Brooklyn Borough President Race: Robert E. Cornegy Jr. Seeks Seat

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 Robert E. Cornegy Jr., the current City Council Member for Brooklyn's 36th District, which covers Bed-Stuy and parts of Crown Heights.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

55

Position Sought

Brooklyn Borough President

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)

Bed-Stuy

Family

I am the proud father of six children.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

St. John’s University, NYC
Mercy College

Occupation

NYC Council-Member, 2014 - 2021

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Democratic State Committee Member // District Leader 56 Assembly District

Campaign website

www.rc4bk.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for Borough President to lead Brooklyn out of the economic, public safety, public health, and social justice challenges gripping our city -- and to propel Brooklyn and our people to the greatest heights we have ever known.

I have dedicated my life in public service to lifting people up -- this means shared economic growth and prosperity for all communities; more affordable housing; ending destructive gun violence and crime; enacting meaningful police reform to build social and racial justice; combating hunger; strengthening NYCHA; and creating responsible development that fairly grows jobs and economic prosperity up and down the ladder.

Our campaign is a movement of people, and I know Brooklyn's greatest days still lie ahead. As your Borough President, I’ll bring action and leadership right out of the gate. We’re on a mission to bring Brooklyn back from the pandemic, stronger than ever.

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

For Brooklyn, one of the most pressing issues is economic recovery after COVID, with a focus on small business, including mom and pop retailers and MWBEs; creative & gig economies; and the hospitality industry as a whole. We must make sure prosperity is shared, and that everyone benefits from growth. In my first 100 days as Borough President, I'll roll out a $10 million small business grant program to help these businesses get back on their feet. Affordable housing is also part of my economic recovery plan. This includes increasing the number of affordable homes overall, eviction prevention and extension of eviction moratoriums, and revival of homeownership. Lastly, as we recover from the pandemic we must also ensure equal access to quality healthcare and mental health services.

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

Too often, ideology gets in the way of making a difference in the lives of those who struggle. We must leverage development to provide economic growth and wages for everyone in our communities. Industry City was a terrible missed opportunity -- 20,000 jobs gone in the midst of the worst economic crisis in more than a decade. It's a mistake that we cannot afford to repeat. It is easier to destroy than to build, but we won’t bring Brooklyn back by refusing to negotiate new development agreements that create jobs. We cannot grow from nothing. And we cannot simply say ‘no’ reflexively to economic projects when so many of our neighbors struggle to make rent, pay bills and put food on the table.

As Brooklyn Borough President, I'll fight for agreements that provide thousands of our neighbors with a real shot at meaningful employment and entrepreneurship. I will also make sure development includes community input at all stages. This is a vision for responsible development that secures more community benefits from developers if they want to build in Brooklyn -- and also ensures economic growth is shared equitably.

I'm the only candidate in the race running on an Age Friendly platform that prioritizes the needs of our seniors. As Borough President, I'll expand on the Age Friendly Neighborhood initiative in my district to create an Age Friendly Brooklyn for all so that our seniors are able to retire with dignity. This will include transportation alternatives with seniors' needs in mind, housing protections to keep seniors in their homes, infrastructure to protect seniors from predators that run scams and financial frauds, and other programs that increase quality of life.

I’ll also prioritize being Brooklyn’s biggest cultural cheerleader. Artists are the lifeblood of our communities, both culturally and economically. We must support artists and give them access to the resources and affordable housing options they deserve.

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

The coronavirus pandemic presented an unprecedented moment in our lifetimes, and caused enormous social upheaval as so much of society shut down. In the face of this awful adversity, I jumped into immediate action to feed families, distribute PPE, get people tested, provide treatment for those affected, and then ensure access to vaccines.

As a Council Member, I worked hard to disrupt legislation that would burden my neighbors, and support legislation that offered much needed relief -- stopping the sprinkler bill, extending boiler inspections, and fighting for the police reform slate are some examples of my putting the people's needs first!

Despite contracting COVID in April 2020, I worked hard with the resources we had to provide the best response possible. We have learned much from the tragic experience of the past year, and as Borough President, I will implement these lessons so we are best prepared to swiftly prevent or mitigate any future crisis.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

We must increase police accountability and achieve more criminal justice reform -- all while protecting our communities from violent crime and stopping the scourge of gun violence.
These two priorities are not in tension, but rather they support each other. We should invest more resources into community programs, culture building programs and social services. But we must also work with the police to deter crime and swiftly bring to justice those who commit violence in our neighborhoods.

We must also treat violence as a public health issue. I’ll use the convening power of the Brooklyn Borough President’s office to bring together community leaders, activists, the business community, police and public safety officials, and neighborhood representatives to create holistic strategies. We must eliminate gun violence, domestic violence, and hate crimes. This will feature smart and targeted police deployments of officers that reside in those communities; mental health help; and cure violence programs and other prevention organizations.
We can deliver public safety and crime reduction. And we can do that while strengthening mutual trust and respect between police and communities, and pushing for social and racial justice through police and criminal justice reform.

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

I have made action and leadership the defining hallmarks of my career in public service. I pride myself on getting things done, and I am in the top 10% of City Council members with the most legislation successfully passed.

My work focuses on the most urgent hardships our people are facing. I co-sponsored the police chokehold ban bill, so no one else suffers the same fate as Eric Garner and George Floyd. I fought to end a policy called “qualified immunity,” so cops who break the rules can't hide from accountability. I pushed through the Kalief Browder bill, ensuring that people detained at Rikers Island have access to counseling and social services, so that no one is forgotten like Kalief tragically was. I’ve fought to grow minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs), and support small businesses. I've tackled hunger and food insecurity, sponsoring Wednesday Wellness food drives at NYCHA homes. I drove the effort to build the community center at Marcy Houses, providing NYCHA residents with a critical quality of life upgrade. I fought to protect special needs kids in schools by securing passage of Avonte’s law, and I helped pass the lactation bill that mandates access to clean, private facilities for breastfeeding mothers in public buildings across the five boroughs. And, to build a better county, I have worked tirelessly to highlight Brooklyn's wonderful cultural and artistic diversity. I continue to lend support to festivals, murals, galleries, concerts and tv/film productions. I am Brooklyn’s biggest cheerleader! In the City Council, I established Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights as centers of creativity and expression, and appointed the Council's first Director of Arts and Culture.

This is a robust record of achievement that shows the leadership and action I’ll provide as Brooklyn’s Borough President.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." We must work together and find common ground, and not let ideology cost us opportunities to help our people. This is how leadership and service can deliver for the public.

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

You probably know me from my work in the City Council. But my lived experience uniquely empowers me to understand the hardships and challenges people in Brooklyn struggle with.
I’m a pastor's son who worked in my dad's church in Bed-Stuy, and grew up understanding the importance of public service. I played college basketball at St. John's, and then around the world professionally - Israel, Turkey, Spain, France and Colombia - where I also gained a deeper appreciation of cultural diversity. I am a credentialed counselor who opened a center in Brooklyn to help people struggling with mental health and substance abuse. I was also a counselor for young inmates at Rikers, helping put them on a better path. Because of my record and my work, I was named a fellow for social justice leaders at MIT.

And, yep, it's true -- I was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest elected official in the world.

Read More:

• Brooklyn Borough President Race: Where Things Stand