Queensbridge Filmmaker Launches Campaign For City Council

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Longtime Queensbridge resident, community activist and filmmaker Lashawn Jamell Marston is running for City Council to represent Long Island City.

Marston, who also goes by the nickname Suga Ray, is making Queensbridge and neighboring public housing complex Ravenwood Houses the centerpiece of his campaign.

Together, the two NYCHA properties have just over 11,000 residents, according to official city data, but Marston says their voices aren't being represented as new developments and other changes rapidly transform western Queens.

"There's been so much happening in the district and in this area, but there are so many cases we don't see the benefit," Marston, 35, said in an interview. "There's no trickle down."

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He cites as an example the neighborhood's ascending reputation as an arts haven, with such institutions as MoMA PS1 and the newer Plaxall Gallery.

"People rave about the arts in L-I-C," he said. "Meanwhile, there are hundreds and hundreds of people in the black community that are forgotten."

It's an issue that's personal for Marston, the creator of a YouTube documentary series called "I Love Queensbridge."

Growing up in Queensbridge as an aspiring filmmaker, he lived just around the corner from the renowned Silvercup Studios, which bills itself as the largest film and television production facility in the northeast.

But he had no way of accessing that resource, he said.

"I knew what I wanted, and it was inaccessible — even though it was there, right in front of me," he told Patch.

Marston will vie for the council seat currently held by Jimmy Van Bramer, who is running for Queens borough president. The seat, District 26, also represents parts of Sunnyside, Woodside and Astoria.

Van Bramer is term-limited in 2021, but his seat could open up as early as next year if Queens Borough President Melinda Katz vacates the position to become district attorney and he wins a special election to replace her.

If elected, Marston said he will fight to build more green spaces, bolster mental health services and make public housing more accessible for elderly residents and those with disabilities.

He said he's committed to government transparency, which means making sure locals know about the changes going on around them and get to weigh in and teaching them how the City Council and community boards function.

"We need a seat at the table," he said. "I can't even make a pitch for 'vote for me' because it's 'vote for us.'"