Manhattan Borough President Election: Lindsey Boylan Seeks Office

NEW YORK, NY — Voters in Manhattan will see seven names on their ballot when they vote in the June 22 primary election for borough president.

One of those names will be Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration and member of two community boards, among other roles. She is running to succeed Gale Brewer, who is term-limited as borough president and running instead for her old City Council seat on the Upper West Side.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

37

Position Sought

Manhattan Borough President

Party Affiliation

Democrat

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

Chelsea

Family

Husband LeRoy. 7-year-old daughter Vivienne.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Bachelor's Degree from Wellesley College. MBA from Columbia.

Occupation

Decade of experience as a career urban planner and govt. official, including overseeing the state's largest economic development agency

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Former Deputy Secretary of Economic Development and Housing for the State of New York

Campaign website

lindseyfornewyork.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for Manhattan Borough President because I believe I am the right person with the right experience to lead Manhattan through this post-pandemic recovery. The Borough President is first and foremost a job about land use, and about envisioning the future of Manhattan. I spent almost a decade in urban planning and management. I oversaw several of Manhattan’s parks including Bryant Park, and Herald and Greeley Squares. I was responsible for pedestrianizing major segments of Broadway Boulevard and several other public spaces in Manhattan. After that, I went to work as Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Housing for the State of New York, the state’s chief economic development agency. While there, I secured millions of dollars for underfunded public housing, I led the state’s efforts to provide assistance for the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, working with labor to help rebuild the island, and I helped to lead the push to enact a $15 minimum wage and Paid Family Leave policy for New Yorkers. Simply put, the work I have done my entire adult life has prepared me to deliver for New Yorkers as your next Manhattan Borough President. I am running to create a safer, cleaner and more livable city that leaves no one behind.

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

The number one issue is economic recovery from the pandemic. In my recently released economic recovery plan, I outlined the three things that I am going to do about it as Borough President. First, we’re going to make foot traffic return, and make Manhattan safe and clean for pedestrians. Businesses need foot traffic and we're going to make Manhattan vibrant again with open and safe streets. Second, I will make my office a hub for connecting people in Manhattan to recovery programs. This year, the New York State Legislature and the federal government actually did their jobs and created programs that will benefit millions of New Yorkers. There’s a lot of stimulus to get in the hands of New Yorkers, but we need to do the work to connect people to the various stimulus programs. Third, we will make building affordable housing easier throughout our community, so that New Yorkers can truly thrive and not have all their income go to housing.

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

I am the only candidate in this race with executive experience in both economic development and urban planning. I worked for the Bryant Park Corporation and helped remake Herald Square and Bryant Park. I was part of the team that got Broadway Boulevard done, pedestrianizing the stretch from Times Square to Herald Square, showing the City what remaking Manhattan for pedestrians and not cars could do.

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

There is no incumbent in this race, and I think Gale Brewer has done an admirable job in the role.

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

I think it's easy to criticize from the sidelines and harder to the job, so I think that public officials, particularly our civil servants, did the best they could under incredibly difficult circumstances. That being said, I would have focused much more heavily on suppression early and adapting for ventilation in the City as we learned just how much COVID-19 was an airborne pathogen. I would also have tried to do more direct restaurant relief early so that indoor dining was not a make or break outcome for restaurants while also being a spreader of coronavirus. With the vaccine rollout, I would have been much more focused on direct delivery into communities with less access to care and time off from their jobs.

What’s one policy you’d push for to make housing more affordable in Manhattan?

I will push to heavily enforce laws against discrimination for voucher usage so that our subsidy programs actually work for our constituents.

In your first year, what would be your top funding priority through your discretionary budget?

In my first year, I will promote and support programs that help reclaim our streets and make Manhattan a thriving borough again. This will not only help our economy, but evidence shows it will help reduce violence as well.

As Borough President, would you recommend approving or disapproving the following ULURP applications: SoHo/NoHo rezoning, the New York Blood Center tower, and the 250 Water Street seaport project?

I am against the current SoHo/NoHo and Water Street plans, but would support with revisions that better reflect the needs of the communities. I am opposed to the Blood Center tower and would support it in a medical campus setting on the East side.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

In addition to economic recovery and affordable housing, I am focused on delivering safe, clean and sustainable streets to our City so that it is easier to get around. I care deeply about increasing accessibility so that all New Yorkers can share in our City. And finally, I am focused on promoting racial equity in every aspect the office oversees from trash equity to education. To that end, I have released several detailed plans in these areas.

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

I believe my work in urban development and economic development in an executive capacity are evidence I’m best suited to handle the job. As I described above, I was responsible for pedestrianizing major segments of Broadway Boulevard and several other public spaces in Manhattan and I led the state’s efforts to provide assistance for the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Right now, we need somebody who can make our streets livable to help us recover from the pandemic, and I’m the person who has made that happen.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Nora Ephron once said, “We all grew up with this thing that my mother said to us over and over, and over and over again, which is ‘Everything is copy.’ You’d come home with something that you thought was the tragedy of your life – someone hadn’t asked you to dance, or the hem had fallen out of your dress, or whatever you thought was the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being – and my mother would say ‘Everything is copy.’’’
We learn and we grow from the things that happen to us. To me, the words of Nora Ephron’s mother mean that we can convert any experience – no matter how painful or horrific – into something useful, into something that can be shared with other people, into something that can effect change or make other people’s lives better.

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

I want voters to know that I will always stand up and speak truth to power to fight for them against developers and self-dealing politicians. I want them to know I’m a mom raising a young Asian-American daughter and that I fear for her safety and for my husband’s safety as an Asian-American man, and that I will fight to ensure our public spaces are safe from hate crimes and gun violence.