Get To Know City Council Candidates In Bed-Stuy Forum This Week

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A forum at Restoration Plaza this week will help voters get to know how the candidates vying to become their next council member will revitalize the neighborhood following the coronavirus crisis.

Community Board 3 — along with the Bed-Stuy Gateway BID, Bridge Street Development Corporation and BKLYN Commons — have scheduled a candidate forum Thursday for the 36th District race, which will choose someone to replace term-limited Council Member Robert Cornegy Jr.

The forum will focus on "economic revitalization post-COVID and beyond" and include five candidates seeking the city council seat, according to a release.

"Economic Development is one of the key, but often neglected issues for the diverse Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights communities as we struggle to recover from the health, psychic and business impacts of COVID-19," CB3 Chair Richard Flateau said.

"We look forward to hearing the candidates articulate their platforms as it relates to job creation, small business development and entrepreneurship. Our hope is that the 36th Council District electorate can use what they hear to make an informed choice at the ballot box.”

The forum will kick off at 6:30 p.m. at Restoration Plaza and will be live-streamed through Facebook.

It will include candidates Henry L. Butler, Tahirah A. Moore, Chi Osse, Reginald Swiney and Pastor Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman, according to the release.

In total, there are 12 candidates who have filed to run in the District 36 race.

The candidates participating in the forum are those who made the New York City Board of Elections final Primary Election Contest List, according to Community Board 3. The board reached out to all candidates who had filed to run and said others either did not respond or bowed out of the forum.

The candidates will be asked questions polled from an ongoing Commercial District Needs Assessment Report, which is led by Bridge Street Development.

The study revealed that a third of storefront stand empty on Bed-Stuy's main commercial corridors, among other economic challenges.

Viewers will also be able to learn more about Rank Choice Voting at the forum, a new electoral system that will allow voters to not only chose their first choice but rank up to five candidates in the upcoming elections.

Find out more here: