NYC Council District 35 Race: Michael Hollingsworth Seeks Seat

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Voters in New York City's 35th Council District — which extends over Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights — will see seven names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those names will be Michael Hollingsworth, a Crown Heights native and local tenant organizer since 2016.

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

Age (as of Election Day)

43

Position Sought

City Council Member for District 35

Party Affiliation

Democrat

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

Crown Heights

Family

N/A

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

I attended P.S. 241, then Jackie Robinson Middle School and Prospect Heights High School. I graduated from CUNY (City Tech).

Occupation

Graphic Designer

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

N/A

Campaign website

www.m4bk.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

The establishment has failed District 35. Our elected officials are more interested in luxury developments, policing, and prisons than addressing poverty and inequality. I’m running because I want to change that, and build a district that puts people over profits.

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

Truly affordable housing is the most pressing issue in District 35. For too long, we’ve seen the real estate industry shape our political realities here and treat our communities as resources to be extracted. As a result, we’ve seen long-time residents pushed out as rent and housing costs go up. In City Council, I intend to return the power to shape our communities to the people who actually live in them. I will fight to strengthen tenant rights, end all evictions, protect and fund NYCHA, expand social housing, and end homelessness.

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

As a tenant organizer, I’m the only candidate in the race with a track record of fighting for truly affordable housing and against luxury real estate development. I also have no ties to the real estate industry or establishment politicians who have failed us, so I can be uniquely trusted to stand up for the people who live in this district—not the moneyed special interests who just see our communities as sources of profit.

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

The COVID-19 crisis underscored the failures of our economic system. As our State lost billions in revenue, and scores of people lost their livelihoods and their homes, the rich only got richer. As an organizer, I was out on the streets during this time calling on Governor Cuomo and our leaders in Albany to increase taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations so we could continue to fund the social services that New Yorkers rely on to survive. I was also fighting for an eviction moratorium and to cancel rent so that tenants could stay in their homes. If I were in City Council, I would have fought for a just budget that prioritized working people—especially Black and brown New Yorkers—who have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic’s twin health and economic crises.

I will continue to fight for a real, viable COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund that provides services and support to the working class. I’m also committed to supporting small business owners and the jobs they provide our communities. We need to create a comprehensive system of commercial rent stabilization that limits rent increases and provides stability to small businesses, and we need to increase the amount of capital and support that is offered to Black- and brown-owned businesses.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

This campaign is about putting people over profits in all aspects of life. To make our communities safe, we need to invest more in social services—not policing. To ensure a livable climate, we need to put renewable energy over the greed of the fossil fuel industry. And to ensure that people are healthy, we need to make healthcare a human right—not just another revenue stream.

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

As a leader in the Crown Heights Tenant Union, I organized our members for trainings, actions, and events throughout the state, which culminated with the historic rent law wins in 2019. In 2020, as part of the Rent Justice Coalition, I helped win a rent freeze on one-year leases—and for two-year leases, a freeze in the first year and a one percent increase in the second year. Alongside my neighbors, I’ve also sued the city and luxury developers to stop racist rezonings that would displace long-term, working-class Black and Brown residents of Crown Heights. The first court case resulted in the nullification of the 2018 Franklin Avenue rezoning, a crucial victory for our community. In our current case concerning the proposed development at 960 Franklin Avenue, we’ve won a temporary restraining order that’s halting development. In both cases, we represented ourselves in court.

Read More:

• Brooklyn District 35 City Council Race: Where Things Stand