REDISTRICTING

Today, the State Legislature is holding a hearing on the redistricting process for 2022. We have the opportunity to draw district lines in a way that maximizes our community members’ power and voice, rather than protect special interests. But given barriers to census outreach presented by the COVID-19 crisis, we must still work to ensure our communities are fully counted. 

Tax the Rich

Our communities are suffering. Our public schools are owed millions in funding from the state, public housing infrastructure is crumbling, people are unable to pay rent, and many completely lack access to affordable healthcare. 

It is finally time the wealthy pay their fair share. We need to tax millionaires and billionaires, and we need to reject austerity budgets while there is more than enough money to go around. The solution to poverty is not less spending, it is more investments in healthcare, education, and job creation. 

Housing

Decades of federal, New York State, and New York City housing policies have resulted in black and brown communities being excluded, displaced, or segregated. I recognize that housing justice is a racial justice issue. I am running for State Assembly to demand we invest in housing as a human right. I have developed, with the input and leadership of housing justice advocates, a housing platform to combat racial injustice and to provide for greater affordability and community decision-making in policy making.

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

We must hold the police accountable for their actions. We need leadership that is willing to confront police misconduct and fight for our community.  There is so much work that needs to be done to repair the harm done to our communities. I am running for State Assembly to increase police accountability, advance bold criminal justice reform, and demand the funding our communities deserve

LGBTQIA+ Platform

Jackson Heights, Corona, Woodside, and East Elmhurst have a long history of fighting for LGBTQIA+ liberation. The Queens Pride Parade, based in Jackson Heights, is the second largest pride celebration in New York City, however we cannot forget that it was formed as a response to the tragic murder of Julio Rivera in Jackson Heights and LGBTQ+ discrimination. The LGBTQIA+ community continues to face discrimination - in the workplace, in schools, by health practitioners, and by police.

THE SAFEST WAY TO VOTE

The safest way to vote in the upcoming June 23rd primary election is to vote-by-mail. The good news is that you can now request your ballot online. I am working hard to earn your vote to win Democratic nomination to be your representative in the State Assembly. But to bring about the change our community needs and deserves, we need to make sure that everyone votes. 

Immigrant Justice

Jackson Heights, Corona, East Elmhurst, and Woodside represent the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. The 34th Assembly District is 62 percent immigrants, and the vibrancy of our community reflects that. Yet our immigrant communities are in crisis. 

Environmental Justice 

Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Woodside are among the hardest hit by the impacts of the outbreak of the Coronavirus. This is not a coincidence. Low-income neighborhoods, especially communities of color and immigrant communities, struggle because of policy decisions and systemic structures that negatively impact our health and well-being.

Coronavirus DEMONSTRATES URGENT NEED FOR HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

The outbreak of the Coronavirus has tragically exposed how vulnerable New Yorkers are because we lack universal, high quality health care for everyone. I am running for State Assembly to be a leading voice in making the New York Health Act a reality, to provide health care as a human right. 

CoronaVirus Important Information

It is important that we share reliable and scientifically accurate information. I want to keep our community informed about how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) can be prevented, who is at-risk, how to report harassment, and how we can help our neighbors at this moment of need.

First, I want to share this important information from the Department of Health:

EDUCATION PLAN

Jessica González-Rojas, Democrat for Assembly has unveiled a bold platform for education reforms. González-Rojas, a parent of a public school student and former adjunct professor at CUNY and NYU, has called for expanding dual language programs, a universal childcare program, comprehensive sex education, and significant increase in special education funding. 

Bail reform

I will defend and protect the important criminal justice reforms New York State passed last year. We must reject the fear-mongering and defeat any attempts to roll back advancements on bail reform in New York. Cash bail in New York was a racist system that was never about public safety but entirely about systemic oppression of poor people, the supermajority of whom are people of color.