Meet Keith Powers, Candidate For City Council District 4

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Democrat Keith Powers hopes to keep his seat as District 4's City Council Member in the Nov. 7 election.

District 4 spans the western half of the Upper East Side and Midtown East — plus Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town.

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

Here's what Powers had to say:

Name

Keith Powers

How old will you be as of Election Day?

39 years old

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

https://www.keithpowers.nyc

What New York City neighborhood do you call home?

I’m a lifelong resident of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

What office are you seeking?

I’m seeking re-election as a Council Member on the New York City Council.

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

I’m specifically running for re-election to Council District 4

Please give us your party affiliation.

I am running as a Democrat.

Education.

I’m a lifelong New Yorker and third-generation resident of Stuyvesant Town. I graduated from the University of Dayton and then the CUNY Graduate Center. I have always been drawn to public service, and soon after graduation became involved in my local community board, tenants association, and worked for State Senator Liz Krueger and City Council Member Jonathan Bing

What is your occupation?

I currently serve as a City Council Member, and have had the privilege of serving for 6 years. I was first elected in 2017. I am currently the Majority Leader of the City

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

I have two nephews and a niece who have graciously donated their artwork to decorate my office at City Hall

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No.

What other public offices have you held?

This is the first public office I’ve held.

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’m proud of all that we’ve achieved in the past 6 years, from preserving affordable housing to historic investments in resiliency projects. More specifically, I helped preserve over 6,000 units of affordable housing in Stuyvesant Town and negotiated a deal at Waterside Plaza to keep 500 seniors in their longtime homes.

I have supported small businesses and worked to provide relief from unnecessary taxes and regulations by suspending the city’s liquor license surcharge and reforming needlessly complicated storefront signage regulations.

More recently, I helped establish a citywide composting and e-waste recycling program, a swap program for unsafe lithium-ion batteries that have caused hundreds of fires, and expanded funding and access to Crisis Respite Centers for New Yorkers experiencing a mental health crisis.

Looking ahead, I am focused on continuing the fight for more affordable housing, reforming scaffolding, and tackling noise pollution.

There’s a lot still to do, and I am running to continue delivering for Manhattan’s East Side and our city overall.

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

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is housing. That’s why I’ve spent my time in office fighting to preserve and expand affordable housing in the district. At Waterside Plaza, I negotiated a deal that allowed 500 seniors on the verge of losing their apartments to remain in the apartments they’d lived in for decades. At Stuyvesant Town, I helped preserve over 6,000 units of affordable housing. Looking forward, I am working with city agencies to rezone empty office buildings in Midtown South into 20,000 new apartments.

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

We need to continue coordinating and working closely with the federal government to address this issue and make real improvements. The federal government has the ability to speed up processing times, grant work authorization, and address the root causes of this issue. We have made progress - such as granting TPS status to Venezuelans and getting reimbursed for millions in cost - but this is a complex issue with no quick or easy solutions. We need to be compassionate, while recognizing the strain that the city is currently under.

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

I believe in providing the NYPD with the funding and resources they need to effectively do their jobs. I was proud to support the FY 2024 budget that provides over $10 billion to the NYPD and that included pay raises for officers. In the district, I’ve fought for more patrols and officers in our local precincts to tackle everyday issues. Because of this, we’ve continued to make progress in reducing crime in New York City. This year, overall crime in down 5% compares to 2022, and we’ve seen double digit declines in the number of homicides, shooting incidents, rapes, and burglaries. We also have a more visible NYPD presence in our subway, and major crime in the subway system is also down by double digits compared to last year.

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

We need to rezone empty and underused commercial districts to unlock much-needed housing. Right now, even if you’re sitting on an empty commercial building, restrictive zoning will prevent you from doing so. We need to reform these - and the good news is we’re doing it. Here in District 4, we’re focusing on a 42 block area in Midtown South that will allow buildings built before 1990 (which is the vast majority) to be converted to residential. It will unlock about 20,000 apartments. I will continue pushing for rezonings wherever it makes sense in the district and city to help make housing more affordable for everyday New Yorkers.

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

I think that Mayor Adams has been right to focus on everyday issues that have a tangible effect on how we perceive the city: He is focused on public safety, quality of life improvements, and most famously, sanitation and sending rats packing.

What work would you do for commuters in 2024?

I’m proud to have helped create numerous miles of bus lanes that help buses move quickly through traffic. During my time in office, I’ve helped oversee the rollout of crosstown bus lanes on major thoroughfares likes 14th Street and 42nd Street. Soon we’ll see the completion of a major north-south route on 3rd avenue.

I have also worked closely with local NYPD precincts to make sure subway stations have officers present. Today, major crime in the subway system is down by double digits compared to this time last year.

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

At the end of the day, I believe in rolling up my sleeves and getting to work to deliver tangible improvements for my constituents. Rather than chase headlines and fan flames to score cheap political points, I’m happy to do the sometimes hard and unglamorous work of bringing people together, finding compromises, and actually legislating.

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

There are numerous quality of life issues that I’m focused on addressing at the City Council to create a better East Side and better city.

First and foremost I am focused on tackling our housing crisis with all the tools we have. I’m working to pass an ambitious rezoning that will unlock over 20,000 units of housing in empty Midtown office buildings. I also am urging my state colleagues to reform outdated laws, such as the FAR ratio that limits the opportunity for new buildings and additional conversions.

I am also working to pass the Stop Spreading the Noise Act, which would reduce our city’s noise pollution. Among other things, it would establish a noise camera program to ticket exceptionally loud vehicles, like those modified mufflers. Additionally, many New Yorkers call 311 to make a noise complaint but never hear back. My legislation would create an online portal requiring DEP to post results of a noise inspection within 24 hours and clarify technical rules that prevent noise inspectors from actually entering an apartment to inspect a noise complaint.

Reforming outdated scaffolding laws is another issue I’m excited to be tackling. I have a series of bills that, collectively, will ensure scaffolding comes down quicker and that it better blends in with the streetscape while it’s installed.

Finally, I’m running to make sure that New York City continues to be a proud defender of people and their rights. When you look at everything going on across the country, it is more important than ever that our city stands up for reproductive rights, loudly condemns bigotry in any form, has sensible gun safety laws, and is taking steps to address climate change.

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

When 500 seniors were on the verge of losing their longtime apartments at Waterside Plaza, I helped negotiate a deal that even the New York Times called “a rare happy outcome for renters in today’s market.” Similarly, I helped preserve nearly 6,000 units of affordable housing in my local neighborhood of Stuyvesant Town. For this work and more, I was honored to be named as the top lawmaker in 2019 in New York City by City and State magazine.

More recently, I led the charge to transition the city’s fleet of over 30,000 municipal vehicles to zero emission models on an accelerated timeline. The City Council also voted to pass my law creating a first-in-the-nation swap program for unregulated, unsafe lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have sparked hundreds of tragic, preventable fires throughout the city, but my program allows battery owners to swap an unsafe battery for a safe, regulated one.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

No matter what, do what’s right for New York City. And elected officials should ride the subway every day.

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

In the coming years, I am going to be hyperfocused.

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

That’s easy: Ess-a-Bagel!