UES 76th District Assembly Race 2022: Patrick Bobilin Profile

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Voters in New York City's 76th Assembly district, which covers Yorkville, Lenox Hill and Roosevelt Island, will see two names on their ballots when they vote in the June 28 primary election.

One of those names will be Patrick Bobilin, a progressive activist who is challenging incumbent Rebecca Seawright. Bobilin previously mounted a campaign against Seawright in 2020, though he was ultimately removed from the ballot due to a residency issue.

Early voting runs from June 18-26. (Find your polling sites here.)

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles, asking for their positions on issues like affordable housing and public safety, and giving them the chance to describe their records in detail. Bobilin's responses are below.

Name

Patrick A Bobilin

Campaign website

https://patrickfornewyork.com

NYC neighborhood of residence

Yorkville

Office sought

State Assembly

District, if applicable

76th Assembly District

Party affiliation

Democratic

Education

BA, Hampshire College MFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago MA, Bard College

Occupation

Digital Marketing Director

Family

No spouse or kids

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Dad: Luis Pantoja, File Clerk for NYS Retirement System, CSEA member for ~35 years

Age

38

Previous public office, appointive or elective

County Committee, Judicial Delegate

Why are you seeking this office?

I'm a former public school teacher, born and raised New Yorker, and east side organizer who aims to fully fund public infrastructure, public health, public housing, and public education systems so that future generations don't suffer the problems we keep passing on.

Like many parents today, my mother juggled 60-hour weeks of low-wage work and died in her 40s because she never had adequate healthcare. My father was born in Puerto Rico and I watched him battle so much of the racism that New Yorkers still deal with today.

Income inequality, racial injustice, and environmental justice issues can't be solved by the people who held office in our neighborhoods as the problems grew. Creative and empathetic solutions must come from the people who have experienced the consequences of those problems.

I seek to organize with my colleagues for universal healthcare via the New York Health Act, to pass Good Cause Eviction legislation, implement mandatory assault rifle buybacks, and make CUNY/SUNY tuition-free because I believe that only by meeting the basic healthcare, housing, childcare, and education needs of New Yorkers, can we begin to achieve the equality that will make our state the progressive beacon we aim to be.

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

*are unregulated cost of living increases--I plan to work with colleagues to increase corporate taxes and implement wealth taxes to fund our infrastructure, making it safer and more efficient to take public transit. I also support building public renewables and public utilities, controlling and regulating the cost of energy for New Yorkers. We also need to put an end to unregulated markets for health insurance and housing costs by, respectively, passing the New York Health Act and indexing our state minimum wage to the cost of unregulated market-rate housing in the state. A tuition-free CUNY/SUNY system and universal childcare will also ensure that everyone at every age has access to the education they need to thrive.

How would you address ongoing concerns about public safety in New York City?

With a police force costing us $11 billion a year, NYPD's failures to prevent or catch subway shooters, and statistics showing that police prevent just 2% of crimes, we need a dedicated force focused only on those most heinous of crimes and to funnel the rest of the funding into a more mature system of care that social scientists have been aware of for a century. They know that most crimes start from scarcity, poverty, and disinvestment. It's time to invest in a care, not cops. They have failed us one too many times to keep wasting our precious public dollars on a false solution that only works in movies and TV shows. Our voters deserve a less intellectually insulting solution.

Do you think the NYPD's response to the recent surge in crime will affect efforts at police reform and, if so, how?

What are the statistics you're citing?

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

A substantive pied a terre tax: too many New Yorkers are struggling with affordability for us to use our most precious resource to build wealth that doesn't end up as part of our tax base.

Should officials do more to encourage New Yorkers to return to work in person? If so, how? If not, why not?

No. Workers showed a resolved productivity amid the trauma of living and working during a pandemic. Clearly the office as we knew it is wasteful and outdated. The urge to bring people back to working in person is driven by the real estate and hospitality lobby who are the true beneficiaries of driving workers back to in-person work while a deadly pandemic still rages.

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

I've spent my entire time in this neighborhood serving the community in my free time, organizing my neighbors to build mutual aid and solidarity, and working to empower our neighbors to connect to one another. Our incumbent shows up only to political events, fundraisers, and photo ops. She shows no sincere connection to this community, just a commitment to self-promotion, like so many elected officials have done for my entire life. I don't begrudge her for that, because a corrupted political system produces only what it needs to sustain.

But frankly, I think our neighbors deserve someone with an intimate, lived knowledge of the struggles we face, both upstate and downstate, and someone who has proven their love and dedication to our home, day in and day out. When I was kicked off the ballot in 2020 by the Assemblywoman and her lawyers, I didn't go into hiding as so many candidates do. I founded the UES Mutual Aid Network, which has handed out food to hundreds of neighbors, shoveled snow from hundreds of street corners, and picked up hundreds of pounds of trash on the street. Win or lose, I'll still be organizing with our neighbors to grow our connection to one another and break the alienation and stress of the broadening affordability crisis with community and solidarity.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

(see above) Our neighbors deserve more than a passive ally who shows up for photos and passively co-sponsors bills. We deserve someone who is a tireless organizer who will work to whip up their colleagues for vital issues impacting all of our neighbors: housing affordability, healthcare affordability, childcare affordability, and climate change. We need a leader with a tireless work ethic, not long-winded press releases.

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

In a state where 86% of the people who are ticketed for open container violations, I want to repeal open container laws. This also protects all New Yorkers who buy to-go drinks from being stopped on their way from the point of purchase to the point of consumption. I will also work with DOT, DOS, and state agencies to start mandating A: organic/compost pickup and B: containerized trash across the state and especially New York City. This will help A: combat climate change and B: the increasing pest control issues across the city.

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

I'm a former public school teacher who has led classes of 30 young students. I'm a mutual aid organizer who leads a group that over 100 of our neighbors have been involved with. I'm confident in my ability to co-organize and lead my colleagues on vital issues that are sure to be popular with their own constituents.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

If you see someone being treated unfairly, don't be afraid to speak up - my mom, Judy Marie Bobilin

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

I want my neighbors and anyone reading this to consider how they can connect with their neighbors more directly. We're living in a time when our elected officials are treating life and death issues as political footballs and claiming helplessness even while holding power. I've found that the true power lies in your ability to help your neighbors. Instead of begging elected officials to care, we can build systems together that are so powerful, they can't be ignored. Systems of solidarity like informal childcare exchanges, mutual aid, and exchanging professional services can change or even save lives. In a time where so many of our leaders seem so callous to our needs, my hope lies in our collective power. Even in dark times, radical compassion is an inextinguishable torch.