Midtown Advocate Enters Race For Gottfried's Assembly Seat

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Days after Dick Gottfried said he would retire from the State Assembly next year after a half-century representing Manhattan, at least one contender has already put her name forward for the soon-to-be-open seat.

Layla Law-Gisiko, a Midtown advocate and fierce opponent of the state's plan to develop the area around Penn Station, announced her candidacy Thursday outside the Hotel Pennsylvania — slated to be demolished as part of the controversial program.

Law-Gisiko, 50, is originally from France but has lived in the Flatiron area for more than 20 years. For 16 years, she has served on Midtown's Community Board 5, where she chairs the zoning committee.

In that role, Law-Gisiko, a writer by trade, helped shape the 2017 Greater East Midtown Rezoning, a novel effort that allows developers to build taller in exchange for improving neighborhood transit and public spaces, and which is already bearing fruit through recent projects like One Vanderbilt and the upcoming 175 Park Ave. tower.

"Having this strong background on the community board would make me a very suitable candidate because I understand the processes," she told Patch on Friday. "I have a huge appetite for policy, I love that stuff."

In recent months, Law-Gisiko has also come out strongly against the proposal, originally unveiled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to build 10 towers around Penn Station in a bid to raise revenues for transit improvements, but which critics say would do little to fix the beleaguered rail hub.

"It is not about Penn Station at all," Law-Gisiko said. "It's bad for transportation, it’s not creating enough subway entrances, it’s bad through and through."

Though Hochul scaled back the plan last month, critics say it still suffers from the same fundamental flaws.

If elected, Law-Gisiko said she would first approach the Assembly members who serve on the state's Public Authorities Control Board and tell them to vote against the Penn project. From there, she would push to hand the project back to the city government, which has more expertise dealing with complex land-use deals.

In opposing the development, Law-Gisiko joins other neighborhood leaders like Community Board 4 chair Lowell Kern — who also happens to be considering a run for Gottfried's seat, according to a person familiar with his plans.

The many others thought to be in the mix for the 2022 Democratic primary include former City Council staffers Carl Wilson, Louis Cholden-Brown and Chris LeBrón, as well as Lindsey Boylan, the former Manhattan Borough President candidate and state official, according to reporting by City & State.

"It’s going to be as crowded as Penn Station at rush hour," Law-Gisiko joked about next year's race.

Gottfried, 74, will leave office in January 2023. The boundaries of his 75th District are likely to change somewhat during the state's upcoming redistricting process.

Related coverage:

• Dick Gottfried Retiring After 50 Years Representing Midtown
• New Penn Station Plan Revealed: Hochul Scales Back Cuomo's Vision
• Midtown Leaders Slam Cuomo's Empire Station Complex
• Cuomo's Controversial 'Empire Station' Faces Midtown Hearing