. We need at least 30,000 more psychiatric beds in our hospitals across the 5 boroughs to ensure equal access to our medical capabilities. We need to ensure that anyone suffering from mental illnesses is able to safely rehabilitate in specialized environments with the proper medical resources.

 

Disgraced former Governor Cuomo's decision to eliminate the Certificate of Need application led to fewer specialized rehabilitation options for our city's most vulnerable. I will call on City Hall to push NYS to reinstate the requirement for the certificate to ensure all psychiatric facilities, beds, and equipment are set up for those with medical and mental illnesses.

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As the Mental Health epidemic plagues our city, we cannot let those with less access to medical resources be left behind. I will maximize our ability to allocate proper mental health resources to all in need of care. By increasing access to psychiatric resources, I will ensure that no New Yorker is left behind on our road to emotional and physical recovery. I will focus on where no elected official has gone before.

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In addition, the emotional stability of our children will be at the helm of my efforts. Working with community associations and our schools, I will seek to enhance the quality of medical and mental services our children receive. I intend to increase the number of outdoor and vocational programs available to our students, giving them plenty of exposure to the real world and helping them adjust to a new and virtual world.

 

Stopping Animal Abuse & Ending Kill Shelters

No adoptable animals should ever be put to death just because they are not adopted within 72 hours of being taken in. I plan to implement a multi-faceted approach to improve the lives of adoptable animals in our city. 

 

The first approach will be known as "No-Kill New York," where we will learn from other cities such as Los Angeles who have developed no-kill policies of their own to put a plan in place that best fits the needs of our city.

 

Our second plan will be to make a portion of shelter funds available so that all residents of New York can afford to have their pets spayed/neutered, with the intention of reducing the number of animals in shelters.

 

Third, we plan to use shelter funds to spay/neuter community animals with the intent to reduce the number of animals who might be born on the street without adequate care. Fourth, we intend to support the Elevating Crimes Against Animals department in the NYPD. If we hold animal abusers accountable for their crimes, we may be able to reduce other crimes linked to that abuse.