5 Questions With Upper East Side Councilmember Candidate Kyle Athayde

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Kyle Athayde, a 34-year-old Independent candidate, is running for City Council in District 4, which includes NoMad, Times Square, Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Turtle Bay, United Nations, and Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, in New York City's primary election on Tuesday, June 24.

The district seat is left open by the current Councilmember Keith Powers, who is now running for Manhattan Borough President.

Before running for office, Athayde, from Manhattan's East Side, oversaw Statewide Outreach and Special Initiatives for the New York State Office for New Americansfor nearly a decade, and then led Strategic Initiatives and Community Affairs for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Currently, Athayde is the Director of External Affairs and Operations for NYC Health + Hospitals South Brooklyn Health.

Patch recently asked Athayde five questions about his campaign and district. See his replies below.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article contains information about one of several candidates who have announced their campaigns for Upper East Side offices in the 2025 primary election. Patch has contacted the other candidates with the same questions and will post replies as they are received.

PATCH: Why are you running for City Council?

ATHAYDE: The East Side is my home. I was born in Metropolitan Hospital, attended daycare at the Vanderbilt YMCA, went to school at P.S. 183 and M.S. 104, and graduated from CUNY Hunter College. I want to keep our neighborhood clean, safe, and livable.

I am running to get the politics out of politics - to focus on the local issues that affect our day to day lives. My EAST Plan focuses on Education, Affordability, Safety and Sanitation, and Transportation, all of which affect our day to day lives, and require solutions immune to political parties and partisanship.

I believe that voters deserve a viable alternative to one-party rule, and that I am best positioned to Revive the East Side through my professional and personal experience, battled-tested community leadership, and innovative ideas.

PATCH: What sets you apart from the other candidates?

ATHAYDE:

• I am the working-class candidate: a first-generation American, who has lived in this neighborhood my entire life - not as a politician, but as a neighbor who knows what it is like to struggle and fight for a better future. At the age of 8, my family was homeless, and through inclusionary housing, we were able to call District 4 home.
• I am the youngest and most experienced candidate: my career spans international, federal, state, and city government, community affairs, public policy, civic engagement, cultural affairs, business development, youth and education, and healthcare.
• I am the most battle-tested candidate. As the Chair of Manhattan Community Board 6, I have led the opposition to the proposed casino near the UN, I have successfully fought for more green space, and navigated our community through the pandemic.
• My experience plus my status as the independent candidate best position me to build bridges between the extremes of the Democratic and Republican parties, so that we are focused on local problem solving rather than tribal partisanship.

PATCH: List two ways you plan to make the neighborhood more affordable.

ATHAYDE:

1. Freeze the Rent, and limit rent increases thereafter for all low- to middle-income housing units
2. Fully fund 3K, PreK, and universal afterschool programming

PATCH: List two ways you plan to make the neighborhood safer.

ATHAYDE:

1. Increase NYPD Neighborhood Safety Patrols to keep our streets, stores, and subways safe
2. E-Bikes/E-Scooters – implement geofencing technology to enforce NO BIKE ZONES on sidewalks, install speed bumps at pedestrian intersections and traffic lights, mandate licenses and registration

PATCH: What’s one place in the neighborhood you frequent the most?

ATHAYDE: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. As the district with one of the lowest amount of green space in all of NYC, Dag Plaza is a respite, and a local and international town square.

For questions and tips, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.