VOTE411 Voter Guide

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As a lifelong Staten Islander and mother of four, I understand the challenges families have faced in our community. I’ve championed initiatives like establishing Staten Island’s first Community Justice Center and securing $7 million to expand neonatal and pediatric care at Richmond University Medical Center. As a champion of MWBE, I founded the Minority Women in Business Association to support women entrepreneurs and have secured over $75 million for local schools, parks, and healthcare. Funding public education is paramount, and I’ve worked to enhance educational resources, including funding for a new 600-seat public school as part of the North Shore Action Plan. I’m committed to building a safer, more equitable Staten Island where women and families thrive.

As a proud member of the New York City Council’s first-ever women-led majority, I know how essential it is for local government to center the everyday experiences of women and families. Whether it’s safety in our streets, economic opportunity for working mothers, or access to high-quality schools and healthcare, I approach every decision with the belief that our neighborhoods deserve dignity, investment, and leadership that listens.

1. Public Safety and Community Health

In my district, safety means being able to walk to school without fear, take transit at night without worry, and raise children in a community where opportunity outweighs danger. That’s why I helped lead the effort to create Staten Island’s first-ever Community Justice Center. This initiative is groundbreaking: it will provide our youth with access to wraparound support like legal assistance, education services, mental health counseling, and alternatives to incarceration. This kind of investment is how we build real safety—by supporting people before they fall through the cracks.

In the Council, I’ve introduced and supported legislation to bring more transparency to policing, including a bill requiring the NYPD to publicly report on arrests of individuals under 18. I’ve also worked to improve neighborhood lighting on “step streets” and under-resourced corridors to ensure safer environments for pedestrians, especially women and seniors.

I believe in a comprehensive model of public safety—one that recognizes that housing, youth engagement, health, and infrastructure all play a role.

2. Economic Opportunity and Support for Women-Owned Businesses

The economic impact of COVID-19 was particularly severe for women, and especially for mothers, caregivers, and women of color. In many ways, the pandemic exposed what women in our communities already knew: we’ve been holding up our families and our neighborhoods without the support we deserve.

I founded the Minority Women in Business Association of Staten Island to provide support, training, and advocacy for women entrepreneurs who are often overlooked by traditional funding and networking systems. We host workshops, create space for mentorship, and work closely with city agencies to ensure these businesses have access to city contracts and recovery resources.

As a Council Member, I’ve also helped direct over $75 million in public investments to our schools, parks, hospitals, and cultural institutions—many of which provide local jobs and vital services to families in our district. And through the $400 million North Shore Action Plan, I’ve ensured that our vision for revitalizing Staten Island’s waterfront includes over 7,500 jobs and real opportunities for MWBEs to participate in building our future.

3. Education and Healthcare Access

Every child deserves a strong start, and every family deserves access to care. These are personal issues for me, as a mother and as someone who has spent years working with youth and families on the North Shore. That’s why I’ve prioritized funding our schools, after-school programs, and early childhood centers. Through my work with the Council and the Economic Development Corp., I secured a commitment for a new 600-seat public school in the North Shore Action Plan, a much-needed investment as our district grows. But we still have a long way to go. I’ll continue advocating for smaller class sizes, fully funded school-based mental health supports, and capital improvements for aging schools.

In my first 100 days, I will focus on delivering real results that reflect the needs of women, families, and working people in District 49.

First, I’ll advance the next phase of the North Shore Action Plan to ensure the promised housing, jobs, public school, and open space begin moving forward with community input and transparency. We’ve secured a historic $400 million investment, now it’s time to make sure it delivers for our residents.

Second, I’ll strengthen support for youth and public safety by expanding violence prevention programs and securing permanent funding for the new Staten Island Community Justice Center. I’ll also continue pushing for legislation that increases transparency and accountability in law enforcement, because safety must include justice.

Third, I’ll prioritize small business recovery and economic equity, especially for women- and minority-owned businesses. That includes launching new workforce partnerships, streamlining access to city resources, and investing in the community anchors, like childcare and healthcare, that keep families stable and our economy strong.

My most ambitious goal is to transform Staten Island’s North Shore into a model for equitable, community-driven development, one that delivers real opportunity without displacing the people who’ve built this community. Through the $400 million North Shore Action Plan, I aim to bring thousands of jobs, affordable housing units, a new public school, and 20 acres of open space to our district, while ensuring MWBEs and residents are centered in the process. This isn’t just about development; it’s about creating a safer, healthier, and more inclusive future that reflects the needs of our families, especially women and working-class New Yorkers who are too often left out of big decisions. I want our children to grow up in a North Shore that offers them not just safety and services, but pride, belonging, and opportunity.

The biggest challenges to achieving this vision are the lack of community trust for large-scale development, and ensuring that funding reaches our residents. Too often, transformative plans get stalled by red tape or reshaped without meaningful input from the communities most impacted. On Staten Island, skepticism toward development is real and justified when residents feel ignored or displaced. That’s why I’m committed to transparency, accountability, and making sure North Shore residents, especially women, families, and MWBEs, are at the center of every decision. We also need stronger interagency coordination and sustained political will to keep this $400 million investment on track and aligned with our values. My job is to be the bridge between residents and City Hall, vision and execution, and I’m ready to keep fighting for a North Shore that works for all of us.

The top three issues facing the North Shore of Staten Island are Crime, Affordability, and Education.

Crime: I will use the Council’s oversight power to hold city agencies accountable for delivering the resources Staten Island needs. I will push for increased resources and training for the NYPD and advocate for funding to support precincts and community-based anti-crime programs. I will also work to repeal laws that undermine public safety.

On affordability, I will focus on legislation that provides immediate property tax relief for homeowners and support tax incentives for small businesses. I will use the budget process to oppose wasteful spending and redirect funds to essential services Staten Islanders rely on.

On education, I will advocate for increased Council funding for school safety officers and capital improvements in North Shore schools. I will also sponsor legislation to strengthen parental involvement in education and increase transparency at NYC Public Schools, so families know how resources are being used and can better hold the system accountable.

1. Introduce legislation to restore stronger public safety measures that keep repeat offenders from returning to our neighborhoods.

2. Begin working with city and state leaders to reduce Staten Island’s unfair property tax burden and utility costs that are straining Staten Island families.

3. Launch a North Shore Education Committee (parents, students, teachers), along with community leaders, to identify immediate improvements for school safety, accountability, and transparency.

My most ambitious goal would be to quickly improve the quality-of-life issues on Staten Island’s North Shore. Keeping public safety a top priority, increasing trust between the community and law enforcement, and providing enhanced outdoor public spaces and business opportunities for everyone to enjoy and experience.

The biggest impediments are the radical policies coming from City Hall that prioritize illegal immigrants and criminals over citizens. Too often, the voices of Staten Islanders are drowned out or ignored by political agendas from outside our borough that lack common sense.