NYC Council District 7 Election: Shaun Abreu Seeks Uptown Seat

Harlem NY

15 June, 2021

4:21 PM

Description

NEW YORK, NY — Voters in New York City's 7th Council district, which includes West Harlem, Morningside Heights and parts of Washington Heights and the Upper West Side, will see 12 names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election. One of those names will be Shaun Abreu, a tenants' rights lawyer with the New York Legal Assistance Group, a former member of Community Board 9 and a former deputy campaign manager for Councilmember Mark Levine. Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Abreu's responses are below. Shaun Abreu Age (as of Election Day) 30 Position Sought City Council Party Affiliation Democrat Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.) Manhattan Valley Family Agnes and Juan Abreu | Parents Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? No Education Columbia University '14Tulane Law School '18 Occupation Tenants Rights Attorney | 2019 - Present Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office N/A Campaign website shaunabreu.nyc Why are you seeking elective office? Both personal and professional experiences fuel my commitment towards securing a more equitable future for the constituents of District 7 in Upper Manhattan. I'm running to represent the place I've known my whole life, made up of families whose experiences I largely share, to fight for stable housing, food security, and after-school programs. I am the son of Dominican immigrants and I grew up on 161st Street in Washington Heights. When I was in elementary school, my family was evicted and we took shelter with neighbors. My mom had recently lost her job and public assistance was no longer cutting it. Our situation improved after my mother landed a job at Zabars as a clerk, and my father, a proud 32BJ member, as a janitor at the Port Authority.The truth is, working-class families are struggling in the same way my family did. But the opportunities that helped us are hardly accessible to families today. The pandemic has cost our neighbors' lives and redefined the way we live, work, and learn; students are falling behind; and historic job-loss will result in an avalanche of evictions. As a tenants' rights attorney and future Council Member, I look forward to championing expanded free legal services for tenants and small businesses facing eviction, truly affordable housing, initiatives to combat food insecurity and health inequities, and universal after-school to address the academic achievement gap our students face. The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it. From a housing security standpoint, I have advocated for the expansion of Right to Counsel. As a tenants' rights attorney and having been formerly evicted, I know how important this program could be. The City must expand the Right to Counsel law, which guarantees that low-income families falling below 200% of the federal poverty line have access to free attorneys in housing court. In a show of remarkable success, this law allowed 84 percent of families facing eviction to stay in their homes, and I am fortunate to be part of these efforts. By legislative design, the law does not cover most low-income New Yorkers. In an op ed, I called for the immediate expansion of right to counsel to all zip codes and for income coverage to be expanded, at least 400% above the federal poverty line. Right to counsel has consistently proven to keep families in their homes, preventing evictions and homelessness. Further, I authored a New York Daily News op-ed, calling for the State legislature to effectuate a viable path for a rent forgiveness grant to keep families in their homes without bearing rent costs, while ensuring buildings will be well-maintained. As a candidate and Council Member, I will work to lobby the New York State legislature to make this a reality. What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? City Council District 7, my home, is the most racially and socioeconomically diverse district in Manhattan, which requires a candidate who can answer to diverse policy needs and shifting demographics. I believe I am uniquely qualified to represent District 7 due to my personal connection with the district and my professional experiences.I am running to represent the place I've known my whole life, made up of families whose experiences I largely share. I lived in these homes, attended these schools, and built a career defending many Council District 7 residents as a tenants' rights attorney. I am the son of Dominican immigrants and was born and raised in Washington Heights, where my family was evicted when I was a child. Soon after our eviction experience, my mother landed a job at Zabars, and my family moved to the Upper West Side, where I've resided for more than 15 years. While residing on the Upper West Side, I attended middle school in Manhattan Valley and later Columbia University where I received a B.A. in Political Science.Building on organic ties, I served as the deputy campaign manager on the sitting District 7 Council Member Mark Levine's successful City Council race in 2013, where he won with 42% of the vote. This experience gave me critical insight into running a successful campaign, such as strengthening my relationships with community stakeholders like tenant association presidents or non-profit organizations, which are vital to winning. Additionally, my work as a tenants rights' attorney has prepared me to represent and fight for communities experiencing systematic oppression. I will continue to advocate for all constituents of District 7 through the increased enforcement of the anti-discrimination laws of the Commission on Human Rights, including those of LGBTQ and non-binary individuals.Finally, as a Spanish-speaking Dominican-American in a district with a strong Latinx presence, I will prioritize language justice and easy access to translated information, appealing to both English and Spanish speakersOverall, I will be a Council Member for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender presentation, and socioeconomic status, and I am confident we will build the broadest coalition to deliver for our community. Many in Harlem are worried about gentrification and the displacement of longtime residents. What is one specific policy you would push for to slow gentrification? I would support continued financial assistance for tenants impacted by the pandemic so they can address their rental arrears and avoid eviction. Without this assistance in place, we are risking the displacement of longtime residents and the loss of our cultural fabric. I would also expand the city's right to counsel legislation to protect small homeowners from being pushed out of their homes. As a tenant rights attorney who provides free representation to low-income individuals in housing court, I know too well how often people lose their homes due to the difficulty and expense of navigating the legal system. Many Harlemites have complained of dirty streets during the pandemic. How would you help clean up the sidewalks? To keep our streets clean, I will allocate funding for supplemental cleaning services through the Council's Cleanup NYC initiative, fund additional litter baskets through my office's discretionary budget, and expand the Sanitation Department's composting initiative. We also need to partner with the owners of commercial spaces in our district to ensure they help keep our sidewalks clean, which we can accomplish through the formation of a Business Improvement District (BID) or merchant's association. A developer is seeking to build a 17-story building on 142nd Street that would include 20 affordable apartments, but which some neighbors criticized for its size and the proposed rezoning. As Council Member, would you support this project, oppose it, or push to change it? I'd vote no on the ULURP application for the proposed project once it's before the Council. A building that size would need to have fewer studio apartments and deeper affordability tiers to better serve the needs of families in our district. How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently? Council Member Mark Levine's prioritization of information access was imperative to the sustained wellbeing of the constituents of District 7. By providing pandemic specific information, such as COVID rates in the district and testing site locations, and information on key resources for social supports, Council Member Levine championed a strong and transparent COVID response plan. During the pandemic, I authored a New York Daily News op-ed, calling for the State legislature to effectuate a viable path for a rent forgiveness grant to keep families in their homes without bearing rent costs, while ensuring buildings will be well-maintained. As a candidate and Council Member, I will work to lobby the New York State legislature to make this a reality. In order to address food insecurity, I championed an Emergency Food Vouchers plan to improve public health, specifically food security among low-income families. This voucher program would provide resources to undocumented immigrants, single-adults with no dependents, and part-time college students, who are either excluded or benefit-capped from SNAP. I hope that the Biden-Harris Administration nullifies these SNAP restrictions, and to the extent it does not, count on me to advocate all levels of government to ensure families are food secure. Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform. Investments in after-school programs like DDC, particularly for low-income students like those in Council District 7, are critical in enhancing college admissions, helping students to realize their full potential, and address the achievement gap exacerbated by remote learning.While in High School, I attended the Double Discovery Center (DDC) program, an after-school program at Columbia University committed to the academic advancement of low-income students from Harlem and Washington Heights, this program was transformative for me because it gave provided me with resources I would not have otherwise had no access to, like subject specific tutoring, support with college applications, and engaging extracurricular activities. Having seen the benefit of the program, I made continued involvement a priority and I currently serve as a DDC board member. What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? I believe that my experience as a member of Manhattan Community Board 9, a board director for Friends of Morningside Park, and a court-appointed special advocate for children in foster care, has equipped me to work with a cross-section of community leaders on diverse policy issues. The best advice ever shared with me was: Never forget where you came from.