NYC Council District 7 Election: Stacy Lynch Seeks Uptown Seat

NEW YORK, NY — Voters in New York City's 7th Council district, which includes West Harlem, Morningside Heights and parts of Washington Heights and the Upper West Side, will see 12 names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those names will be Stacy Lynch, an attorney, deputy director of intergovernmental affairs under Mayor Bill de Blasio, and creator of the civil rights group Daughters of the Movement.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

45

Position Sought

City Council, District 7

Party Affiliation

Democrat

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

Hamilton Heights, Harlem

Family

My late father was Bill Lynch, the political organizer behind David Dinkins election, who also worked with Hillary Clinton, Nelson Mandela and progressive leaders across the city, nation and globe. My mother taught in district pre-schools for 30 years. .

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

My brother, William Lynch Jr., is a political consultant working on campaigns here and across the country.

Education

BA, Hampton University
JD, Quinnipiac University School of Law

Occupation

Lawyer, activist

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Assistant Commissioner, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development
Deputy Director, Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

Campaign website

stacyforcitycouncil.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

Simply put, I want address the issues that affect my quality of life and the lives of the residents throughout this district. And I want to do it together - with my neighbors, residents and community leaders. I worked in city government for close to 10 years. I have the know-how, the experience, the skills and the passion to develop real solutions and tackle issues like public safety, homelessness, housing, police/community relations and education. This District also has the opportunity to make real history by electing the first woman to represent us. I want to be the first woman to represent Upper Manhattan’s District 7.

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

The most important issue is the need for an equitable economic recovery from the pandemic, which requires focus on the broad range of issues that will entail – supporting our small business community, expanding affordable housing, ensuring an end to “food deserts” and providing quality and affordable fresh food throughout the district, ensuring a quality education no matter the zip code a child lives in, expanding access to affordable health care. We all have to rise together.

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

Besides being poised to be the first woman elected to represent the district, I am the candidate with the most experience in government and community activism, who has the coalition skills to bring people together to get things done. In this diverse district ranging from the Upper West Side through Harlem to Washington Heights, I am the best equipped candidate to serve every part and every constituency in the district.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

It is an open seat. Incumbent Mark Levine is term-limited.

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

I would have focused on the threat earlier, and would have been mindful of how the disparities in economic, health, educational access would be reflected in the impact and response to COVID, which it was. I stepped in to organize distribution of PPE to NYCHA developments across the city, and would have worked earlier and more diligently with community groups and faith leaders to convince community residents of the importance of test and trace, and more recently to combat vaccine hesitancy.

Many in Harlem are worried about gentrification and the displacement of longtime residents. What is one specific policy you would push for to slow gentrification?

The most important imperative is to adjust the regulations concerning the Area Median Income, or AMI, which is the basis for affordability, to be more targeted towards individual neighborhoods instead the broader metropolitan area which includes wealthier areas in Westchester and Long Island, That means apartments designated as affordable are often out of reach for families, especially senior citizen “empty nesters,” who have raised their families in our communities and now find themselves priced out. It also means finally rezoning areas of Morningside Heights which do not have the protections found north and south of the area, and enforcing those codes to ensure appropriate development. We want new residents to move in and feel welcome, but that requires transparency and far greater community involvement when development decisions are made. See answer below about proposed development on 142nd Street.

Many Harlemites have complained of dirty streets during the pandemic. How would you help clean up the sidewalks?

During the pandemic, I have worked with the Broadway Malls organization, and volunteered myself on cleanups, as well as with current District 7 Councilmember Mark Levine and neighboring District 9 Councilmember Bill Perkins, to address sanitation. I would allocate from my own discretionary budget funds to enhance that effort. But it also requires a commitment from the city to stop incessant fining of mom-and-pop small businesses trying to make it in the face of unsustainable skyrocketing commercial rents. Those businesses have the highest interest in seeing clean sidewalks, and working with them is far more productive than a punitive approach built around fines. I would work closely with block associations to extend that focus beyond commercial districts across the district.

A developer is seeking to build a 17-story building on 142nd Street that would include 20 affordable apartments, but which some neighbors criticized for its size and the proposed rezoning. As Council Member, would you support this project, oppose it, or push to change it?

I live in Hamilton Heights in close proximity to this development. It is counterproductive to approve an out-of-character 17-story development with just 20 affordable apartments replacing three row houses which had 21 affordable apartments combined in them. That is hardly an expansion to meet community needs. I would oppose the project until there is far closer consultation and cooperation with the community, and press at a minimum to expand the number of affordable apartments, and ensure those apartments are truly affordable to residents in the neighborhood instead of defining affordability under AMI rules that incorporate the cost of housing in far wealthier areas in Westchester and Long Island.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I have focused heavily on the disparities, where the zip code or neighborhood you live in determines your access to quality health and education, or affordable housing. We have a particular crisis in our small business community, as is evident by all the retail for rent signs on empty stores. Those locally owned stores not only provide thousands of jobs to local residents, the owners because they live in the community recycle those dollars in the community instead of sending them back to some distant corporate headquarters. I am particularly focused on the food deserts, the lack of availability of quality and affordable fresh produce, the absence of which is linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. These issues are interconnected and it takes coalitions to tackle them. That is my strength and my commitment.

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

Again, focusing on coalition skills, I worked with the WNBA to create the first girls basketball league in New York City. While working for the city, I was able to reach throughout the government to distribute PPE during the early months of the pandemic. I was able to break through bureaucratic barriers to create thousands of jobs in the summer youth employment program. I was able to marshal community support to save Wadleigh school for the arts. And as the former president of the Hamilton Terrace Block Association, I was able to bring those skills to bear on behalf of my neighborhood.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

My dad taught me, as the adage goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

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

Coming from a family where my father was a pioneering Black leader in politics, I have reached out to the daughters and granddaughters of other civil rights pioneers – Rev. Al Sharpton, Harry Belafonte, Diahann Carroll, Malcolm X, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and Percy Sutton – to form Daughters of the Movement. We work together with young people throughout the city and beyond to pay forward that legacy instilled in us. And I have a large and lovable dog named Bear who I walk every day, and he provides an opportunity to talk with constituents. Bear is a veteran politician now in his own right.