A LIFELONG NEW YORKER At my core, I love New York City. This is and always has been my home. I grew up as an adopted kid in a mixed race family, and It was in this environment that my parents raised the five of us to embrace public service and social justice. A LEADER IN CRISIS For the past 14 years, I’ve gotten up at 5 AM to make sure that by the time most New Yorkers wake up, their trash has been collected and they have clean water in their tap. I haven’t done it for the glamour, but because I care deeply, fiercely, and obsessively about this city. I’ve responded to water main breaks in the middle of the night, the destruction of pump stations by Hurricane Sandy. I’ve managed an operating budget during the Great Recession, led teams to clean up debris storm after storm, and made sure that thousands of workers could safely continue to pick up garbage even during a pandemic. Over the years I have become a go-to leader, someone who can and will take on projects that seem impossible to others. I developed and executed a plan to reduce childhood lead poisoning annually by an additional 21%. I stepped up to lead the New York City Housing Authority when no one else would. In March, when we were the epicenter of a pandemic and the world felt like it was crashing around us, I stood up a food operation that provided one million meals per day to hungry New Yorkers. A PLAN FOR OUR FUTURE We cannot waste this crisis. Climate change, failing infrastructure, and dilapidated subway and buses are not going away just because there’s a pandemic. As we plan for the revival of this great City we must plan for a place that will be equitable, more just and climate resilient. I believe we must and we can streamline bureaucracy and be more nimble to support new ideas. This will require not just the work of the City government itself, but a Mayor that can galvanize all the City's talents, and get to work on day one.
