Experience and Qualifications
23+ years as public servant. FDNY, NYPD, EMT. CUNY BMCC and Hunter College graduate
Community Involvement
UFAO and UFA member
Education
CUNY BMCC Associate and Hunter College Bachelors
Party Endorsements
UFA, UFAO, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, South Asian for America
Campaign Instagram
furhanforassembly
Healthcare: Too many of my neighbors in AD66 delay care because of cost and access barriers. I will fight to pass the New York Health Act, expand community-based mental health services, and ensure every New Yorker can see a doctor without fear of financial ruin.
Housing: Our district is losing long-term residents to rising costs. I will defend and strengthen rent stabilization, push for deeper investment in truly affordable housing, and protect the rights of tenants facing harassment and displacement.
Human Dignity and Quality of Life: After 23 years as an FDNY firefighter, EMT, and NYPD officer, I know that public safety means more than policing. It means clean streets, accessible public spaces, services for our seniors and unhoused neighbors, and a government that treats every person with respect. These priorities are rooted in my experience on the front lines serving New Yorkers through every kind of crisis.
Climate resilience is personal for me. I served with the FDNY during Hurricane Sandy, evacuating families and witnessing how vulnerable our infrastructure is. Lower Manhattan, including much of AD66, remains at severe flood risk.
New York must accelerate building retrofits and electrification to reduce emissions while creating good union jobs. We need to fully fund the Environmental Bond Act and direct resources toward flood protection and coastal resilience in neighborhoods like Battery Park City and TriBeCa.
I support strengthening the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to hold polluters accountable and ensure environmental justice communities receive priority investment. Climate policy must be housing policy: building greener must also mean building affordably, so the transition does not push working families out of their homes.
My father came to this country from Pakistan and drove a cab in New York City. I grew up understanding that dignity is not guaranteed, it is fought for. As a CUNY graduate and public servant who has served communities across the five boroughs, I have seen how systemic inequities shape people's lives.
I will fight to protect and expand funding for public education, particularly CUNY, the most powerful engine of upward mobility for immigrant and working-class New Yorkers. I support criminal justice reforms that prioritize rehabilitation and end the criminalization of poverty and mental illness.
I will advocate for stronger workplace protections, pay equity, and expanded access to affordable healthcare. I will also champion LGBTQ+ rights and protections for our transgender neighbors, especially important in a district with deep roots in the movement for queer liberation.
The Callais decision gutted one of the most important tools voters of color have to fight back against unfair maps and discriminatory election practices. It is a serious setback for our democracy.
New York already has the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, one of the strongest voting rights laws of any state. But we need to go further: expand oversight of local election changes, put more resources behind enforcement, and make sure our redistricting process stays fair and transparent.
I would also support calling on Congress to pass the federal John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. When the Supreme Court weakens protections, states have to step up. New York should lead the way.
Experience and Qualifications
I hold a deep understanding of housing challenges. I am a small business owner, President of a 500-unit cooperative, and serve on the Board of Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. In my role as Board President, I am held accountable to hundreds of families for quality of life and financial decisions for more than a decade. My work includes overseeing a 7-year, $22 million capital plan to comply with local laws and upgrade critical infrastructure. The upgrades have been featured in various trade publications, especially for our work involving energy efficiency. I focus on implementing practical solutions and balancing the competitive needs of our diverse community, including new and established homeowners, rent-stabilized tenants, fixed-income seniors, families, and staff.
Community Involvement
My community involvement is rooted in practical, on-the-ground leadership. For over a decade, I have served as the President of a large residential building in my district. During the COVID-19 crisis, I organized medical professionals within our building to implement safety protocols ahead of government mandates to keep our neighbors safe. I am also on the board of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. I fight everyday to defend co-op and condo homeowners from rising costs.
Education
The Ohio State University, B.A. Economics, B.A. Political Science, Specialization in Business
Campaign Phone
646-374-8512
Campaign Instagram
instagram.com/arnold4assembly
My top three priorities are affordability for renters and homeowners, public safety, and quality of life.
Due to limited supply, rents are rising at unsustainable rates. The fastest, most eco-friendly path to increasing housing stock is to bring 50,000 units currently offline, online. This would boost vacancy rates by up to 2% points, and I want these units reserved for low-income residents.
For homeowners in coops and condos, costs are rising at 3x the rate of inflation due to surging insurance costs, real estate taxes, and unfunded mandates costing upwards of $50K per unit. This is the opposite of affordable.
Public safety and quality of life starts with accountability and enforcing existing laws. We must support police while expanding mental health response services. I am also committed to licensing e-bikes to enforce traffic laws.
These issues are deeply connected. Residents need safe, livable neighborhoods. Housing policies must reflect the realities of renters and homeowners.
It is essential that we invest in the future of our world by protecting the environment, while considering the economic impact of decisions being made.
First, I will protect the biggest carbon fighting secret in NYS, the ancient forest in Cairo, NY. Ancient forests trap carbon at higher rates than new forests and hold species diversity.
Second, I will invest in clean energy initiatives. It’s surprising to learn that ConEd still burns fossil fuels to create electricity. When I am in Albany, I will fight to invest in clean energy that does not disturb the environment.
Third, I will invest in green jobs and training for the new green economy so that we can couple energy efficiency with economic prosperity.
I will work to implement common-sense policies with a focus on balance and practicality.
To promote social and racial justice, I will take a balanced approach that focuses on equity, accountability, and practical solutions.
One of my priorities is to improve housing affordability and fairness. We must ensure that housing policies reflect the realities of renters and homeowners, preventing displacement and protecting the ability of long-term residents to age in place.
I also support criminal justice reforms that make our system more effective and fair while maintaining public safety. We must evaluate policies based on outcomes to ensure they truly work for the communities they serve.
Finally, I will fight for economic opportunity for everyone in our state. Small businesses are the backbone of our neighborhoods. By reducing regulatory burdens and supporting local storefronts, we can foster neighborhood vitality and provide pathways to success for all residents.
I am committed to being a representative who listens to all voices to ensure government works for everyone.
Following the Louisiana v. Callais decision, which significantly weakened federal protections for majority-minority districts, I believe New York must take practical, proactive steps to protect fair representation and strengthen trust in our electoral system.
My first proposed action is to strengthen state-level protections. New York should reinforce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York to ensure that our state laws provide the robust protections for minority voters that the federal government has now diminished.
We must ensure that future redistricting processes prioritize keeping communities of interest together. This prevents diluting the voices of everyday New Yorkers.
Further, redistricting should be a transparent process. New Yorkers should feel that their maps are drawn to represent them, not to serve ideological extremes or partisan interests.
By focusing on stability and fairness, we can ensure all voices have meaningful seats at the table.
Experience and Qualifications
Co-founder – Abundance NY; Voter protection director/team leader – Biden for President, DCCC, state Democratic parties; Campaign manager – Tracy Mitrano for Congress; Co-founder and CEO – DipJar; Undergraduate instructor – Columbia University
Community Involvement
Community Board 2 Manhattan – member, former executive board; Hands Off NYC Downtown West – creator and co-leader; Stonewall Democrats; Manhattan WFP; Open Hearts; Brotherhood Synagogue
Education
Hunter College High School, Harvard University (BA), Columbia University (MA/MPhil)
Party Endorsements
NY Working Families Party
Campaign Instagram
www.instagram.com/ryderfornewyork/
Campaign YouTube
My top priority is lowering costs, particularly housing. Median rent in Manhattan is more than $5,000 per month–this is a true crisis. I'll fight to build more homes at all income levels, strengthen tenant protections and right to counsel, and pass universal childcare and healthcare so working families can afford to stay in New York.
Second is defending democracy and fighting authoritarianism. New York can be a true sanctuary, but we must pass New York for All to protect immigrants, guarantee gender-affirming and reproductive care, and use every legislative tool to push back against Trump's federal overreach and keep ICE off our streets.
Third is street safety and quality of life. I'll fight to mandate speed limiters for reckless drivers, design safer streets, expand protected bike lanes, make buses fast and free, and end the scarcity of psychiatric beds and supportive housing that keeps too many vulnerable New Yorkers on our streets.
New York must fully implement the CLCPA, and I will oppose any backsliding on our commitments. That means urgently deploying large-scale solar, wind, and geothermal projects; siting battery storage; and electrifying the grid. We must stop new fossil fuel infrastructure like the NESE pipeline and crack down on data centers and cryptomining that drive up energy demand without public benefit.
On resilience, our low-lying neighborhoods face real and growing threats from rising seas and intensifying storms. We need coastal protections, upgraded sewer and subway infrastructure, porous cement, bioswales, and massive tree cover expansion to protect our communities.
Finally, climate justice requires that the communities bearing the worst impacts benefit most from our investments. I will fight to ensure tangible climate funding reaches disadvantaged communities, and that the transition to clean energy creates good union jobs for New Yorkers.
Social and racial justice is not a separate agenda item–it is woven into everything I am fighting for. The cost of living crisis has driven out 9% of New York's Black population over the last two decades. Our housing shortage reflects Jim Crow-era exclusionary zoning. Immigrant communities live in fear of ICE on their streets. Women and girls face an assault on their bodily autonomy from an authoritarian federal government. And a broken criminal legal system overpolices and incarcerates non-white New Yorkers. These are each the results of structural inequality.
My approach is to attack these disparities directly by building more affordable housing, passing New York for All, ending mass incarceration, guaranteeing reproductive and gender-affirming care, and expanding healthcare access regardless of immigration status. Social justice requires the right values, the right policies, and the courage to fight for them against powerful interests that benefit from the status quo.
The Supreme Court's party-line decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted what remained of the Voting Rights Act, giving Republicans a green light to draw Black voters out of power. New York must meet the moment.
I have spent my career on the front lines of voter protection across nine states and five election cycles, fighting illegal photo ID requirements, absentee ballot denials, and GOP operatives steering minority voters away from polls. This ruling makes that work all the more urgent.
New York should immediately move to redraw our congressional map to counter GOP gerrymandering nationwide. We should pass the RECOURSE Act to withhold funds from a federal government that withholds money owed to us. And we must finally pass New York for All and the full suite of democracy protection bills that Albany has been sitting on for too long. Democracy won’t survive on our values alone. Leaders across the country and in New York must step up and fight for it–and I intend to do just that.
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Experience and Qualifications
Civil Rights Lawyer, NYU Law Professor, Former President of Village Independent Democrats
Community Involvement
Village Independent Democrats, Neighbors United for Immigrant Safety, Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel Hospital & NY Eye & Ear Infirmary
Education
University of Chicago (B.A., 2006); NYU Law School (J.D., 2009)
Campaign Phone
6466455337
Campaign Instagram
@siffertforny
Campaign YouTube
Making housing more affordable: Instead of handouts to developers, New York must invest in deeply affordable, accessible housing, create a Social Housing Development Authority, and fund expanded housing vouchers, paid for by a tax on vacant and warehoused units.
Protecting immigrants: Donald Trump cannot be allowed to keep terrorizing our communities. We must make New York a sanctuary state, ban ICE from state and municipal property, and allow New Yorkers to sue when ICE breaks the law.
Regulating AI: Unregulated AI poses risks to privacy, civil rights, our environment, our education, and our jobs, and ultimately it poses existential risks. I have already drafted many of the bills we need to pass to protect ourselves.
At the state level, the best climate policy is a good energy policy. This means a moratorium on new fossil fuel infrastructure, new data centers, and crypto mines. It means forcing data centers to pay their fair share of energy costs, as opposed to paying a “bulk purchase rate” subsidized by the rest of us. It means spending public money to bring large-scale renewable energy projects online, especially wind and solar. And it means fully implementing the CLCPA, including the cap & invest provisions, without rollbacks for emissions targets.
As a civil rights lawyer, I’ve spent my career fighting for social and racial justice.
As an Assemblymember, I have a long list of social and racial justice bills I would prioritize, in addition to new bills I want to introduce.
I have been a member – both as Legal Director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, and as Legislative Affairs Chair for the Village Independent Democrats – of the Justice Roadmap Coalition, which pushes for a broad set of relevant bills, including the Communities Not Cages and Parole Justice packages.
At S.T.O.P. I convened a Privacy New York coalition and a Ban The Scan coalition to fight against discriminatory mass surveillance, including creepy and biased tech like facial recognition. I will continue to champion these priorities.
Additionally, I would fight to expand private rights of action for civil rights violations, so existing civil rights laws are enforceable by the people they are designed to protect.
In 2021, New York had a ballot proposal (Prop 1) that would let Democrats fight back in the redistricting wars. However, neither Governor Cuomo nor Governor Hochul made any effort to pass the measure, and the Conservative Party spent millions and successfully defeated it. We need to bring that proposal back as a short-term stop-gap for the 2031 redistricting fight.
In the longer term, we need an interstate compact to end both partisan and racial gerrymandering. We also need to push for federal legislation banning partisan and racial gerrymandering nation-wide.
Experience and Qualifications
20 year technologist, most recently working as exec in education technology on remote learning and AI. 20 year grassroots organizer and civic educator, managing PAC budgets and organizations with thousands of members and planning events with attendance in the hundreds.
Community Involvement
Elected Democratic State Committee Member and the most active member in the last decade. Founding member of Hands Off Greenwich Village. Founding member of Hands Off Downtown West. 10 year civics educator. Downtown Independent Democrats, Village Independent Democrats
Education
B.A. Political Science / Honors Economics, General Course London School of Economics
Party Endorsements
State Committee Members: Vic Lee, AD 65 + Founder, Welcome to Chinatown / Wei Li Tjong, AD 65 / Maria Kaufer, AD 28 / Fran Hasselkorn, AD 75 / Anthony Feliciano, AD 74 + VP of Advocacy at Housing Works / Judith Hunter, AD 133 (Former Chair of NYSDC Rural Caucus) / Shannon Powell, AD 91 / Will Rivera, AD 122 / Alana Sawchuck, AD 106 / John Huber, AD 136 / Jim Macgee, AD 37
Campaign Phone
646-450-4505
Campaign Instagram
instagram.com/votebenyee
Campaign YouTube
• Housing affordability: NYC cannot remain a city where only the wealthy can live. I support building more housing, correcting market distortions through policies like a pied-à-terre tax, and improving regional transit planning and bus rapid transit so more people can access opportunity. I will work with statewide partners to advance practical, pro-housing legislation.
• Quality of life: Safety and healthcare are deeply connected. We need expanded mental health, addiction, and healthcare services to address visible homelessness and behavioral health crises humanely and effectively. I support evidence-based prevention programs that reduce violence and improve outcomes more effectively than purely punitive approaches.
• Strengthening democracy: I will fight to protect polling places from intimidation, expand voting protections using state resources, and restore civics education so New Yorkers better understand and participate in democracy.
• Energy infrastructure: We need major investment in grid modernization, renewable energy transmission, and building electrification. We can't electrify and plug in distributed renewable generation without a reliable, modern grid.
• Cap-and-invest: New York should cap major emissions sources while investing the resulting revenue into transit, resiliency infrastructure, clean energy, and lowering costs for working New Yorkers.
• Transportation: We cannot reduce emissions while forcing people into long car commutes. NYS should expand transit-oriented development, modernize zoning, build more housing near transit, and expand regional rail and bus rapid transit into transit deserts.
• Climate resilience: Lower Manhattan is already experiencing flooding and extreme heat. NYS must invest in stormwater upgrades, coastal protections, resilient infrastructure, urban tree canopy expansion, and emergency preparedness.
Social and racial justice requires addressing the systems that produce unequal outcomes rather than treating inequality as a standalone issue.
• Housing: Build affordable housing, strengthen tenant protections, and fund mass transit policy to diversify segregated neighborhoods and expand opportunity outside wealthy enclaves.
• Healthcare: Pass universal healthcare, mental health, and addiction services so access to care is not determined by income, race, or ZIP code.
• Education + democracy: Restore civics education, fully fund public schools, move funding away from zip code/district-dependent revenue streams.
• Labor + immigration: Support union jobs, fight wage theft, pass NY for All
•Technology: regulate AI to prevent biased decision-making at scale in hiring, housing, lending, healthcare, and criminal justice.
• Criminal justice: Invest in prevention through housing-first policies, mental health, and evidence-based rehabilitation instead of relying solely on punitive systems.
In New York, the John R. Lewis NY Voting Rights Act gives residents state-level protections similar to the VRA against vote dilution, voter suppression, discriminatory at-large systems, and barriers affecting racial and language-minority communities.
In the wake of Callais, NY must:
• Fully fund NYVRA enforcement, data collection, language access, and public education.
• Require rigorous racial and language-minority impact analysis in redistricting and election administration.
• Defend the NYVRA against federal preemption or constitutional attacks if opponents try to import Callais into state law.
• Strengthen poll-site protections against intimidation, including improper federal interference.
• Establish Independent Redistricting with Teeth: We must structurally reform NY’s redistricting process to eliminate partisan backroom deals entirely.
• Expand Proactive Enfranchisement: Protect access through state-level automatic voter registration and ranked-choice voting.
