NYC Council District 9 Race: Kristin Richardson Jordan Seeks Seat

HARLEM, NY — Voters in New York City's 9th Council district, which includes all of Central Harlem and parts of East Harlem and Washington Heights, will see 13 names on their ballots when they vote in the June 22 primary election.

One of those names will be Kristin Richardson Jordan, an author, poet, teaching artist and activist in Harlem.

Patch reached out to all candidates in the election to create these profiles. Jordan's responses are below.

Age (as of Election Day)

34

Position Sought

City Council District 9

Party Affiliation

Democratic

Neighborhood of residence (i.e., East Village, Astoria, etc.)

Harlem

Family

Beryl Richardson Allen (great aunt, mom's side, deceased), Thelma & Victor Jordan (grandparents, father's side, deceased), Dr. Lynne D. Richardson (mother, 65+), Dr. Desmond A. Jordan (father, deceased), Ellen Jordan (aunt, 65+), Oliver Jordan-Evans (uncle, 65+), Yvette Heyliger (cousin, 50+), Donald Heyliger (cousin, 50+), Suzanne Harris (god mother, 50+), Stella Heyliger (cousin, 30+), Fitzem (cousin, 30+), Zalalum (cousin, 7) and numerous other cousins.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Brown University, Class of 2009: BA in Black Studies, Literary Arts

Occupation

Teacher, poet, activist, writer since 2009

Campaign website

kristinforharlem.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for City Council because our political leadership has failed Harlem, has failed Manhattan, and failed New York City. Our City Council can certainly talk the talk, but it fails to walk the walk with meaningful progressive change. My Kristin for H.A.R.L.E.M. platform outlines the necessary change that our communities have been asking for, but has fallen on deaf ears. I am interested in representing my district because I grew from the movement space, and because it’s about time that the movement is represented in City Hall.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing our district is the current gentrification of Central Harlem. Longtime residents of Harlem are beginning to be priced out of the neighborhood, if it hasn’t happened already. My team and I have created an 11-point platform specifically for ensuring that Harlem remains affordable for all, which includes using local income levels to determine affordability instead of HUD-provided AMI data, encouraging and supporting tenant organizing, making the rezoning process more equitable and transparent, and more. You can read the platform at https://kristinforharlem.mediu...

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

The biggest difference between me and my opponents are our theories of change and governance. My campaign is a total collective effort, we lean on and learn from each other each and every day. I don’t intend to change that when in office. I want to bring all of Harlem with me to office so that we can govern together in participatory democracy, instead of forgetting who I represent until the next election comes around. Only when we all work together towards a common goal do our priorities get achieved, and that is what really sets us apart. On top of that, I have always rejected any developer, cop union, and corporate PAC money in my fundraising, which not all of my opponents can say.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

According to City and State, my current Council Member Bill Perkins was largely absent from the Council before the COVID crisis. While he has been suffering from “health issues”, he failed to introduce or pass a single bill in 2019. This lack of leadership continued this year, where he supported the City Budget that cut services and funding to near everything in the City except for the NYPD. He is not fit to serve another term, and yet he is running for another term. The time for new political leadership in Harlem is long past due.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I think when people look back at New York’s response to COVID, it will boil down to two things: the danger of Cuomo and De Blasio constantly bickering and not governing, and the failure to provide meaningful housing assistance besides eviction and foreclosure moratoria. While bickering between City Hall and Albany is nothing new, it’s never been as deadly as it was when Cuomo fought against De Blasio pushing to shut the city down in early March, and it’s continued every step in the way of how New York responded to this crisis. And while the moratoria do help avoid the immediate problems of evicting people during a pandemic, there is absolutely no leadership at the local level as to what we can and should do to prevent the oncoming wave of evictions that will happen when the moratoria are lifted for good. With Cuomo and De Blasio bickering, I would've stepped in and called for them to put their differences aside and work to keep New Yorkers safe, which really didn't happen. And with the moratoria, I have been an outspoken advocate for cancelling rent and mortgage payments, and would've introduced bills to do those things.

Many in Harlem are worried about gentrification and the displacement of longtime residents. What is one specific policy you would push for to slow gentrification?

One specific policy I support to slow gentrification is pushing for rent to own schemes. If renters are able to be able to purchase out their apartments, or entire buildings with neighboring tenants, then improvements and rezonings can happen without pushing people out. We need to supply more housing yes, but allowing for those who are already here to have a long-term stake in their communities through becoming homeowners and not just renters, they can become immune to the pressures of gentrification.

Some Harlem residents complain that the neighborhood is "over-saturated" with methadone clinics. Would you welcome more services for vulnerable people in the neighborhood, or push for a moratorium?

Well this depends. While the complaints of being “over-saturated” with methadone clinics is a valid complaint by residents, we need to recognize that combatting addiction doesn’t begin and end with methadone clinics. It includes rehabilitation facilities, both in-patient and out-patient, decriminalization and removing the carceral state from addiction, and widespread distribution of Narcan to NYC residents. Methadone clinics, while important, are not the full picture of fighting drug addiction.

Many Harlemites have complained of dirty streets during the pandemic. How would you help clean up the sidewalks?

I think the dirty streets in Harlem are a direct result of the sanitation department removing over 223 litter baskets from Harlem. My first act would be to push to restore those 223 litter baskets, because who would’ve thought removing litter baskets would increase litter? Second, I will fight to restore the sanitation budget and increase trash pickups to ensure that there is no overflow in the litter baskets or in trash generated by buildings.

Plans were recently unveiled for a large new development on 145th Street — it would include up to 282 affordable apartments, but some neighbors suggested that the buildings are too large for the neighborhood. As Council Member, would you support this project, oppose it, or push to change it?

I would push against the rezoning effort to change the height requirements, because there will be a tangible effect on the neighborhood with such an outsized building dominating the landscape. While more affordable units is a good thing, we must balance the interests of those already living in the neighborhood and the demand for new affordable housing. This is why I'm pushing to make the ULURP process more transparent and participatory, so that these concerns can be voiced. If that is not possible, we must push for more affordable units in the new development, as 300 is too small a number for such a large development.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

The other issues spell out my Kristin for HARLEM platform. I talked about the H, which is Holding Police Accountable and Abolition. The other letters A for Actually Affordable Housing, Redistribution of Wealth and Resources, Living Longer: a Care Package for Seniors, Education for All and Environmental Justice, and Meaningful Change. These have all been expanded more on my Medium page, which you can read at https://kristinforharlem.mediu...

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I founded a Harlem copwatch team, ran the welcome desk for my church's food pantry (Salem United Methodist Church), I am Social Action Chair for United Methodist Women and founded a local printing press (Pens Up Press), founded a community poetry group (Uproar Poetry Group), and published two poetry books in addition to teaching, performance art, and serving seniors at Central Harlem Senior Center and A. Philip Randolph Senior Center. I have organized and led mass protests with hundreds to thousands in the streets with the Occupy and Black Lives Matter mass movements as a movement leader (from before it was popular to the current day) and as a candidate I've made my campaign into a vehicle for community service and grassroots movement facilitating monthly park clean ups, monthly food give aways, monthly teach-ins, a bi-weekly youth wellness group, a monthly women's group and women's community chat, and daily wellness checks. Our service work began almost a year before the pandemic began and of course intensified over the course of 2020 and the past few months. I also have personal experience that qualifies me for this seat not only as a third generation Harlemite with deep family and personal ties to the community, but also as a survivor of sexual assault, domestic violence, adjustment disorder, and false arrest - my personal story, my being a creative, my being a teacher, and my proximity to pain and resilience is a strength and asset to the seat.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

The best advice ever shared with me was... to make change in your community you should never wait your turn.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I would like voters to know that I will be a breath of fresh air. Instead of politicians who are aligned with the machine who have done nothing to make their lives better and have done nothing to fight back against gentrification, I am from the movement that is fighting for these things. I have no allegiance to special interests who do not have the average Harlemite’s wellbeing at heart, and I do have Harlem’s best interests at heart. I will work tirelessly to make Harlem better for all, not just the powerful and connected.