Hoylman-Sigal Is A Working Legislator With A Lot Of Ideas

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY – State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal has represented Manhattan’s West Side in the upper house of the New York State Legislature for more than a decade.

His district, New York’s 47th, stretches from the top of the West Village to the Upper West Side as far uptown as the low 100s.

This year, Hoylman-Sigal faces Republican challenger Emily Yuexin Miller.

Patch presented both candidates with the following questions and Hoylman-Sigal’s responses are below. They have been lightly edited for clarity.

What are the three most important issues facing the district, and how will you address them in Albany?

We live in a fantastic series of neighborhoods on the West Side, connected by unparalleled parks, cultural institutions, public schools, and mass transit. Even with all of these tremendous assets, we have many important issues facing our Senate district, so it’s difficult to limit the number to three - but I'll try!

For starters, Albany must build more affordable and supportive housing to help the most vulnerable by addressing the homeless crisis on our streets, as well as ensuring older people can continue to live in our city and continuing to attract the next generation of New Yorkers. I'm proud to have sponsored legislation to reform our rent laws, protect tenants from eviction, and build additional housing through zoning reforms. I'll continue to advocate for more 100% affordable supportive housing on state-owned land, such as what is being built with my support at the former Bayview women's correctional facility in West Chelsea.

Second, we need to improve the sense of public safety in our communities, including addressing crime, but also [addressing] issues like speeding cars, mopeds, and e-bikes that create a sense of chaos and disorder on our streets. I've passed landmark legislation banning untraceable ghost guns, [legislation] holding gun manufacturers liable for their unsafe products, and [expanded] hate crime protections to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and anti-LGBTQ hatred. To make our streets safer, I've also successfully advocated lowering speed limits and [required] mopeds to be licensed with NYS DMV.

Third, we have to continue efforts to support our public schools and our students, including fighting for full foundation aid for NYC. I'm particularly proud of my efforts on behalf of students with dyslexia. As the parent of a 13-year-old who has reading differences, I understand the challenges our families face, and I passed legislation establishing a Dyslexia Task Force to implement screening and teaching methods for dyslexic students. I'm currently awaiting the Governor's signature on my first-in-the-nation legislation requiring health insurance plans to cover the expenses of neuropsychological exams for dyslexic students, [for] which out-of-pocket costs range between $5,000 and $10,000.

Do you believe congestion pricing is the right way to fund the MTA and reduce traffic in Manhattan? If not, what alternative policy would you propose that could accomplish both of these aims?

Yes, I strongly support congestion pricing as a way to not only help fund the MTA to the tune of $16.5 billion, but also limit traffic, reduce carbon emissions and particulate matter, help address the climate crisis, and make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

There are other advantages, too. I recently co-authored a report with former NYC DOT Commissioner "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz showing that congestion pricing is important to reducing travel time for ambulances and other emergency vehicles - meaning that reducing traffic through congestion pricing could save lives.

Do you support increased fare enforcement on the city’s subways and buses?

It's simply not fair for some New Yorkers to be literally free riders on our subways and buses at the expense of the rest of us who pay, not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars fare evasion costs the MTA each year (the estimate is close to $600 million in 2022 alone!). I'm hopeful [that] with the planned new saloon-style turnstiles we can help address this problem on the subways, although some TikTok users are already demonstrating a hack they devised to beat the new system. We still need a more efficient and effective way to tackle fare evasion on buses, where nearly half of riders don't pay.

I also support the expansion of the fare-free pilot program for selected bus routes and reduced fares for low-income New Yorkers through the Fair Fares initiative, but these initiatives require the MTA to be solvent in the long term.

Although crime remains statistically low, many New Yorkers say they feel unsafe. Outline one specific action you’d take to address the lack of safety some New Yorkers say they’re experiencing.

I have more than one action that I'm working on, so here goes. I'm committed to continuing my efforts with the District Attorney to crack down on illegal and untraceable "ghost guns" by passing my bill to criminalize the transfer of data files and plans to assemble these weapons at home using a 3D printer. I've also worked with the D.A. on expanding our hate crimes law and a new law to pursue individuals who are using social media platforms to fence stolen items.

Speaking of social media, my Stop Hiding Hate Act, which is currently awaiting the Governor's signature, would hold X (formerly, Twitter) and other platforms accountable for hate speech directed at minority communities.

As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I've worked to expand problem-solving courts, including one in our Senate district that connect defendants with services for mental health, addiction, and job training as part of their sentencing. I'm also proud to have authored legislation, the Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act, which are making our communities safer because predators are being brought to justice for sexual abuse.

In particular, anNYPD index of seven major felony offenses shows that while homicides have plummeted over the past two decades, assault and grand larceny – theft – have risen. What specific actions will you prioritize to address felony assaults and grand larceny in particular?

I'm a strong believer in problem-solving courts to address the recidivist defendant by linking sentencing to services and treatment. I recently helped reopen Midtown Community Justice Center, one such court, for additional days. In addition, I've worked closely with the District Attorney to help prosecute the fencing of stolen items online, which has caused much of the "smash-and-grabs" in parts of our district.

New York City is historically unaffordable. What can Albany do about it, and do you support the spirit of Mayor Adams' "City of Yes" proposal?

We need to build more affordable housing and protect tenants who are currently rent-regulated or live under rent control (many of whom are seniors). I support tax incentives to build affordable housing, but only if they are tied to auditing and other transparency requirements so the public can be assured we're getting our money's worth from private developers. Also, Albany should dedicate a revenue stream to NYCHA (which has frustratingly never existed) and I'm supportive of efforts for the State to directly build affordable and supportive housing on state property (sometimes called "social housing"), such as is happening at the former Bayview women's correctional facility. I'm proud to have been a co-sponsor of the new Good Cause eviction protections which will prevent many tenants in our district from unconscionable rent increases.

Finally, Albany should take direct action to repeal outdated and exclusionary zoning laws that have hampered housing construction, particularly in the suburbs, and encourage new affordable housing construction near transit hubs and on the property of religious institutions.

I support the general spirit of the "City of Yes" proposal, one for its laudable goals to streamline the creation of housing, but also because it was proposed by City Planning Commissioner Dan Garodnick, whose leadership I trust. "City of Yes" is currently being negotiated by the City Council, but of course, the devil is in the details.

Would you support state legislation that prohibits foreign buyers from purchasing property in New York, as part of an effort to address the housing affordability crisis? Other states, including Hawaii, are considering such legislation.

I sponsored the original pied-a-terre tax, which would have taxed non-primary residences assessed at $5 million or more, including those owned by foreign owners, and dedicated those funds to NYCHA or the creation of affordable housing. We included the proposal in the Senate One-House Budget but ultimately the effort stalled because the City, which would have been the primary beneficiary of such a tax, wasn't supportive. I guess the old saying is true. You can bring a horse to water, but [you] can't make it drink.

Some New Yorkers feel that the federal charges against Mayor Eric Adams are more or less business as usual in the city. How do you view the implications of these charges for public trust in city leadership, and what specific steps would you take to ensure greater transparency and accountability in local government?

I called for Mayor Adams to resign on the day the charges were announced by the federal prosecutor. Charges of public corruption are always damaging to the public trust at all levels of government, unfortunately. I think the system is working to the extent that this alleged corruption scheme was uncovered in the first place, but there's no question that our anti-corruption and anti-nepotism laws need to be strongly enforced. At the end of the day, it's up to the voters to make the right choices on who represents them. Eric Adams and other recent disgraced public officials (Senator Robert Menendez and Representative George Santos come to mind) were clouded by lies and corruption during their election bids. Part of the problem [of] why voters don't focus on these red flags may be due to the rising scarcity of local news coverage, which is why I successfully sponsored the Local Media Tax Credit to create a $90 million lifeline for independent news organizations to hire more journalists.

New York State – and City – are weighing prohibitions on cell phone use in schools. Do you support banning students' cell phone use in schools?

I do - both as a public official and as the parent of a 13-year-old. In fact, I carry legislation in Albany to ban cell phone use in schools. That said, for security reasons and a parent's peace of mind, we have to ensure that a cell phone ban is restricted to the classroom, not to and from a child's way to school.

Describe one policy idea – which has a reasonable chance of making its way through the legislative process – that you feel would meaningfully impact the lives of your constituents.

Here's a bit of a curve ball to answer your question. My policy idea would meaningfully impact the lives and the deaths of my constituents. I carry the Medical Aid in Dying Act which would allow mentally competent adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live to have the option to request and obtain medication to hasten their death in order to die peacefully if their suffering is unbearable. Ten states and the District of Columbia already have similar common-sense end-of-life provisions on their books, and my bill is supported by nearly 70% of New Yorkers and has dozens of cosponsors in the Senate and Assembly. I think 2025 is the year we could get it across the finish line in Albany.

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