Vision for the 26th District

Through my extensive community leadership experience, I will lead our neighborhoods into the future not through a partisan ideological lens, but through a deep understanding of our community's most pressing needs. Select an issue that you care about below to learn about my stance and my record.

Issues

Click on an issue below to read Denise’s plans.

Creating More Affordable Housing

Affordable Housing is perhaps the most important issue facing New York City in 2021. As we rebuild from the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, we must ensure that all New York City residents have access to affordable housing. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Advocate to recalculate Area Median Income (AMI) by using a more local district or zip code so that residents aren’t priced out of their own neighborhood.
Work with Community Land Trusts to acquire city owned buildings and/or land to build with non-profit partners and develop truly affordable housing. We must put affordable housing decisions in the hands of our community members, and not developers.
Work with developers to ensure that dedicated portions of any new building are designated for seniors and veterans.
Fight to ensure full public funding for NYCHA without privatization, and demand adequate maintenance for NYCHA buildings and complexes.

My Record:

As Community Board 2 Chairwoman, I advocated for a portion of every new housing development within the district to be available for lower than market rate Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, every project in which tax abatements were offered to developers was done with affordable housing in mind. And finally, as a resident of our community, I vocally supported housing for seniors and veterans in the new Hunter’s Point South development.

Improving Public Transportation

I firmly believe that we need to grow Queens’ transportation network, improve the efficiency of and safety on our current public transportation options, and provide more accessible public transit to all Queens residents. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Advocate to expand the bus lanes network so that neighborhoods such as Blissville have better access to reliable public transportation.
Support CBTC, otherwise known as Communications Based Train Control, which allows for better management of train traffic. With this system, there is continuous communication between the rail data and train car and riders have more reliable subway transit.
Work to speed up vehicle boarding by allowing riders to pay before they get on the bus, and work with MTA to improve the design of buses for people with differing abilities.
Fight to implement an E-hail system to replace Access-A-Ride, which would make an on-demand service for seniors or differently-abled individuals to travel more easily and directly for their personal appointments and day-to-day needs.

My Record:

As Chair of CB2 Transportation Committee, I regularly worked with representatives from the MTA to ensure they were on target with their schedule to complete the Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) on the 7 train. We also identified a number of issues with the train tracks and continued to hold the MTA accountable for their repairs timetable. And finally, I facilitated several public meetings with DOT and MTA officials for community members to voice concerns and suggest improvements to the Access-A-Ride program.

Improving Public Safety

We must work with the NYPD to keep our communities safe, there is no other way. A truly safe community values both law enforcement and community leaders working together to prevent crime. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Work with NYPD to ensure that all officers are thoroughly vetted and undergo extensive background checks. I will also work with NYPD to provide comprehensive de-escalation training to all officers.
Review the current crime statistics and determine where we could increase or decrease the number of officers within a specific neighborhood.
Develop a targeted action plan to assign multilingual officers to neighborhoods where there are fewer English-speaking residents, to help facilitate a stronger relationship between law enforcement and community members.
Work with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to take preventative action when working with those suffering with mental illness, such as education programs, job training programs, and affordable housing opportunities.

My Record:

As Chair of CB2, I routinely met with the 108 precinct leaders about local crime statistics and action taken to improve public safety. Every month the Community Affairs Officers would provide tips and suggestions to residents about keeping themselves and their homes safe. When crime was on the rise in Sunnyside in 2020, we on the Community Board communicated safety tips directly to residents including locking their windows and doors to prevent robberies.

Revitalizing Small Businesses

When our next council member takes office in 2022, we will hopefully have the COVID-19 public health crisis fully behind us. However, the economic recovery from COVID-19 will take years, and helping small businesses get back on their feet should be the top economic priority. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Review and re-consider the Small Business Job Survival Act to keep small businesses open and save jobs.
Provide amnesty to those small businesses facing crippling fines, such as outdoor signage and waiting permit fees.
Advocate to change the fines associated with minor infractions within small businesses, reducing the financial burden on them. I would also give these small businesses an opportunity to correct an issue that could result in a fine before issuing the fine.

My Record:

When I served as President of Big Six Towers, I approved the re-negotiation of contracts with local small business owners on Big Six property whose revenues were suffering, in order to allow them to remain open and protect our local small business community.

Creating New Jobs

If we are going to incentivize district residents to stay in Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, and Astoria and make these neighborhoods their permanent home, we must do the work to create good-paying jobs in our communities. Far too many residents in our neighborhoods are unemployed or underpaid, especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Protect tax incentives for businesses who move into the outer boroughs, including Queens, as opposed to Manhattan.
Partner with local businesses to offer job training and apprenticeship programs to local community college and Cornell Tech students in growing sectors including IT, computer science, and other technology-focused occupations.
Work to create a Tech Hub within Long Island City to encourage companies of the future to plant roots in the 26th District.
Allow gig workers to perform in outdoor spaces with revised permits enabling them more opportunities to work and to do so while earning a decent wage.

My Record:

As the Amazon Co-Chair of the General Project Plan Sub-Committee, I supported their move to Long Island City because of the 10,000-15,000 local jobs that would have been created. The move could have brought with it hundreds of ancillary opportunities for restaurants, hair salons, dry cleaners etc. I believe that their commitment to considering and mitigating a potential adverse impact on our local housing, transportation, and education needs was a serious commitment, and that the net result on our local economy, tax revenue, and infrastructure would have been a major boost for our neighborhoods.

Protecting Our Seniors

We owe to our seniors nothing but the best services that our city government has to offer. Far too often, government-funded services that are designed to protect our seniors are the first on the chopping block when times get tough, and it’s unacceptable. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Advocate for and work with developers to create more housing focused on a naturally occurring retirement community concept, in which seniors have access to services and social opportunities.
Fight to provide safe and reliable transportation options for seniors to more easily travel to doctor appointments and other daily activities.
Offer solutions to seniors struggling with isolation, food insecurity and delayed medical appointments. I will also offer mobile solutions for library services and work hand in hand with the Agency for the Aging to develop plans for local senior programs that offer more opportunities for routine human interaction.
Work to create digital educational seminars to educate seniors how to Facetime, Skype, and other social media platforms to allow them to better connect with loved ones.

My Record:

During my time serving as Chairwoman of Community Board 2, I strongly advocated for affordable housing specifically designed for senior citizens. In addition, I strongly advocated against the ineffectiveness of Access-A-Ride, which is why I now support gradually replacing Access-A-Ride with a new E-hail service to provide more direct and reliable transportation for seniors.

Advocating for People with Disabilities

Every member of our community deserves a seat at the table, and people with disabilities are no exception. All policies put forth and all community meetings held must be done with people with disabilities in-mind. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Advocate to shorten distance between bus stops, and make our train stops accessible with ramps and elevator access.
Fight to secure civil rights protections for people with disabilities, particularly in the workplace. Unemployment rates among people with disabilities continue to be far too high.
Retrofit current housing options to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. I will also work with developers to create new housing opportunities specifically designed for those with differing abilities.
Ensure that a sign language interpreter is present for all meetings, and that our office and Community Board have large-font printed materials at all meetings.

My Record:

As the former chair of Community Board 2, I advocated for additional elevators for every station along the 7 train from Court Square to 61st-Woodside. In this position, I also advocated for private car vouchers for seniors and those with disabilities due to the Access-A-Ride system’s poor record. Furthermore, as a board member of Big Six Towers, I was heavily involved in the decision making process to improve our lobbies with automatic doors and ramps for people using wheelchairs.

Aiding Our Homeless Population

Our current Mayor is failing to get the job done in regards to truly helping our homeless population in New York City, and our current City Councilman isn’t doing anything to help. We need real, bold solutions to put homeless people back on track towards leading a successful, happy life. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Make a long-term reinvestment of money currently committed to homeless shelter vouchers to permanent affordable housing units on community land trust spaces or in smaller buildings owned by faith-based organizations.
Gradually end the practice of warehousing homeless people into converted hotels and motels, which forces homeless people into poor living conditions and potentially has a negative impact on surrounding communities.
Work with non-profit partners to provide the homeless with basic life skills and job training services to better enable them to find new or better paying jobs.

My Record:

During my time serving as Community Board 2 Chair, I strongly supported homeless families living within the district. We hosted clothing and toy drives enabling unhoused families to feel welcomed into our neighborhood and have access to basic necessities. In addition, I’ve worked with the Borden Avenue Veteran Shelter to advocate for improved support services for homeless veterans.

Fighting for More Parks and Green Space

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all intensely felt the need for additional parks and green space throughout our district. We live in a beautiful place, and it’s imperative that our leaders find new opportunities to create accessible outdoor spaces. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Support the Blissville Greenway proposal creating a pedestrian and bicycle path from the Kosciuszko Bridge to Dutch Kills.
Work to create waterfront access to Newtown Creek using the Vernon Boulevard Bulkhead.
Actively encourage the creation of green space and garden access for all new housing developments throughout the district.

My Record:

During my time as Chairwoman of Community Board 2, we participated in the renovation of numerous parks, ensuring safe spaces for our children and seniors. I strongly supported the construction of Hart Playground, Bush Park, Little Bush Park and the two parks still under construction in Maspeth as part of the Kosciuszko Bridge. I also led a group of local LIC Stakeholders to develop a Comprehensive Waterfront Plan along Anable Basin. Our goal was to determine and prioritize needs, with Open Space and Resiliency as our most pressing issues. We recommended 20% of the site should be used for open space to improve concrete/green space ratio percentages, include variety of landscape design, active recreation, shade and sun and use rooftops whenever possible.

Addressing Our Infrastructure Needs

Our roads are crumbling, pedestrian travel is unsafe in many places, and our waterfront still does not have adequate protection nearly 10 years after Hurricane Sandy. We need all-hands-on-deck in our city government to take on rebuilding Western Queens’ infrastructure. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Long Island City continues to suffer from a lack of resiliency with extreme flooding in low lying areas, so I will advocate to construct sea walls and ensure more efficient sewers are installed along our waterfront in order to alleviate flooding.
Implement the Department of Transportation’s Initiatives for People with Disabilities by improving pedestrian ramps, signals, and light intervals as well as promote the Safe Streets for Seniors Program across the district.
Advocate for bike lanes throughout the district, except in targeted instances where the bike lanes prevent business owners from accessing loading zones, in manufacturing zones where bicyclists could be in danger, or where driving lanes are removed and create congestion.

My Record:

As Chairwoman of Community Board 2, I fought to ensure that sewer replacements for high flood areas including Wynwood Gardens and Long Island City were top priorities in our budget. In addition, before COVID, I advocated for the improvement of pedestrian ramps and implemented pedestrian plazas on 12th street and street seats for outdoor dining.

Strengthening Healthcare Access

In the spring of 2020, New York City suffered the most intense period of the COVID-19 pandemic of any city or state across the country. Just because we are coming out of the public health crisis now does not mean that we can take our foot off the pedal when it comes to doing everything within the city government’s power to ensure and strengthen access to quality, affordable healthcare. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Advocate for quarterly audits of nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in the 26th district to ensure that they are in compliance with the New York City of Health’s standards.
Advocate to give seniors and low-income families free rides to doctor’s appointments and other necessary medical treatments.
Partner with local teaching hospitals and other medical professional institutions to send mobile units to public housing, senior facilities, and pre-K and daycare facilities to provide checkups and preventative healthcare services more affordably and with easier access.

My Record:

As Community Board 2 Chairwoman, I worked before the COVID-19 pandemic with Elmhurst Hospital to provide a mobile unit for breast cancer screenings. I also advocated for ferry service from Long Island City to the Upper East Side to get Queens residents easier access to multiple hospitals in Manhattan.

Strengthening Public Education

Our children are our future, so it is up to us to make sure that every kid growing up in New York City has access to a quality public education. As a product of public education myself, and as the wife of an educator, I know the importance of having a city government that is on the side of teachers and students. As your next City Councilwoman, I will:

Encourage specific skill training in specialized high schools to improve New York City’s vocational training opportunities and help lead students who do not want to attend college into trade professions.
Advocate to employ full-time nurses, social workers, librarians in all public schools.
Fight to create additional 3k and pre-k seats to ease the burden placed on working families and get kids into classrooms at a younger age.
Advocate for arts, dance, music, technology courses to provide students with a more rewarding and holistic educational experience.

My Record:

As Community Board 2 Chairwoman, I advocated for local students of P.S. 78 in Long Island City to stay at their original schools, instead of a proposal to bus them to schools further away in Woodside. I also re-implemented an education committee on the Community Board, which was dormant before my time as chairwoman. And finally, in this same role, I advocated for the new grammar school on Barnett Ave to create easier access for local children and smaller classroom sizes.

Creating More Affordable Housing

Advocate to recalculate Area Median Income (AMI) by using a more local district or zip code so that residents aren’t priced out of their own neighborhood.
Work with Community Land Trusts to acquire city owned buildings and/or land to build with non-profit partners and develop truly affordable housing. We must put affordable housing decisions in the hands of our community members, and not developers.
Work with developers to ensure that dedicated portions of any new building are designated for seniors and veterans.
Fight to ensure full public funding for NYCHA without privatization, and demand adequate maintenance for NYCHA buildings and complexes.

My Record:

As Community Board 2 Chairwoman, I advocated for a portion of every new housing development within the district to be available for lower than market rate Area Median Income (AMI). Additionally, every project in which tax abatements were offered to developers was done with affordable housing in mind. And finally, as a resident of our community, I vocally supported housing for seniors and veterans in the new Hunter’s Point South development.