AIA New York 2023 Voter Guide

Susan Lee immigrated to New York at a young age from Hong Kong and grew up on the Lower East Side. Prior to running for City Council, Lee worked with a number of nonprofits including as a founding board member of Nomi Network and a board member for MercyFirst and SDR Park Alliance. She recently founded the Alliance for Community Preservation and Betterment to improve neighborhood conditions and quality of life in and around Manhattan’s Chinatown. In addition to her work in the advocacy space, she ran the 9/11 recovery efforts for a law firm in Lower Manhattan and secured grants for AAFE Community Development Fund. Lee is passionate about the need for more affordable housing and values the role architects and AIANY play in helping to create innovative and sustainable solutions that meet the needs of the community.

Council Member Erik Bottcher is Co-Chair of the City Council’s Manhattan Delegation and a member of the LGBTQ+ Caucus. He also serves on the Committees on Land Use, Zoning, and Civil Service and Labor. Prior to his work as a public servant, Bottcher worked as an LGBTQIA+ activist and discovered the value of government as a tool to effectuate change on a larger and more immediate scale. During his tenure on the Council, he has been focused on addressing the city’s housing and sanitation crises. Bottcher is dedicated to improving New York City’s built environment and public sphere and understands the value of the architecture community in enhancing the city’s skyline and generating badly needed affordable housing.

Council Member Keith Powers is currently serving his sixth year in the City Council as Majority Leader and Chair of the Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Elections. During his tenure on the Council, he has delivered many successes for New York such as long-term storm protections on the East River, hundreds of new supportive housing units for homeless New Yorkers, and hundreds of millions of dollars secured for transit improvements in Midtown. He also championed the 14th Street Busway. Powers is dedicated to working with AIANY to tap members’ expertise on issues such as affordable housing and office conversions.

Council Member Marjorie Velazquez was born and raised in the Bronx and is the current Chair of the City Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection. Prior to her work as a public servant, she served on Bronx Community Board 10 as Treasurer and Municipal Services Committee Chair, and she was focused on quality-of-life issues such as transportation and parks services. Velazquez’s dedication to creating a livable and vibrant city that benefits everyone and her passion for promoting sustainable and equitable urban design aligns closely with AIANY’s priorities.

Council Member Crystal Hudson is a third-generation Brooklynite and a first-generation American. Hudson is the first openly black gay woman elected to the Council and is the current Chair of the Committee on Aging. Prior to her work as a public servant, she spent a decade in marketing and advertising working with the WNBA and Amtrak. As a community organizer and public servant, she is committed to making government more accessible for the public and delivering for New Yorkers. Hudson is focused on creating more efficient and effective processes that put communities first and amending outdated rules and requirements that hinder the bureaucratic process. Hudson is an unapologetic problem solver, and she is focused on working with AIANY to create a better New York for the working-class people in our community.

Council Member Rita Joseph is a Haitian immigrant and current Chair of the City Council Committee on Education. Prior to her work as a public servant, Joseph was a public-school teacher, community activist, and union member. Since Joseph was a teenager, she has organized protests and fought for issues she is passionate about, such as the FDA’s discriminatory “bad blood” rules that prevented people of Haitian descent from donating blood, opposition to police brutality, and cuts to student transit discounts. Joseph is committed to working with AIANY on issues we are both passionate about, specifically increasing affordable housing and combatting the climate crisis.

Council Member Brannan is a born-and-bred Brooklynite and current Chair of the City Council Committee on Finance. Prior to his work as a public servant, Brannan studied journalism before embarking on a career as a professional musician. Brannan has actively fought to ensure government works efficiently to create opportunities for working- and middle-class families, and he has vowed to always fight for the “little guy”. Council Member Brannan has proven himself to be an ally of AIANY and someone who is willing to work collaboratively to pass legislation.