Brooklyn Borough President Race: Kim Council 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 Kim Council, an ordained minister, the former executive director of the Berean Community and Family Life Center and president of the East New York Housing Development Corporation.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

49

Position Sought

Brooklyn Borough President

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Neighborhood of residence

Cypress Hill, Brooklyn

Family

My two children, Nicole, 23 and George, 21

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Three of my sisters work in government, all in other states. One is a Major in the US Army, another is the Director of the Oregon Youth Authority, and another is a middle school teacher. Also, my mother is retired Supervisor at the United States Postal Service.

Education

BA, North Carolina Central University; MS, Pratt Institute

Occupation

Sr. Reference Law Librarian for Sullivan & Cromwell, 22 years
Associate Minister

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

N/A

Campaign website

kimcouncil4brooklyn.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

Growing up in Bed Stuy, my community didn’t have much in terms of resources, but we always had each other's backs. Time and again, I’ve seen our communities in Brooklyn come together under a common cause to look out for each other when the government ignored our struggles.

As a kid, our neighbors provided each other with food when government food aid didn't come through. I’ve worked with mutual aid groups who fed people during the COVID pandemic when the government turned their backs on them. After St. Mary’s Hospital closed, I worked with the community to set up a health clinic to fill the gap.

This is the kind of experience I'm going to bring to Borough Hall. As Borough President, I'll dedicate myself to leveling the playing field for all of Brooklyn by redefining what the Borough President does. I’ll transform Borough Hall into a One Stop Shop where any Brooklynite can get help accessing government and nonprofit services, and I’ll deploy a Mobile Borough Hall to every neighborhood to make help even easier to get.

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

Affordable housing - when I served as President of East Brooklyn Housing Development Corp , I built 1,000 units of 100% affordable housing through multiple nonprofit organizations, with real community input. As Borough President, I will prioritize community-led development by local nonprofits. I’ll also get tough on developers going through the ULURP process. I will mandate community input from the very beginning of the project, and make sure their developments include at least 60% affordable housing.

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

I have a vision for the Brooklyn Borough President’s office to turn borough hall into a one-stop shop for navigating nonprofit and government services. I’ve seen too many resources go to waste because people either don’t know they exist, or they have too much trouble accessing them.
In order to make sure every community across Brooklyn is getting what they need, I plan to dispatch a mobile borough hall to every neighborhood. If people can’t come to Borough Hall for help, I’ll bring Borough Hall to them.

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

The response was horrific. That said, the federal government failed in providing any blueprints for states, and our state in particular lacked transparency.

But, it is no secret (or surprise) that communities of color were hit hardest. I lost my father to COVID a little more than a year ago. I can’t help but wonder if he would be alive if he had gone to a hospital in Manhattan. Instead, he went to one of the many hospitals in Brooklyn that are under-resourced and understaffed.

I’ve released a community health care plan that calls for a moratorium on hospitals, proper staffing minimums, and a borough-wide health care system that gives small practices support to open clinics in health deserts complete with social workers and administrative staff so that doctors can focus on treating patients in the community.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I believe in a new kind of leadership for Brooklyn that puts the community first. We need governance from the ground up.

We need to level the playing field across Brooklyn. I will track, map and publicize data that shows the inequities in healthcare, education, housing, public safety, etc. and allocate resources to make neighborhoods whole. I also plan to prioritize the work already being done by community, nonprofit, and mutual aid organizations and provide them with the resources to scale their work.

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

While other politicians have been talking about many of the issues I listed above, I’ve been rolling up my sleeves and doing the work.

I’ve been involved in building 1,000 units of 100% affordable housing, opening a health clinic that served 4,000 residents when hospitals were cutting services and shutting down, I’ve developed several violence interrupter programs and worked with Senator Velmanette Montgomery on reforming the juvenile justice system, I’ve developed youth programs that keep kids occupied and engaged, and programs for seniors to help them with technology and fraud protection. I also managed a food pantry during COVID and continue to serve as the Vice Chair of the East New York Local Development Corporation, which provides a wide variety of services to small businesses.
I will continue this work as Borough President, with one exception. I’ve been doing this work in the community while working a full time job as a Law Librarian for Sullivan and Cromwell and raising two children. Imagine what I could do for Brooklyn if you had my undivided attention.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Love thy neighbor as thyself

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

As Borough President, I will be focused on leveling the playing field across Brooklyn. This is the lens I will apply for capital spending. Funding should go towards resources that will serve all of Brooklyn in an equitable way.

Read More:

• Brooklyn Borough President Race: Where Things Stand