NYC Council Elections 2021: Arthur Schwartz Seeks Village Seat

WEST VILLAGE, NY — Voters in New York City's 3rd Council district — which includes Greenwich Village, West Village, Chelsea, SoHo, Hell's Kitchen, Times Square, Hudson Square, and the Flatiron — will see six names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those will be Arthur Schwartz, a lawyer, Community Board 2 member, and District Leader, who is among the Democrats seeking to replace the term-limited incumbent Corey Johson.

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

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

Arthur Z. Schwartz

Age (as of Election Day)

68

Position Sought

City Councilmember District 3

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Neighborhood of residence

Greenwich Village

Family

Married to Kelly Craig, SAG Member, 4 children ages 15-33

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Bronx HS of Science, Columbia College (BA), Hofstra Law School (JD)

Occupation

Attorney - 42.5 years

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Currently Male Democratic District Leader for Greenwich Village - since 1995. State Dem Comm Member 66AD 2006 - 2013; Member Community Board 2 1991-2015; Chair or Vice-Chair Hudson River Park Advisory Council 1999 -2012; Democratic National Convention Delegate 2008 (Obama), 2016 (Sanders) and 2020 (Sanders); Law Co-Chair Manhattan Democratic Party

Campaign website

www.arthurfornyc.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

Our community and our City lacked effective leadership while COVID had us locked down; I felt that in order to recover experience, effective, and aggressive leadership was needed.

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

Affordable Housing - Propose a $ 3.5 billion/yr capital program to address affordability in housing; starting with repurposing shutter hotels into living spaces, and building elsewhere; ending the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program and funding more City-owned housing at genuinely affordable rents. There is no "affordable rent" in our district unless one somehow stumbles on a rent-stabilized apartment. Private development through up-zoning, combined with Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Area Median Income shuts out people from living in District 3 who make less than $70,00o per year. The answer (to me) is a major capital program, repurposing unused hotels, and even retail space, building housing that uses a citywide formula for who can rent; this could be done in coordination with the Federal Section 8 housing program. Services for tenants facing eviction need to be expanded. Although there is a program now, it is severely underfunded, and most tenants cannot find representation. Help is especially needed. We need to expand DHCR enforcement work; too many landlords move rent-stabilized apartments out of that program using questionable "improvements." I would also propose expanding the funding and staffing of the Division for Human Rights to address housing discrimination

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

I have far more experience, and I have accomplished a lot with less resources. Ie. since the campaign began I sued and restored F and C train cuts in service; sued MTA and won elevators at 14th and 6th and 14t and 7th Avenue subway stops, and then secured Federal funding; I sued NYCHA to get gas restored for tenants at two buildings; I successfully sued to get Station agents put back into the booths at all stations 24 hrs a day. And, my record is one entirely built on voluntary service, not as a politician's paid staffer.

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

I see my challenge as directed to Corey Johnson's Chief of Staff. Both he and Corey abandoned our District during the COVID lockdown and again when vaccines were rolled out. They promised to but did not roll of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act; they signed on to privatization of NYCHA and never once fought for tenants there (I met with Schumer about getting $40 billion in infrastructure money); they oversaw massive upzoning and creation of luxury housing, with no new truly affordable housing being built in the whole district; they did zero to oppose the Beth Israel Hospital closure (which I helped stop) ;they did not back local back associations in their opposition to the 14th Street Busway

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

Working backward: there was no Council member-led effort to get vaccines to people, either through setting up a navigable appointment program or arranging home visits to the disabled and elderly. They took no steps to aid local businesses. They did not oppose the re-institution of fares on buses after they were free for several months. All they did was have a limited number of "feel good" food giveaways in Penn South. I would have been out every day helping people. Corey Johnson cited "depression" and moved to Brooklyn. Erik Bottcher spent several months with his mother in the Adirondacks

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

WIth respect to the police: I believe that many functions could be shifted to non-uniformed (and non- gun-carrying) personnel. Mental health interventions, including with the homeless should be dealt with by a Mental Health Corps, which could function within DHMH. Traffic investigations following non-lethal accidents should be handled by Traffic Enforcement Agents, who make 50% less the POs. Many desk functions in precincts should be done by non-uniformed personnel. School safety officers should be withdrawn (that is 1000 plus POs) in favor of “positivity, prevention and relationship response coordinators,” trained in child development, de-escalation and an understanding of how trauma and life experiences impact behavior. These changes alone would save billions of dollars, which could be shifted to other agencies (including the Department of Education for the new response coordinators.) Other priorities:1. To the extent not covered by a State program, I would propose to allow landlords to deduct missed rent from property taxes in return for forgiving unpaid rent. 2. Propose a commercial rent control program, combined with the long time pending Small Business Job Survival Act 3. Propose that NYC invest no less than $1 billion/yr in Transit Authority operating budget, in return for making buses free and lowering transit fares. 4. Propose legislation to bar all hospital consolidations and closings, and expand City financed health clinics available without cost to all, including undocumented people. 5. Mandate that police resume walking the beat; out of cars 6. Propose creation of a mental health corps. 6. I would ride herd over NYC schools to make sure that Foundation Funding finally allocated by the state was used in a manner which lowered class sizes (maybe moving parts of schools to unused office space) 7. I would propose that NYC raise its minimum wage to $18/hr., with progressive increases. It has been $15 for 8 years, time to move up. 10. I would give Community Boards veto power in the ULURP process. 9. I would lobby the state hard on the NY Health Act if it doesn't pass this year. 11. I want far greater regulation of outdoor dining - garbage , noise, disabled access not addressed now 6. I want Park Ave. to be a 2 -way, 2 lane bikepath. 12. Stop 8 ft landfill over East River Park as a "flood control device."

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

Helping get Hudson River Park built. Suing for and then getting funding for ballfields on Pier 40; helping redesign and securing funding for every park and playground in the West Village; stopping the placement of a Costco on 14th Street between 6th and 7th. Getting elevators for the elderly and disabled on the 14th Street subway corridor. Running a successful public interest law firm and 20 years as General Counsel for Transport Workers Union Local 100.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Don't try to be friends with someone who mistreats you.

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

I have lived here for 40 years, owned a home, several businesses, raised 4 kids here, and helped hundreds of people - all as a volunteer. I chose to live here and spend decades here. I am firm, resolute, grounded, and principled.