Meet Julie Menin, Candidate For City Council District 5

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY —Democrat Julie Menin hopes to keep her seat as District 5's City Council Member in the Nov. 7 election.

District 5 spans the eastern portion of the Upper East Side — plus Roosevelt Island and parts of Sutton Place above East 54th Street.

Patch has sent out questionnaires for candidates to tell voters about themselves.

Here's what Menin had to say:

Name

Julie Menin

How old will you be as of Election Day?

55

Does your campaign have a website? If so, include the URL here.

http://www.juliefornyc.com/

What New York City neighborhood do you call home?

Yorkville

What office are you seeking?

Re-election to City Council, District 5

If you are running in a district, you can specify the district here.

5

Please give us your party affiliation.

Democrat

Education.

BA-Columbia University, Magna Cum Laude. JD-Northwestern University School of Law

What is your occupation?

I have served as City Council Member for the past two years. I am an attorney and previously served as Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Commissioner of Media and Entertainment, 2020 NYC Census Director (where I led the city's efforts on the census in which we finished number 1 of all major cities across the country), Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel at NYC Law Department (where I represented the city and worked with the NY AG against the Trump Administration on the census citizenship case which we won at the US Supreme Court) and Adjunct Professor at Columbia University where I taught on city and state government. I also previously owned a small business and served as a seven year Community Board chair.

Do you have a family? If so, please tell us about them.

I am a proud mom of four children-three sons and a daughter.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No.

What other public offices have you held?

I started my career in the private sector as an attorney and then as a small business owner. I have run three different city agencies serving as Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Commissioner of Media and Entertainment and NYC 2020 Census Director and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel at the NYC Law Department and as a seven year Community Board Chair. I also served as a Redistricting Commissioner in 2003.

Now we'd like to ask a few questions about your reasons for running and your general views on politics and government. First, why are you seeking this office?

I am running for re-election as the City faces enormous challenges with the asylum seeker crisis, a dire fiscal outlook, public safety and quality of life issues and an affordability crisis. We need strong, experienced leadership to address these issues. It has been an honor to serve in the City Council and I want to continue the work that we have started. I have passed 11 bills in the past two years including the Health Care Accountability and Consumer Protection Act which discloses the price of every medical procedure at all NYC hospitals helping to lower skyrocketing out of control health care costs as well as a package of bills on universal child care and a bill to create a one stop shop web portal and app that consolidates all permits and licenses for small businesses into one app.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is \\_\\_\\_, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Quality of life is the most pressing issue--from public safety, to sanitation, to a lack of affordable housing. I have secured more NYPD foot patrols and 34 new security cameras which has lowered crime 20 percent in our district. I have increased sanitation pick up to four times a day--the highest level our district has ever had and launched a new rat mitigation program with our own exterminator that has had great success reducing rats in our district. I have co-sponsored a City Council bill to register e bikes and improve safety. In terms of affordable housing, I am actively working to increase the amount of affordable housing units built in our district as new ULURP projects come through our district.

How would you address ongoing concerns about people seeking asylum in New York City?

Currently, the right to shelter is being litigated in court by the Adams Administration. We have a crisis in terms of the lack of available spaces to house asylum seekers and the costs associated and need the federal government to provide a national strategy and attendant funding to help address this crisis. As chair of the City Council's small business committee, I opposed using out-of-state catering firms to win city contracts to provide food for asylum seekers and instead successfully got our city's small businesses to provide the food.

Do you believe the NYPD is funded appropriately? Please explain your answer.

This year I secured more NYPD foot patrols for the 19th Precinct as well as 34 security cameras which has resulted in a 20 percent reduction in crime in our district. I have also been pushing for more resources to assist the NYPD's Hate Crime Division as hate crimes (particularly anti-Semitic ones) have been soaring.

What is one policy you would support to make housing more affordable in New York City?

We need to utilize HPD subsidies to support more affordable housing and deeper levels of affordability when ULURP projects are being considered. We should be utilizing HPD subsidies on top of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing to secure a larger number of affordable housing units.

What has Mayor Eric Adams gotten right and what is he doing wrong?

Mayor Adams has rightly focused on public safety which is a top issue. In terms of public safety, we need more of a focus on e- bikes as well as pedestrian and cyclist safety. We are currently on pace to have one of the most deadly years for Vision Zero so there must be a renewed focus on reducing these alarming trends. In terms of city services, due to the high number of vacancies at city agencies, there has been a slow down at some agencies and we must immediately address these staffing shortages which are occurring during a very difficult fiscal budget.

What work would you do for commuters in 2024?

Currently my office is working with our state electeds, the MTA and the Traffic Mobility Board to discuss impacts to the district from congestion pricing and ensure that community concerns are addressed. As a mom who has navigated collapsing a baby stroller on the bus numerous times, I was proud to work with the MTA to create a new accessibility program for baby strollers and wheelchairs/walkers. We are working with the MTA on advocating for increased accessibility at subway stations throughout the district. My office will continue our work to mitigate the impacts of the F train and along with our state elected officials we successfully changed the MTA's original plan by increasing shuttle service for Roosevelt Island and decreasing the amount of time the F train tunnel will be under construction. I helped lead the fight to successfully bring OMNY to the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Accordingly, Tramway users can now simply tap and go with their smart devices, contactless credit card or OMNY card and make use of the MTA's seven day fare capping program. In addition, our office helped secure new NYPD presence in subway stations throughout the district and we will continue to advocate for that.

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

I have over 20 years of experience in the public sector as an attorney, Commissioner of three city agencies, 7 year Community Board Chair and adjunct professor at Columbia University teaching on city and state government. While I began my career in the private sector as an attorney and small business owner, my deep seeded knowledge and experience of city government has enabled me to achieve historic wins for our community. I secured the highest level of funding our district has even received--over $40 million for our parks and schools and solved projects that had been stuck for years such as securing PS 290 a roof top play space, increasing litter basket pick up to the highest levels we have ever had, or brokering an agreement to let public school students use gym space at private schools in the district. In addition, I have passed 11 of my bills in the City Council- the highest level of bills passed--including historic legislation such as the Health Care Accountability and Consumer Protection Act which requires hospitals to disclose the prices of all their medical procedures and will lower skyrocketing healthcare costs, the Universal Childcare Act to provide subsidized child care, and the One Stop Shop Small Business portal to consolidate all city licenses and permits into one website and one app.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Education is a top priority that I have focused on the past two years and will continue to prioritize. In addition to securing over $5 million to build PS 290 a rooftop play space, I worked with Speaker Adams to allocate over $3 million to JREC to upgrade their pool and locker rooms, allocated $50,000 to every public school in our district for technology upgrades, $1 million for security camera and auditorium upgrades for PS 198/Lower Lab, partnered with CM Powers to allocate $450,000 to Wagner Middle School, $300,000 for PS/IS 217, $380,000 for schoolyard resurfacing for MS 114, $225,000 for MS 177 bathroom renovations, and many other projects. I will continue to fund our schools and also utilize as I have the past two years Participatory budgeting to not only ensure the community's priorities are addressed but also involve our students in the civic process. Another issue I have focused on is our precious parks. I have allocated substantial funding and support to renovate Ruppert and provide a bathroom there. In addition, I have funded Carl Schurtz (including $2.75 million to renovate the hockey, basketball and pickleball courts), John Jay and 24 Sycamores and other parks and improvements to the Esplanade.

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

I believe my legislative record, strong constituent services work provided by my office and ability to secure critical funding for our district reflect the experience I bring to the table. I am very proud of my legislative record passing 11 bills--the highest amount in the Council this session- and will continue to work to advance legislation that improves the lives of New Yorkers. My Health Care Accountability and Consumer Protection Act, for example, will not only allow patients to finally see in advance what every NYC hospital is charging for every medical procedure, but it will also allow us as a city to save up to $2 billion annually by harnessing the city's purchasing power to drive down costs as currently the city spends close to $11 billion on public sector healthcare which is unsustainable. The record level of funding my office secured--over $40 million for our schools and parks will make a critical difference to our community. Lastly, having run three city agencies, I believe my experience and my staff's experience in city government allows us to deliver fast and effective results on constituent issues and cases.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs is one of my mantras as it is through hard work and dedication that we can achieve our goals.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am a proud mom of four incredible children. My mother and grandmother came to this district as Holocaust survivors from Hungary to build a better life and settled into what was then known as Little Hungary on the Upper East Side. It has been a tremendous honor to represent this community where my family sought refuge.

You're hungry and you have $10 — where do you go?

The Budapest Cafe (also known as The Hungarian Pastry shop) to get the Palacsinta--a Hungarian crepe my grandmother used to make.