NYC Council Elections 2021: Angela Fernandez Seeks Uptown Seat

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Voters in Manhattan's 10th city council district, which includes Washington Heights and Inwood, will see eight names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those will be Angela Fernandez, the former commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights, who is among the Democrats seeking to replace term-limited Ydanis Rodriguez.

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

Angela Fernandez

Age (as of Election Day)

50

Position Sought

NY City Council District 10

Party Affiliation

Democratic

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

Washington Heights

Family

Parent to Ace, 14 years old and the eldest of 5 siblings

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Columbia Law School ‘98

Occupation

Immigrant & Civil Rights Attorney/Activist, 23 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

NYS Commissioner for the Division of Human Rights

Campaign website

www.angelafernandez.nyc

Why are you seeking elective office?

I have spent much of my life organizing, advocating and fighting for rights that are denied to many, especially for those most marginalized. Much of that work has included educating and negotiating with elected officials who, quite frankly, either moved too slowly or did not move at all on policies or budgetary priorities that would expand rights and alleviate suffering for hundreds of thousands of people in this city. I met too many elected officials whose decision-making approach included accommodating traditional powerful interests, rather than truly centering the needs of and the vision developed by the community.

I am running for NY City Council in my home of District 10 because as someone who has co-led and co-created social justice movements born out of this district, I believe I am the best candidate to work hand-in-hand with frontline residents to successfully and effectively tackle the systemic problems that our political establishment has failed to address.

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

The most pressing issue we face is the shortage of safe and affordable housing. It’s a problem that will require a collective, creative approach that goes beyond the ways we’ve dealt with it so far. New York City has, until now, prioritized the needs of real estate developers, focusing on incentives and rezonings -- like the Inwood Rezoning -- that have so far had the opposite impact -- on improving access to housing. Instead, I would like to prioritize communities and their needs, working collectively to develop new approaches.

As an example of a new approach: not far from my campaign office on St. Nicholas Ave and 182nd Street is 1430 St. Nicholas Ave, a 5-story building that’s been not just vacant but abandoned for well over 20 years. The city has received complaints about this building since the early 90’s, and in 2016 neighbors complained that a plywood shack had been constructed outside it. It’s a large building that could house a dozen families upstairs, and a small business downstairs. Instead it looms over the intersection, serving as a source of concern for neighbors rather than as a vital resource for our community.

Abandoned buildings like this seem to me like banquets thrown in the trash. Given our housing crisis, no building should be able to stand empty for more than 5 years. I intend to use eminent domain to take over unoccupied buildings like this one and convert them into deeply affordable residential homes.

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

I am the only candidate that has had significant leadership experience at the federal (District Chief of Staff to Congressman Jose Serrano), state (NYS Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights), and city level (as board member of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board) and as a result I know how to unlock resources through these levels of government because I’ve done it before.

I am the only candidate in my district that at the grassroots has co-led and co-created social justice movements that successfully pressured the NYC Council to get ICE out of Riker’s and to fund two city-wide initiatives: New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) and the Day Laborer Workforce Initiative, now models across the country. A critical difference is the depth of experience in building bridges across movements such as the immigrant rights and criminal justice reform movements. By linking together these two connected but traditionally siloed issues, that led to the end of Stop & Frisk, winning getting ICE out of Rikers, ending Secure Communities and creating the first city-funded universal representation program for detained immigrants in the entire country. I know what it takes to craft and move policies into legislation and how to utilize outside/inside strategies to win them.

I am the only candidate that centers environmental justice as a critical component to governing in this city and plans to govern by sharing power with the residents of District 10. If elected, I will strategize and implement decision making with community residents, particularly in cases where access, control or use of community assets are in question. Frameworks and approaches matter and they are the difference between governing with good intentions and flawed implementation plans vs. strong planning by those directly impacted benefitting us all.

My candidacy and our campaign is distinct in that I am not backed by the establishment and as a result do not rely on our local elected officials for funding, volunteers or relevance. My deep relationships in the community and the diversity of my volunteers and donors are a testament that I connect with the entire district and not to just certain sectors of the district, unlike the other candidates running in my district.

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

N/A

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

The COVID crisis, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, hit harder and faster than anyone in the city thought was really possible, and our local officials did the best they could.
That said, there are a few things I would have done differently:

Specifically I would have:

- Proactively and regularly inquired with the senior rehabilitation centers in the district regarding their PPE supply. For example, early in the pandemic the lack of PPE led to the spread of COVID-19 in Isabella’s Rehabilitation Center, which led to the deaths of over 90 patients (25% of the center’s residents) and at least one frontline staff member. I believe some of this could have been avoided by sounding the alarm bells early when it was clear that there wasn’t enough PPE supply and by working with the leadership of these institutions to identify and resolve the barriers to PPE as quickly as possible.

- Develop and execute coordinated, real-time communications efforts that shared up-to-date information about local mutual aid efforts, food pantries, all COVID-testing sites in the district, relief for small businesses, and any other information that would alleviate suffering. This would be conducted through traditional media, social media, text blasts and the website in multiple languages.

-Lead at least one consistent, mutual aid effort out of the district office.

Build out a volunteer corps that would conduct telephonic wellness checks on the constituents that the district office knows may be in need due to past interactions with the constituents and partner with local livery companies, religious institutions, and nonprofits to mobilize door to door support

-Work with grocery and bodega owners to facilitate acquisition of PPE for their staff and frontline workers.

-Work closely with the principals and assistant principals of all local schools and the directors of local head starts and day care centers to identify the needs of children and work to connect them to resources. This would also help the office identify what resources need to be galvanized at the city-wide level.

-Once the vaccines were available I would’ve worked closely with distributing entities to ensure that access to the vaccines were truly equitable. In fact, when we learned that The Armory vaccine distribution center was not serving the local community we joined community members in protest and I drafted the following op-ed, “We are Tired of Band-Aids. We Need Vaccine Equity Today” about how to remedy the situation.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Our campaign platform is shaped by the understanding that we don’t live single issue lives and in order to create successful solutions, we must create policies that address the interlocking issues.
My top three legislative priorities are :

1.Creating a Green Jobs Guarantee Program where workers will retrofit and upgrade our building stock, build and maintain blue and green infrastructure, expand and maintain public green spaces, and support local food systems;

2.Securing housing as a human right by preparing our housing stock for climate change, expanding universal rent control, ending speculative warehousing of empty apartment, protecting tenants from discrimination, supporting community land trusts, and ensuring any future rezonings are led by community residents and account for racial and environmental justice;

3.Achieving budget justice, including in the areas of recreation, safety, and wellness

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

I am the only candidate who has won both policy and budgetary campaigns without being an elected official or a staffer to an elected official. I was able to accomplish this hand-in-hand with the community, applying an inside/outside strategy with relevant city councilmembers and other stakeholders across the city.

For example, together, with directly impacted individuals, we successfully created two City Council Initiatives: 1) The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the first of its kind funded universal representation program for detained immigrants at risk of deportation; and 2) The Day Laborer Workforce Initiative, a citywide initiative to fund Worker Centers in all boroughs.

This required a deep understanding of the needs of our community and an equally deep understanding of the inner workings of the city council budget. Both of these initiatives continue to exist today and one of them (NYIFUP) has become a model for other cities across the country.
One of my first tasks as Commissioner of the NYS Division of Human Rights was securing a little over one million dollars from HUD (at the federal level) that would fund the Division’s housing investigators and attorneys. This funding was at risk prior to my joining the Division, but thanks to thoughtful negotiation and advocacy, led by me as Commissioner, we were able to ensure that the funding did not go to another state.

Additionally, as Commissioner, I was able to enforce new laws, such as the newly expanded sexual harrassment laws that came about thanks to the MeToo movement and the C.R.O.W.N Act (which protects people from discrimination based on hair style or texture as it relates to race). The implementation of laws can only be as successful as the manner in which they are drafted, and as a result I know how important it is to draft legislation that can actually be implemented by relevant agencies.

Holding commissioners of city agencies accountable to ensure they are fulfilling the mission of their respective agencies is one of the responsibilities of the City Council as an oversight body - and it is something I would take very seriously and have insight on if elected to office.

As a former board member of the NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board, I have a distinct understanding of the limitations of the CCRB and what changes to the law are needed to allow it to expand its prosecutorial powers against NYPD engaged in abuse, brutality and misconduct.

Additionally, while on the board we investigated NYPD sexual misconduct allegations, consistently advocated for the repeal of 50-a, and investigated the Eric Garner murder, leading to Pantaleo’s dismissal without pay.

While District Chief of Staff to US Congressman Jose Serrano, one of the major projects I worked on, through that office, was the redesign of the South Bronx’s Sheridan Expressway. Following the lead of community members and organizers, I worked with federal, state and city agencies in order to lay the early political and budgetary foundation for this Robert Moses-planned highway to be successfully transformed into a “pedestrian-friendly” boulevard.

Highly responsive and effective constituent services is critically important for any community, but especially for a community like ours that has a broad range of needs. At the height of the detention and deportation of our neighbors under the presidential administrations of the last 10 years, I led a small team providing direct services, case management and referrals to members of our community. Every morning starting at 6 am, a line of people wrapped around our building waiting for our office to open at 8am and our phone lines were always ringing. Everyone received quality attention, care, and response. No one was left waiting in the wind and as a City Council member, I am committed to ensuring that all residents of District 10 receive a call back and guidance within 48 hours, if we are unable to respond on the spot.

Within all my roles, including leading the successful turnaround of the National Dominican Day Parade, I’ve built transparency, accountability and renewed trust in the institutions I have led.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Use your power to uplift our community.

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

I’ve been the sole woman on a painting crew and worked as a super in a building while attending law school. I was a broke college student and a sleep deprived off air reporter covering 9/11 at Ground Zero. The breadth and diversity of my life experiences have provided me with the resilience and courage we need for this transformative moment in our community and city.
That is why I am committed to leading through co-governance. Through local, general assemblies, residents will be able to shape public policy and hold special interests accountable to the community’s needs and demands. We can have and deserve improved access, increased engagement, and meaningful organizing from our City Council office, which will bring about increased transparency and trust.

I’m also committed to bridging the Broadway Divide, a divide that’s well understood by people who live here. Our district is deeply segregated, with competing priorities and concerns on either side of the divide.

I am the only candidate in this race that has deep, meaningful ties on both sides of Broadway, thanks to my decades of work in the community, and as a result, if elected I will work to unite our entire district so that we can approach the City Council and City Hall from a position of strength as we advocate for sorely needed resources and changes to the law that would improve the lives of all of our neighbors.