As the focus continues on the 34th Senate District race between incumbent Sen. Jeff Klein and challenger Alessandra Biaggi, the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) organized an issues-based forum that saw Biaggi but also candidates for the 33rd and 36th Senate District races.

State Senators Gustavo Rivera and Jamaal Bailey, representing the 33rd and 36th Senate Districts respectively, are on the ballot. Bailey and Rivera, both Democrats, face a September primary against respective Republicans Steven Stern and Nicole Torres of the 33rd Senate District, and Robert Diamond of the 36th Senate District. Biaggi and Klein face Antonio Vitiello of the 34th Senate District. Bailey’s district covers Norwood, Bedford Park, Co-Op City, Edenwald, Wakefield, and Mt. Vernon in neighboring Westchester County. Rivera represents Kingsbridge, Fordham, the West Bronx, and Van Nest.

The Republican challengers were absent from the forum, as was Klein. Organizers spent a month trying to get the candidates to accept the invitation. Their absence allowed their rivals to present their platforms that were favorable to NWBCCC without counterpoints present. It also allowed Democrats’ to reemphasize their need to retake control of the State Legislature. Democrats control the Assembly while the Republicans control the Senate.

The candidates mostly approached solutions to issues on the same page, outlining a largely progressive agenda that focused on housing, healthcare, business, transportation, and education. While Biaggi stood as a hardline reformist on housing issues, Rivera and Bailey stood cautiously supportive on issues involving proposed bills lobbied by rent reform groups. Among them was legislation to remove rent increases following Major Capital Improvements (MCI) in rent stabilized apartment buildings. Bailey and Rivera support the concept of the bill but were not ready to fully support it until they saw the bill’s language.

Rivera stood in favor or repealing the Urstadt Law, which gives control of a municipality’s rent stabilization laws to the state instead of a municipality. Rivera blamed the continuation of the law on Senate Republicans who control the housing committee.

“The people who have led the [Senate] housing committee are folks who have in some instances, literally, more cows than people in their districts,” said Rivera.

Housing issues also bled into the issue of the fragile small business climate, with Biaggi issuing penalties to landlords who harass commercial tenants out and “have a history of abuse.”

The issues also turned to the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), particularly the issue of high lead levels at the agency’s buildings.

The candidates heard from Tiesha Jones, the tenant president of Bailey Houses who served as the inspiration for a bill sponsored by Rivera dubbed Dakota’s Law. The bill package would increase the age of lead testing from age 6 to 18, mandates insurers to cover lead testing screenings, and create a reporting hotline for lead exposure to doctors.

Bailey blamed the issues on NYCHA and its lack of attention on the federal government, which he says has disinvested from the public housing authority.

Biaggi said a solution to fixing NYCHA requires strength in numbers. “It requires each and every one of us not only to participate but to come to the table and to make sure that the issues are heard,” said Biaggi. “One voice is very strong, but many voices allow these things to rise up to the surface.”

Turning to issues of education, the candidates agreed over more school funding they believed is owed by the state through the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

“You have teachers in Castle Hill that are coming in on the weekends for free to teach things like coding because they can’t fund it during the school year. Right now, we have an unemployment that is very low, but we have a skills gap and that starts in the classrooms,” said Biaggi. “So being able to actually compete not only on a state level but on a national level and an international level really requires that we are fully funding our public schools.

When it came to the school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon, Bailey blamed aggressive suspensions of young people.

“I first came and saw the ridiculous things children were suspended for. For you having your hat on backwards. For you having your shoelaces untied. It became as opposed to discipline, it became punishment,” said Bailey. “You hope that they get an education and become a productive member of society not to unduly punish them and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Bailey credited himself and Rivera for killing a proposal to put an NYPD officer at every school.

Turning to issues on healthcare, the candidates promoted universal healthcare, a measure that’s been approved by the Assembly but voted down by the Senate. Rivera, the author of the New York Health Act bill, which would create a universal healthcare system.

“It would cover everybody regardless of your gender, regardless of your age, regardless of your immigration status,” said Rivera. “For any human being that resides here, if you get sick, we make sure you get coverage.”

While the event largely involved an echo chamber of progressive thoughts and ideas, with rounds of applause ringing throughout, Janice Hackney, a registered nurse at Montefiore, arrived with an open mind. A registered Independent who votes Democrat, Hackney was impressed by the candidates.

“Anytime there’s a candidate or campaign season candidates have a tendency speak and say what the community wants to hear, the real test will be after they get into office. Will they fulfill the promise?” asked Hackney. “There has to be a monitoring system in place.”

Following the event, Hackney said she’ll vote for Biaggi, Rivera, and Bailey.