Meet The Candidate Running Against Robert Jackson For Uptown Seat

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The Democratic primary for the New York state elections will take place on June. 28, and one of the most influential races in Upper Manhattan will be for the State Senate seat Robert Jackson currently holds.

The district, which is currently the 31st but is expected to become the 33rd after redistricting, covers Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side.

Jackson has held the position since 2018. Challenging him in the 2022 Democratic primary will be Angel Vasquez.

Vasquez immigrated from the Dominican Republic to Washington Heights at the age of four, before graduating from Cornell University and becoming a middle school teacher in Colorado.

He eventually returned to Washington Heights in 2013 to obtain a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University, and after graduation, first served as an education policy analyst in the New York State Senate.

Vasquez would go on to become the chief of staff to Marisol Alcantara, who is the first Dominican woman to be elected to the State Senate, however, was defeated in 2018 by Jackson in the same Senate district that Vasquez will be running for.

Alcantara had a tough time winning her reelection in part due to her decision to join the Independent Democratic Conference shortly after she was elected to the Upper Manhattan seat, which was a group of state senate Democrats that allied with the Senate Republications, allowing the party to control the chamber.

Vasquez now works as the senior policy advisor and deputy political director in the legislative and political action at the United Federation of Teachers, a union of over 190,000 members.

He is also an appointed board member of Community Board 12 in Manhattan where he serves as 2nd vice-chair of the board and vice-chair of the licensing committee.

Patch reached out to Vasquez to get a better understanding of his ideas for the office, here are his answers.

1) What pushed you to run now as a first-time elected official?

"I believe the district deserves bold new leadership that will serve as a modern and balanced voice in the community and Albany. We need someone who is interested in being an effective legislator in Albany and we need a representative who wants to service the entire community and is committed to keeping all residents safe and affordably housed. Residents, particularly in the predominantly immigrant part of the district who have very serious needs, feel neglected, while many others do not see an active legislator who wants to author legislation and see it move from bill draft to law. Serving as an advocate on issues is not enough; we deserve more. I believe I can create a culture of unity and work to deliver meaningful and tangible results for the district’s students, families, and workers."

2) How do you differentiate yourself from incumbent Mr. Jackson?

"With a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University and over seven years of professional experience in public policy, I will be an effective, active, and practical legislator. I am interested in bringing all stakeholders to the table to create sensible solutions, not simply pushing out solutions that grab headlines that do not get to the heart of the problem. For example, Mr. Jackson wants to ban suspensions in schools to close the school-to-prison pipeline. As a former middle school teacher, I know first-hand that banning suspensions doesn’t get to the heart of the disciplinary issues we see in schools. Instead, we need to improve school climate by embedding sustainable restorative justice practices; hiring more social workers, school psychologists, and guidance counselors; and diversifying our teacher workforce. In other words, we need to give schools the tools and resources they need to address disciplinary issues if we want to close the school-to-prison pipeline.

Additionally, as someone who has lived in the margins of our society whether it be because of my race, ethnicity, sexuality, or immigration status, I know what it takes to have to fight to have your voice heard. I will always serve as a champion for those most in need. I will work to properly fund our community-based organizations (CBOs) and build strong relationships between my district office and our CBOs to expand services for all residents of the district."

The Inwood rezoning plan was a longtime controversial plan within the Upper Manhattan community. Where do/did you stand on the issue, and how would you balance the addition of new affordable housing and other developments in Upper Manhattan while still preserving the existing neighborhood?

"We need to reform 421-a. The program was written in the 1970s to motivate developers to build housing that would bring back the middle class. We are no longer in the 1970s and the housing and economic needs of our city are different. The 80/20 (market rate/affordable housing) split does not work. With too many new market-rate units, rents go up in surrounding residential buildings and entire communities are displaced. New housing development is necessary, but it needs to be new housing that’s affordable for the existing community. With that said, I ultimately believe the Inwood Rezoning will bring too many market-rate units to the neighborhood and will speed up the displacement of the existing community."

2) Some Upper Manhattan community members complain that the neighborhood has seen an uptick in noise pollution, and are pushing for more enforcement around the issue. Other community members say that the majority of neighbors complaining about noise are gentrifiers and added enforcement will only lead to more people of color getting treated unfairly by police. What concrete steps, if any, would you take to address the noise pollution issue in Upper Manhattan?

"New York City is a global city of immigrants from across the world. We have people from very different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities living next to each other, and that could not be truer than in northern Manhattan. I find that we are failing to build community among neighbors. I would like to see government funding that incentivizes the creation of neighborhood, community, and block associations. The purpose is to have neighbors working together to come up with solutions that tackle hyper local issues, including noise. Noise pollution affects us all and blaming one another does not solve the problem. Instead, dwellers and local business owners should have spaces for healthy conversations where government agencies can be invited, if necessary to develop solutions."

3) Washington Heights and Inwood were hit harder than other Manhattan neighborhoods by the coronavirus pandemic. What concrete steps would you take to make sure businesses in the community are able to flourish as the pandemic hopefully comes to an end?

"We are seeing more entrepreneurs selling on the streets while brick-and-mortar stores continue to close. For those selling on the streets, we must fuel their entrepreneurial spirit by opening up doors of opportunity. I propose we create enclosed market spaces where street vendors can rent booths to sell their goods. As for reversing the closure of our brick-and-mortar stores, we need to tackle skyrocketing commercial rents. All new developments should include affordable commercial spaces and we should explore the idea of a commercial rent control program."

Here are the links to learn more about Vasquez and Jackson.

• Vasquez
• Jackson