by: Adam Roberts
New York City faces a pivotal election in this June’s Democratic Primary, which will determine the outcomes of most races in our very Democratic city. Term limits are forcing most elected officials out of office, including council members, borough presidents, the comptroller, and the mayor. To assist our members with voting, we have prepared a voter guide of candidates who are the strongest supporters of architectural issues. AIANY is also hosting a series of programs with candidates to discuss the future of architecture in New York City. We invite you to join the two following programs on May 27:
- May 27, 9 am – Meet Brad Lander: AIANY’s Highly Rated Candidate for Comptroller
Council Member Brad Lander, who currently represents Brooklyn in the City Council, is running to be NYC Comptroller. Our next comptroller will be faced with addressing many critical architectural issues around on-time payments, procurement policies, and MWBEs. They will also need to guide the city as it emerges from its worst financial crisis since the 1970s. Lander is focused on reorienting the position of Comptroller to reduce inequities created by the city’s financial policies.
- May 27, 10 am – Meet Kathryn Garcia: An AIANY Highly Rated Candidate for Mayor
Garcia has a long background in city government, most recently serving as Commissioner of the NYC Department of Sanitation, where she led efforts to reduce the city’s waste. In that role, she also partnered with AIANY on producing the city’s Zero Waste Design Guidelines, which inspired an exhibition at the Center for Architecture. Garcia’s experience in city government and knowledge of the built environment would be helpful in addressing the city’s built environment issues.
AIANY has also partnered with seven other design organizations to launch Shaping a BetterNYC: An Election Primer, which feaures interviews with leading mayoral candidates on critical issues facing our city. These interviews are available both as videos and in written form. We encourage our members to take advantage of this resource to learn more about the candidates’ stances on policies affecting design in New York City.