Brooklyn Borough President Race: Antonio Reynoso Seeks Office

BROOKLYN, NY — As early voting begins in New York City, the stage is set for voters in Brooklyn to choose who will become their next borough president.

The June 22 primary will feature 12 Democratic candidates vying to replace Borough President Eric Adams, who is running to become New York City's next mayor.

Among them is Antonio Reynoso, who serves North Brooklyn's 34th District in City Council, which covers Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Reynoso's responses are below:

Age (as of Election Day)

38

Position Sought

Brooklyn Borough President

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Neighborhood of residence

Southside Williamsburg

Family

Iliana Reynoso (wife) / Andres, 7 mo, (son) / Alejandro, 3yo, (son)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Yes

Education

Bachelors Degree in Political Science

Occupation

Council Member, 7 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Council Member, District 34

Campaign website

reynosoforbrooklyn.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

My parents emigrated from the Dominican Republic with next to nothing, and relied on government assistance to survive. Food stamps, Section 8, Medicaid -- we needed it all. As a community organizer and now as a Council Member, I’ve dedicated my life to finding ways to make Brooklyn stronger, better, and fairer for everyone, including working families like mine.
From taking on environmental racism by reforming the corrupt private sanitation industry, to standing up to big developers to protect affordable housing, to reforming the NYPD, I have always taken on tough fights. As Borough President, I’ll take my activist spirit to Borough Hall to guide Brooklyn and pull our communities together in the aftermath of COVID, ensuring a fair recovery that uplifts our most vulnerable and finally addressing the long standing inequities laid bare by the pandemic.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing Brooklyn is building back from the COVID pandemic. Here in Brooklyn, we’ve always been defined by our diversity, the strength of our communities, and our resiliency in the face of hardship. But to put us on a stronger path forward, we need bold, unapologetically progressive leadership fighting for truly affordable housing, support for our small businesses, economic justice, and action to address long standing inequities, from our schools to our hospitals to our criminal justice system.

On the Council, my bill to bring outdoor dining to New York City saved 100,000 restaurant jobs. As Borough President, I’ll bring the same kind of creativity to protect our local businesses; empower communities, not big developers, to lead in land use decisions; build affordable housing in every neighborhood; continue my work to create healthier communities and end environmental racism; and reform the police while bringing crime down by reducing poverty and growing our economy for everyone, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Through my years of work as a community organizer and a coalition builder on the City Council, I have the skills and experience needed to deliver for our families as Brooklyn Borough President. From organizing men of color in college, to organizing low income tenants for ACORN, to building a coalition of unions, environmentalists, and transportation advocates to reform the private sanitation industry, I am a community organizer at my core.

Our campaign is powered by everyday Brooklynites, and I’m proud to say that we’re not accepting donations from real estate developers or powerful special interests. We’ve also built a broad and diverse coalition, with support from: the NY Working Families Party; Congress Member Nydia Velázquez; Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Make the Road Action; Council of School Supervisors and Administrators; United Auto Workers Region 9A; State Senators Jessica Ramos, Julia Salazar, and John Liu; Assemblymembers Marcela Mitaynes and Maritza Davila; New York Communities for Change, and many more community leaders and progressive organizations.
As Borough President, I’ll continue leading from the grassroots, engaging, connecting with, and listening to residents from Greenpoint to Bed Stuy to Bay Ridge. We will reform the community boards to make sure they look like the communities they serve; empower communities to lead in development decisions; and organize working families and those who have been marginalized and left behind to give them a real voice in government.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Elected officials at every level of government should have done more to respond to the COVID pandemic and mitigate the impacts that it had on communities, particularly low-income communities of color.

While the COVID pandemic hurt us all, not all communities were affected equally. The COVID response from our City, State, and Federal leaders consistently under-delivered for the communities that needed the most assistance -- we saw this in the inequitable access to PPP loans for restaurants, insufficient testing capacity and PPE supplies in the communities that were hardest hit, and our city’s failure to address the digital divide as we moved to virtual learning. As Borough President, I will hold all levels of government accountable to delivering for the communities that were the hardest hit.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

In addition to achieving a just COVID recovery, as Borough President, my top priorities will be housing affordability and access to quality public education.

As Brooklyn faces an unprecedented housing and homelessness crisis, I will use the office’s bully pulpit and capital budget to preserve affordable housing and create deeply affordable housing in every community.

I will also fight for real investment in our schools, especially in low-income communities of color where students, parents, and faculty have long felt the impacts of an inequitable, segregated, and under-resourced school system.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My track record as a City Council Member is evidence that I will be an effective Borough President and deliver real results for working families across the Borough. During my time on the City Council, I overhauled the corrupt private sanitation industry with the passage of the Commercial Waste Zones bill; fought for greater police accountability and sponsored the anti-Stop and Frisk “Right to Know Act”; and was a lead sponsor of Stand for Tenant Safety, a legislative package of bills to protect tenants from harassment.

I plan to bring my deep knowledge of the issues facing everyday Brooklynites and experience navigating City government to address them on behalf of our residents.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Keep positive energy and a positive attitude!

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I pride myself on finding common ground and shared issues across broad constituencies to deliver sound public policy that benefits the widest swath of people. During my time in the Council, I have consistently found partners from across the political spectrum to work on issues affecting our communities. This coalition building has carried over to my campaign, helping us form a coalition of community leaders, labor unions, and advocacy groups -- like the Working Families Party, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Make the Road, and many more.

Read More:

• Brooklyn Borough President Race: Where Things Stand