Facebook Live has been the tool of choice for many candidates running for elected office this year. For Adolfo Abreu, in his bid to win the District 14 City Council race and replace incumbent councilman, Fernando Cabrera, who is term limited, it has also proven to be a fruitful means of cultivating community conversations on each of the six specific strands of his campaign platform.

 

Focusing his attention on a homes’ guarantee and community control of housing, just and quality education, participatory democracy and co-governance, community health and wellness, safety and dignity in communities, and economic development, Abreu has his work cut out for him.

 

“There’s a lot of priorities in this district, housing being one of the most important ones,” he said. “I was raised by a single mother, and I’ve lived all my life in the district. My mom had to be a home attendant for the first 11 years of my life, making $4.50 an hour and trying to make sure that there was food on the table, but also having to make sure she was able to afford the rent.”

 

Abreu said it’s a common story throughout the district. “Housing is really a critical piece of our platform, to fight for housing that is permanently affordable, and make sure people are living in good conditions,” he said. We discuss the recent opposition by some homeowners to the plans to build more affordable housing next to St. James Episcopal Church in Fordham, which falls under Community Board 7 and Council District 14. Some residents say the neighborhood is saturated and under-serviced, a situation not unique to that community.

 

“I hear the argument and that concern,” said Abreu. “Where I kind of have some common ground with folks who have issues with new buildings is that those buildings actually are rarely affordable for even the members of our communities.” He continued, “I think the conversation will look different if people in our neighborhoods will be able to afford, and if there are stronger protections for people to live in a particular community board, being able to apply to live in those buildings.”

 

Abreu said everyone should be in agreement that there is a housing crisis, and should make sure that any building constructed in a common space is done in conversation with, and addressing the needs of the community, by asking what kinds of essential services are needed that could benefit everyone, and are not currently provided.

 

“I think that will, kind of, be different than what we’ve seen in which it’s just new buildings being constructed – not affordable – and those developers are not in conversation with members of the community about what are the kind of community spaces they need, or what role they can perform.” he said.

 

We ask Abreu if he thinks the current ULURP process should be reimagined given it often feels like a “cart before the horse,” type scenario, with developers and architects swooping in to make slick presentations to community boards, not yet having fully engaged with all stakeholders. As a longtime community organizer with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, he said he is all for more co-governance.

 

“I think the community needs to be invited in a conversation much earlier, rather than us kind of being sold into a plan and then not having real processes for us to be engaged, and asked for our opinion,” he said, adding that often the ULURP process does seem very performative.

 

He is also a big fan of participatory budgeting (PB) even if the budgets are small, and wants to bring the process to District 14, as has been done in other city districts. “That could be a good mechanism, if not the perfect program, but it’s a good mechanism to engage residents to have a conversation about what are the things they would like to see change in the district,” he said.

 

“It can bring capital improvement projects to our parks, to our schools, and I think they just really get people excited to be involved in the democratic process,” Abreu said, adding that PB also helps form relationships with people across the district, educating communities about how the budget process works.

 

“Each council person either has access to their own discretionary dollars, but then also advocates for larger allocations through the larger city council budget,” he said. “So, I think it’s important to make sure that our communities know what their council representatives can and cannot do.”

 

In terms of raising revenue to fund his plans, Abreu said he believes City and State should work together to come up with innovative ways to tax the wealthy, and redirect funds away from city departments, like the police department, to others where he believes they are most needed. He said he would not have voted for the June budget, though he acknowledges it was a complex negotiation for all involved.

 

On the topic of police defunding, given the police acknowledge they are not trained mental health experts, we ask Abreu how he would suggest handling situations involving mentally unstable people who are armed. “I think the first step is how do we support people so that we de-escalate situations where the police might not be around the building,” he said. “My approach will be not to have them involved at all, nor be the first people to respond.”

 

He would also like to see data on the topic. “I want to know how many incidences we see of someone who needs [psychological] support and has a weapon, because I think that might just lead us to be fearful of a situation that can actually be remediated, if we focus on how to elevate things like community wellness,” he said.

 

Asked what sets him apart in the race, Abreu said making sure he involves the community in the decision-making process, plus his 16 years of organizing in the Northwest Bronx. “It’s important to have candidates [that] have a proven track record of work in the community, but also making sure that we have people who ultimately want to get into office, will be held accountable by the community, and be supported by the community,” he said.