Democratic Primary: June 27, 2023
The only choice for our community is ALLIE RYAN!
the ISSUES
My Top 3 Priorities
Small Businesses & Jobs
If elected to City Council to serve District 2, I will reintroduce the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. A bill that gives small business owners rights in the commercial lease renewal process. Rights such as getting the right to long-term 10 year leases and the right to negotiate fair rents and to not have to pay their landlord’s growing property tax. This bill will level the playing field for our small business owners to earn a profit and stay in our neighborhoods. The empty storefront crisis that has lasted for decades must stop; small businesses supply the most jobs in New York City and generational wealth through entrepreneurship offers a path to a more equitable future.
Listen and Serve the Community
We need a city councilmember who will stand up for our neighborhoods. Lower East Side, East Village, NoHo, and Greenwich Village Residents have been expressing their vocal dissent of the deBlasio administration’s land use / rezoning plans and other policies offered thoughtful practical community-led alternative plans during the governmental public hearings. City Council members, including my opponent, chose to disregard the residents who would be directly impacted, and approved the Union Square Tech Hub, East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), SoHo / NoHo Rezoning, the roadway restaurant shacks, Open Streets, electric individual modes of transportation without regulations and for the Elizabeth Street Garden to be replaced with housing. As a result many NYC residents, including many living in Council District 2, filed lawsuits to repeal these City Council approved plans. If elected, I will prioritize the concerns of all constituents. It does not matter when we got here, it matters that we are here today.
Preserve Affordable Housing and NYCHA
I opposed the SOHO/NOHO rezoning plan, which my opponent negotiated and approved. As elected officials call for more affordable housing, I advocate for 100% affordable housing projects (no more market rate apartments) and to preserve NYCHA housing.
"8 issues that public polling shows New York voters care about most"
CRIME: Many residents of the Lower East Side still remember the past corruption of the 9th Precinct, the Tompkins Square Park Riots and the crackdowns on free assembly. Yet, many residents tell me that they feel unsafe and want to move forward and improve relations with the NYPD. I support Gun Control.
INFLATION: City Hall holds a big responsibility for the high cost of living by supporting a pro-wealthy economic policy that has made a few wealthy. The result is sky high rents, the cost of everything going up. A trickle down economy must be replaced by a small business economy.
PROTECTING DEMOCRACY: Endorsements reveal lobbyists’ access to City Councilmembers who approve lobbyists-created rezonings and legislation despite residents who voice their dissent and offer alternative plans in public hearings. Public servants must be held accountable & serve residents not lobbyists.
ABORTION: I support the right to have an abortion. I support Planned Parenthood of Greater New York's mission to provide free or low cost abortions, gynecological and obstetrics services.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Developers are abusing "affordable housing" to get rich. I support to create as well as preserve 100% affordable housing based on the income of the neighborhood. The City needs to create affordable home ownership opportunities to encourage residents to stay as long-term residents.
HOMELESSNESS: The City needs to prioritize couples and families, especially children, as well as with pets or service animals. Homelessness caused by mental health and addiction need supportive and transitional housing.
RACIAL INEQUALITY: Racial inequality affects us to this day. A horrible reminder of an unjust past and a battle that must continue as long as systemic and individual prejudices can negatively affect one another’s lives. I stand firmly against any injustice and obstacle to true equality.
CLIMATE CHANGE: The City must stop treating trees like disposable decorations and need to stop chopping down mature trees. The Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardeners (LUNGS) program's Gardens Rising, a community-led program to reduce stormwater flooding on by building green infrastructure in community gardens, funding needs to be restored. City Council needs to host an oversight hearing to investigate the tree work permit process, which authorized 1000 mature trees in East River Park to be chopped down.