District 4 Issues
As your City Council member, I will work to ensure that nobody feels left behind as we all run together toward a brighter future for our city and community. I would love to hear your voice about what issues matter most to you.
Below is a snapshot of the vision I’m running toward. Please join me.
Issues
We are in the midst of an affordability and housing crisis. As a member of Community Board 8, I sat on the Land Use and Zoning Committees. I experienced first hand the important and grueling ULURP process and know what it is like to critically examine housing proposals.
There are five core strategies I will prioritize on the Council.
1. Protect current stock of affordable housing
Reports show that NYC affordable housing saw a net loss of over 150,000 units, over 75% since 2019. In 2023 alone, there was an estimated net loss of over 4,000 rent-stabilized units. Units are being deregulated, often illegally.
We must protect the affordable housing stock we have. We cannot accept a decline in the percentage of affordable units as street homelessness increases. Affordable housing is key to creating a just and safe city.
2. Hold HPD and DOB accountable for enforcing affordable housing requirements.
Agreements to develop new affordable housing units are great, but they’re worthless if they aren’t enforced. We've seen numerous instances where development with permitted FAR increases under Mandatory Inclusionary Housing didn’t follow through and complete the promised affordable housing, especially when affordable housing was permitted to be off-site. Oversight is essential to tackling the housing challenge and the only way we can that ensure that the new Universal Affordability Preference program will succeed.
3. Convert commercial to residential, wherever possible
The current office vacancy rate in Midtown is 20 percent. Many of these empty spaces must be repurposed as residential housing as we seek to optimize our current spaces alongside the creation of new housing. We can build up to 85,000 new mixed-income units in Midtown Manhattan by increasing allowable density on sites where residential towers are already permitted.
4. Prioritize age in place housing for seniors
We need to ensure that seniors have access to rental assistance programs as well as accessibility upgrades and in-home care. We must ensure that they are protected against harassment and know their rights under the right to counsel law. We must build vibrant communities where seniors can age-in-place in the neighborhoods they built and sustained.
5. Build modern middle class housing
City of Yes is a start to the larger project of ensuring the middle-class can thrive in our city. But City of Yes, on its own, is only estimated to result in about 5,000 new units per year across the whole city. That’s not going to be enough, especially in District 4 where we’ve seen plenty of development, but not enough new housing to show for it.
We must be vigilant in ensuring new construction meets affordability targets. For example, what we have seen, including right across the street from my apartment, are tenements with affordable housing being torn down so that towers with a relatively small number of enormous apartments can be built, meaning that even when developers participate in mandatory inclusionary housing and comply with their legal obligations, we end up with fewer affordable units than we had before. This isn’t acceptable, and it isn’t going to help solve the crisis.
As your Council member I will work with all stakeholders to ensure that new projects, especially ones seeking variances or other regulatory exceptions, will meaningfully increase - not decrease - the stock of middle-class and affordable housing.
I am serious about public safety. We deserve to feel safe in our homes, on our streets and sidewalks, and in our subway stations. I will champion proven solutions to reduce crime and to combat antisemitism and other forms of bigotry. Our synagogues shouldn’t need to hire extra security guards to prevent vandalism, and our immigrant neighbors should feel safe going to work without the fear of being deported.
My office will foster ongoing conversations with both local law enforcement and community advocates to ensure we’re doing our part to reduce violent crime, combat business theft and keep our neighborhoods safe.
I’ve heard the concerns of residents about a range of street safety issues from e-bikes and scooters, from individuals riding mopeds on the sidewalks to careless behavior in bike lanes that leaves pedestrians feeling like they could be hit at any moment while trying to cross the street. I’ve spent the last four years pushing my children in strollers, so I know how it feels like you could be hit at any moment while trying to cross the street or even get on or off the bus.
We’ve made progress on pressing street safety issues with help from state-level officials. Mopeds, motorbikes and e-scooters will now be registered at point of sale. This is a huge win against the crisis of unlicensed vehicles endangering pedestrians. That said, we have more work to do.
We need to hold delivery services accountable for unsafe practices they’re forcing on workers, such as time targets that can’t be met when following basic safety and legal rules. These companies are endangering our neighbors and hiding behind workers to avoid taking responsibility for the harm they’re causing.
As a former public school teacher and current public school parent, I have both the context to understand the complex issues facing local schools and the commitment to deliver results for families and the future of our city. I served on Community Board 8, where I chaired the Youth, Education, & Libraries Committee and was a member of the UFT and AFSA.
At a time when our federal government is actively against public education, I commit to supporting stronger local protections for public education and standing up against threats to public school resources.
I will work to ensure that there are truly enough 3-K and pre-K seats for all, which is not the current reality in our district.
My priority is keeping our students safe by ensuring school entrances have well-functioning surveillance cameras, schools are supported by data-driven programs to combat bullying, funding is safeguarded for free school meals, and students are safe from any attempts to pull them out of school by deportation agents
We should be able to take pride in our streets. Clean streets are not only important for the dignity of neighborhoods but a matter of public health. We’ve seen some progress on sanitation, including a reduction in the number of rats on our streets, but we have more work to do.
Funding for sanitation will be a key priority for my office. From increasing the number of public waste bins to reinvigorating environmentally-friendly sanitation services including recycling and composting, the areas for improvement are vast.
We must also hold commercial spaces accountable for adhering to sanitation laws by ensuring proper and equal enforcement. Improperly containerized business waste is not only unpleasant but encourages rodents onto our sidewalks. I will work productively with local businesses to not only ensure compliance but that business owners have the support and information they need to remain in compliance.
I will also work to ensure our tree pits and green spaces are protected, including through the encouragement of proper leashing and dog-walking procedures that prevent animal waste from entering these spaces and degrading our plants.
Vanessa Aronson believes that New York City deserves a government that serves its people, not politicians, lobbyists, or special interests. She is committed to sweeping out corruption, enhancing transparency, and ensuring the city’s operations function in the best interest of its citizens
Vanessa proposes a series of reforms to bolster democracy by improving ethical standards and practices in New York City while strengthening our electoral system.
1. End Pay-to-Play Politics
- Ban Contributions from City Contractors: Vanessa will work to ban campaign contributions, bundling, and Independent Expenditures from individuals or entities doing business with the city. This will prevent contractors from using political donations to buy influence.
- Extend Contribution Restrictions: Vanessa supports extending restrictions on contributions from contractors and lobbyists for at least one year after their city business concludes, to end “thank you” donations.
- Stop Big Donors Buying Elections: Vanessa advocates for lowering contribution limits for non-participants in the NYC Matching Funds Program at parity with current contribution limits for participants. This will give more power and influence to small donors resident in New York.
- Restrict Foreign Influence: Vanessa will advocate that NYC follow the lead of other U.S. cities in preventing corporations with 1% or more foreign ownership from contributing to political spending in city elections.
2. Enhance Transparency in Government Operations
- Open Lobbying Calendars: Vanessa will require all Council Members and city agencies to disclose lobbying meetings twice a year. This will provide a transparent view of how lobbying influences city decisions.
- Stop the “Revolving Door”: Vanessa supports extending the ban on former city employees and public servants lobbying City Council Members.
- Restrict Consultant Lobbying: Vanessa supports restricting consultants from lobbying their former clients for a period of two years after their client has won elected office.
- Prevent Insider Hiring: Vanessa will advocate for restrictions that prohibit city agencies from hiring individuals who have lobbied them within the past year.
- Leverage COIB Expertise: Vanessa advocates for centralizing and strengthening ethics regulation by shifting lobbying oversight and enforcement from the City Clerk’s Office to the Conflicts of Interest Board to create a more effective system.
3. Enhance the City Budget Process
- Establish an Independent Discretionary Funding Oversight Board: Vanessa supports establishing an Independent Discretionary Funding Oversight Board composed of nonpartisan experts, community representatives, and ethics officials. This will reduce political favoritism by ensuring funding is based on merit, not relationships, and increase public trust in the funding process.
- Publish Post-Budget Reports: Vanessa supports mandatory publication of post-budget reports detailing funding allocations and recipient outcomes.
4. Modernize City Elections
- End Patronage at the Board of Elections: Vanessa will support implementing independent screening panels for BOE commissioner nominations to ensure qualified, non-partisan leadership and require commissioners to conduct nationwide searches for top executive staff to enhance the quality of election administration.
- Enhance Poll Worker Recruitment and Compensation: Vanessa proposes increased pay, modern recruitment strategies, and technological tools to improve the voter experience and strengthen election integrity.
- Curb Mayoral Power of Charter Revision: Vanessa supports removing the Mayoral power to block charter revision ballot questions (proposed by the City Council, other charter commissions, and citizen petitions) by establishing their own Charter Revision Commission.
A Commitment to Integrity
Vanessa Aronson's platform is rooted in her dedication to restoring trust and integrity to City Hall. She is committed to ensuring that every policy, every dollar spent, and every decision made is in service of New Yorkers, not political insiders or wealthy interests.
Together, we can build a city government that is transparent, accountable, and truly for the people.
Our seniors deserve the dignity of aging in place with support for all they’ve contributed to the success of our city. We must invest in social programs and technology that allow seniors to remain in the homes that connect them to family, friends, and their communities.
I will fight for job training, technology training, and job placement through age-smart employment practices to value and retain older workers. My office will work to combat age discrimination in hiring while also ensuring retirees are receiving the full benefits earned from their labor.
For seniors who need additional support, I will work to expand the availability of affordable and accessible home care services.
Elected officials are public servants. My top priority will be listening to the needs of constituents and the community and representing those interests on the Council.
I will solicit input from constituents, including key community interest and labor groups like the UFT, listen to the needs of the community and maintain open dialogue about priorities and progress.
Gaining access to critical city services feels increasingly unwieldy. Too often, following up on a city issue feels like shouting into a void, pointless and exhausting. I will fight to make access to services easier and increase government communication to my constituents about the services available to them.
I’m running for City Council because I’ve spent my entire career proving that it doesn’t have to be this way. I know that with the right advocate, our local government can be a mechanism for making people’s lives better.
I am an animal lover and will do everything I can to protect our city’s wildlife, companion animals, and service animals.
Our city has a rich variety of birds, terrestrial and aquatic animals that enhance city living and our ecosystem. We have the technology to treat our wildlife humanely and protect them from injury and death. I will work with City Council to enforce and enact legislation and programs to protect animals in NYC.
Companion and service animals are an invaluable support to people with physical, medical, and emotional issues. I will work to fund more spay/neuter programs and enable acceptance of companion animals in rental apartments.
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