We Won!

Paul Newell for District Leader

I’m running for Democratic District Leader because our neighborhoods deserve better representation. As District Leader, I’ll stand up to the big developers and entrenched political powers to fight for us. Together, we can use this platform to advocate for the issues facing our communities:

Great Public Schools: We need a School Trigger Law preventing the city from granting new residential permits until enough schools seats are available in good, local public schools for all our children. I’ll support education reform to increase choices for downtown parents and improve the quality of education for all our children. And I’ll stand up when bureaucrats get in the way of teachers, administrators and parents trying to improve education for our kids.

I helped build an organization that brings health education to over 50,000 children on two continents. I’ll bring that energy towards advocating for better schools in our neighborhoods.

Affordable Housing: No issue impacts more Downtown families than the rising cost of housing. This is breaking up families and driving businesses out of the city - depleting our tax-base. Downtown is in danger of losing the diverse character that makes it so unique. I’ll fight to protect existing housing from being demolished and work to get more affordable housing built. I’ll work with community leaders to protect and expand successful programs like Mitchell-Lama and bring new ideas for our neighborhoods.

We need affordable housing mandates (not tax giveaways) to guarantee than new development adds to our community instead of taking away. I’ll fight for contextual zoning to preserve the character of the neighborhoods we love. And I’ll stand up for full funding of the New York City Housing Authority – and work to end the raw deal that 400,000 New Yorkers in NYCHA housing have been given.

Better Public Transportation and Livable Streets: Our communities depend on efficient, accessible public transportation. I’ll fight to lower the traffic burden on our neighborhoods. I’ll work to fix the unfair one-way tolls on the Verrazano Bridge that send tens of thousands of vehicles unnecessarily through our streets every day.

We also need to vastly improve our transit infrastructure. I’ll work with you to keep bus lines like the M8, the M9 and the M22, expand service on the Downtown Connecter and add bus rapid transit on the M15 line. And I’ll stand up for transit riders when the MTA tries to raise our fares.

Environmentally Sound Buildings: We all want a sustainable future for our families. 70% of New York City’s carbon emissions come from buildings. I’ll work with city agencies, tenant organizations, responsible landlords and co-op boards to help retrofit our buildings to lessen that footprint and lower our heating bills.

Sensible Nightlife Solutions: While the nightlife industry is an integral part of our community, far too often poor planning and oversaturation of establishments has allowed our neighborhoods to be overrun. There continue to be problems with noise that cannot be solved by blanket regulations alone. The 500 foot rule is not comprehensive solution because it fails engage nightlife establishments, and does nothing to address the exiting problems of noise and late night crowding--which exist whether there are 2 bars or 20 bars.

The SLA needs more enforcement officers. As of 2007, the SLA had only twenty-eight enforcement officers--hardly enough to effectively respond to the needs of our community--let alone the entire state. Additionally, current SLA liquor licenses are too generic and often do not fit the variety of establishments they intend to regulate across the State. Bars, clubs, late-night restaurants and lounges could all have distinct licenses that hold establishments accountable for the promises they make during their negotiations with the community boards.

As District Leader, I’ll work with all involved to build livable, dynamic neighborhoods.

Equality for GLBT New Yorkers: In America, equal access to civil rights should be sacrosanct. Yet hundreds of thousands of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) New Yorkers are denied those rights every day. It is high time that we commit to fully embracing all of our neighbors. This means full Marriage Equality, protections against employment and housing discrimination and making sure our tax-dollars don’t fund organizations that discriminate against GLBT youth.

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