Election Q&A: Meet Assembly Candidate Stephanie Ruskay

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Democratic candidate Stephanie Ruskay is running for Assembly in District 69 in New York City's primary election on Tuesday, June 23.

Both Ruskay and her opponent, Eli Northrup, are vying for Assemblymember Micah Lasher's seat, which is up for grabs as the Assemblymember pursues a seat in Congress.

District 69 includes parts of the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Harlem and Central Park.

Ahead of the election, Patch posed several questions to Ruskay about her platform, priorities, experience, and district. See her replies below.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article contains information about one of two candidates who have announced their campaigns for Assembly District 69 in the 2026 primary election. Patch has contacted the other candidates with the same questions and will post replies as they are received. None of what Ruskay said during this interview has been fact-checked.

PATCH: What neighborhood are you from?

RUSKAY: This one! I was born at 50 West 97th St, in a Mitchell-Lama building.

PATCH: What languages do you speak?

RUSKAY: English, some Hebrew, some Spanish.

PATCH: What’s your professional and educational background?

RUSKAY: I’m currently the Associate Dean of the Jewish Theological Society’s Rabbinical School, and I also serve
as the Executive Director of their Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice.

PATCH: Renter or owner?

RUSKAY: I rent an apartment on 103rd and Riverside with my husband and my twin boys. I’ve lived in that apartment for 16 years, as a market-rate tenant.

PATCH: The cost of living in NYC is going up. What’s your plan to make New York City more affordable?

RUSKAY: To begin with, we have to protect the affordable housing we already have. We also must dramatically expand the supply of housing in this city. It’s overdue. We start with city- and state-owned land, and go from there. Manhattan, and the neighborhoods in this district specifically, need young families to stay here — not move to New Jersey or Long Island. In Albany, I’ll be a staunch advocate for building more affordable, deeply affordable and more market-rate housing. We have to be creative, and I always say: “more is more!”

One creative piece of state-level legislation is the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act. There are plenty of faith organizations that are land-rich. I want them to be able to build housing, and invest even more deeply in their communities. I’ll strongly support this bill when I’m an Assemblymember, and pledge to be a bulldog for its passage. Given my background, I’m able to be a uniquely strong advocate in Albany and my district.

PATCH: What is your position on bike lane expansion and street redesigns?

RUSKAY: Our streets have to be safer for everyone - pedestrians, bikers, seniors, and kids. I support daylighting, protected bike paths, and creation of more dedicated bus lanes on the Upper West Side.

I also support regulating e-bikes and shifting more of the responsibility for reasonable speed and safety to the companies that hire delivery people. Their algorithms currently incentivize them to speed, disobey traffic laws, and drive recklessly to deliver food quickly enough to receive any compensation.

PATCH: List two ways you plan to make New York safer.

RUSKAY: As a mother and rabbi, community safety is always top of mind for me. I will play an active role in combatting anti-semitism, islamophobia and hate crimes of all kinds, from the left and the right. I will do this by supporting legislation that prevents and punishes bad behavior, as well as by continuing to work across race, class and faith lines as I have been for my entire career, and most recently in Upper Manhattan.

Furthermore, I’m concerned with the prevalence of smoke shops in our neighborhoods. These are often selling products that are dangerous, unlicensed, and untested. Some of them are even operating in close proximity to our schools! It has to stop, and I’ll work with other elected officials and city agencies to put a stop to them.

PATCH: What type of relationship will you have with the Trump administration?

RUSKAY: NY deserves a moral leader who will cooperate when the administration does things that benefit society and will stand up and fight when New Yorkers are threatened.

PATCH: What sets you apart from the other candidate?

RUSKAY: What sets me apart from other candidates is that I have the strong support of the leaders West Siders have known and trusted for decades: Comptroller Mark Levine, BP Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Councilmember Gale Brewer, Councilmember Shaun Abreu, and former BP Ruth Messinger.

I’m deeply honored to carry the endorsement of these giants who have helped make the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights the special community that it is. I’m proud to be backed by labor as well: UFT, NYSUT, 32BJ, CSA, and HTC.

Additionally, I am a rabbi and rabbis are generalists. We organize, agitate, community build, and offer moral leadership and pastoral care. We lead some of the only communities in the country that manage to hold together people of different political perspectives. NY deserves and is ready for someone who has all those skills and a commitment to make real change in our lifetimes.

In a time of ideological polarization we need people who will work together and build bridges and that is who I am.

PATCH: What's a local project that deserves more federal funding?

RUSKAY: I can think of a number of projects! More green infrastructure, repairs for NYCHA buildings, making our subway stops fully accessible so everyone can ride with dignity, and more.

PATCH: What local experience most shaped your politics?

RUSKAY: I’ve been really fortunate to be involved in faith-based organizing over the last 28 years. Since 2016, much of it has been immigration-related. I worked with faith leaders around the Trump Muslim Ban, I’ve accompanied undocumented immigrants downtown at Federal Plaza, done pastoral care at ICE’s Delaney Hall facility across the river in Newark, and currently co- lead weekly vigils for democracy at Columbus Circle. These experiences have sharpened my focus on standing up for the most marginalized in our city, and solidified my support for the NY for All Act - I’ll co-sponsor and organize for its passage on day one.

Additionally, while not local, my first full time job was with Ruth Messinger at American Jewish World Service, an international development agency that supported some of the poorest people in the world on behalf of the Jewish community. Their philosophy, which became mine, was that people are the experts on their own lives. Usually people know where the system fails them and what they need, they just may not have the resources to address the situation. As an advocate, partner and ally, it is essential to center the experience of the person you are trying to help. I will be an elected leader who listens and takes my cues from the community. Together we will organize people and money to solve problems, using wisdom and ideas from the local community.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.