Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Elisa Crespo for City Council District 15
Candidate Name: ElisaCrespo
Office Seeking Election for: City Council District 15
Campaign Website: https://www.elisacrespo.com
Explain, based on life experiences and accomplishments, why you believe you are best qualified to represent your district
As a Trans, Latina Woman, I’m perceived as the underdog. I am not supposed to be doing this according to society. Therefore, the nature of my candidacy represents an upending to the status quo, an opportunity to ensure that marginalized and underrepresented communities have a seat at the table. If that means causing some good trouble and creating healthy conflict in order to make our city a more just and equitable place, then so be it. I have fought to be taken seriously and to be able to take up space in certain rooms. I've climbed the social ladder by my own grit and conviction. I'm running for office because I believe that those who have struggled the most and have been marginalized are the ones best fit with providing the solutions. My story and struggles are echoed in the lives of those who I am seeking to represent.
Please identify any openly LGBTQ candidate for public office you have previously or presently endorsed?
Marti Cummings and Ritchie Torres (I helped him with petitioning and visibility on election day)
If applicable, what legislation directly affecting the LGBTQ community have you introduced or co-sponsored? (indicate accordingly)
n/a
What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally?
Destination Tomorrow, New Alternatives for Homeless LGBT Youth, Stonewall Democrats of NY
Do you consider yourself a member of the LGBTQ community?
yes
Have you marched in Pride? Which marches and for approximately how many years?
Yes. Since I was 15 in the NYC pride parades. Also in the Reclaim Pride marches..
Have you employed openly LGBTQ individuals previously? Do you employ any currently?
n/a
What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro-choice legislation, criminal justice issues and the Resist Trump Movement have you attended?
The Women's March, tons of racial justice marches for George Floyd, for police brutality. I have participated in several of the Stonewall Protest marches recently organized by up and coming LGBT leaders downtown. I have attended Vigils in the Bronx for Trans women of color who were murdered. I attended rallys and vigils for my dear friend Layleen Polanco who died in solitary confinement at Rikers. This Summer I organized my own rally Against Anti Trans violence on the 46th pier in Greenwich Village, a place where I spent many days/nights as a teenager with my chosen family.
Have you ever been arrested? If so please explain why and outcome of arrest.
Yes, for sex work. My cases were either dismissed or adjudicated with community service and by paying fines.
Do you commit to visiting constituents who are incarcerated in state prisons and city jails?
Yes
Will you affirmatively seek to hire formerly incarcerated individuals?
Yes
Describe your legislative and policy vision for combatting systemic racism
My plan is to support an elected Civilian Complaint Review Board that has the power to hold police officers accountable. I strongly believe a lot of crime is poverty related. Every major study shows that if we reinvest in low income communities of color, that crime will decrease. I will also push for mandatory implicit bias training for police officers.
I'm pleased that a package of Police Accountability laws was recently passed this year, and that 50-a has been repealed by the State legislature. Those are both steps in the right direction. I'm also open to reducing the size and scope of the NYPD’s budget. There are line items there that we can pull from, like the Mounted Unit and the Press Budget. Those funds should be reallocated to critical social service programs for New Yorkers.
We must also desegregate our public schools, which are some of the most segregated schools in America. We can do that by considering removing school zones, and by removing exclusionary admissions practices that further enable segregation.
Will you not seek, and refuse, the endorsement of Bill de Blasio?
Doubt he will endorse me, but yes.
In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with AIDS, and was blatantly racist, would you support and sponsor a bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge?
Yep
What is your position on removing the Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Circle and if so, what should replace it?
There are other famous and respectable Italian Americans who we should honor. We should implement a task force or committee of Italian American New Yorkers and have them decide who that person should be.
Will you refuse contributions from real estate developers and all law enforcement unions or associations?
Yes
Do you support reducing the budget of the NYPD and if so, by how much?
Yes
How would you have voted on the FY21 City Budget?
No
Are you in favor of removing police from any of the following? a) Schools; b) Mental health response calls; c) Homeless outreach and social services; or d) Traffic enforcement.
Mental Health response calls, homeless outreach, and schools. With respect to schools, many of the Public Safety agents are women of color. I am not advocating to take away their jobs, but instead retrain them, provide them with professional development that includes trauma informed assessment, implicit bias training, and courses to be licensed social workers/counselors, instead of "Safety agents".
Should the NYPD Vice Squad be eliminated?
Yes
Should Dermot Shea be fired immediately?
Yes
Should the NYPD Commissioner require confirmation by the City Council?
Yes
How would you recommend police officers be penalized for refusing to wear masks in public while on duty, in defiance of city and state rules?
They should be fined and if it's excessive, temporarily suspended from duty.
What reforms would you make to the Civilian Complaint Review Board? Would you support state legislation to make CCRB disciplinary determinations binding?
I would make it independent and an elected position. And yes, I support giving CCRB more power to make binding decisions.
What is your position on the plan to close Rikers and create four borough-based jails?
I support closing Rikers, I do not support four new borough based jails.
Will you advocate for the Governor to review sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release?
yes
It’s common knowledge that New York City’s 311 system is not adequately responsive to the public’s concerns. How would you alter the 311 system to combat these problems?
Many state public authorities are not fully integrated with 311. We should push bills that are stuck in committee that will fully integrate NYCHA and other public authorities, into the 311 system, so those calls can be traced and New Yorkers can track the progress of their complaints. For City agencies that are fully integrated, we should create letter grades for how successfully those agencies resolve issues forwarded to them by 311, like we do with the letter grading of restaurants and now for building energy efficiency ratings.
Do you support decriminalizing sex work? Will you pledge to oppose the Nordic model?
Yes and yes
Do you oppose school screening, which exacerbates segregation? Which screens in your school district(s) will you advocate to abolish?
Yes, the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test
Describe what reforms you would make to the control of the NYC public school system.
I support Mayoral control as opposed to Gubernatorial control. However, I believe Council members should have a say in who sits on the Panel for Education Policy. Our public schools are not preparing our youth for a 21st century job market. We need to fully fund public schools by fighting for increasing funding we are owed from the state. We should be expanding the Community School model, expanding Career and Technical Education programming and innovating public school curriculum all together.
Do you support public funding of abortion?
Yes
Do you support the creation of safe consumption sites? Would you support the use of NYC DOHMH authority to establish SCSs without NYSDOH authorization?
Yes
Do you smoke or otherwise consume weed?
Not anymore, but I support both medical and recreational marijuana consumption.
Have you ever supported any of the members of the IDC? If so, who? What did you do to help defeat theIDC in 2018?
I have not supported any IDC members, but folks in this race have. I helped support the defeat of IDC as en elected student leader at CUNY, educating CUNY students about what exactly the IDC was and why it was problematic for our state.
What will you do to support nightlife in NYC?
As someone who grew up in nightlife and worked in night life, I've seen how COVID has impacted so many of my friends who are bartenders and performers. I will work with directly impacted individuals and the Mayors Office of Nightlife, to further educate people about the resources that are available to them. I will support legislation that considers gig workers employees and as such, qualifies them for minimum wage, paid medical and sick leave, and family leave. I will work with nightlife workers to figure out their needs and ways to strategize continuing New York City's famous nightlife industry, while following COVID-19 guidelines. During the summer/spring, this is easier to deal with as many events can take place outdoors, however, during winter we have to be creative about how to ensure workers in the nightlife industry can continue to work and provide for themselves. I know how important this industry is to certain communities and I am committed to working with them.
Do you commit to speak with restaurant and nightlife industry representatives before taking a position on any policies that affect their businesses?
Yes
Will you work to place restaurant, bar and club owners on community boards? Will you commit to not appointing or reappointing community board members who are hostile to food and beverage estalishments?
Yes
Now that the cabaret law was repealed do you support amending the zoning resolution to allow patrons to dance at more venues and eliminate the restrictions against dancing?
Yes
Did you oppose the de Blasio/Cuomo proposal (and giveaways) for bringing Amazon’s HQ2 to Long IslandCity?
Yes
What role do you believe the local member should play in the approval of development proposals before the Council?
The local member should reach out to community stakeholders to see how such development impacts their lives. The local council member should always push developers to provide community based agreements and union workers, including prevailing wages. The local council member must work with members of the community to decide if such development is what the community needs, or not.
Do you support legislation to prohibit discrimination against formerly incarcerated people in housing?
Yes
Do you oppose the removal of the nearly 300 homeless individuals from the Lucerne hotel due to pressure from some local residents?
Yes
What proposals will you advocate for to protect immigrants and further New York as a Sanctuary City?
Increased funding for free legal services, protecting our data and withholding it from immigration enforcement agents. I support removing the Street Vendor cap, so more immigrants can make a living without being harassed and fined. And, I support restoring the voting rights for Green Card holders in Municipal elections.
Do you support a single-payer universal health care system? Please elaborate on what policy and legislative steps the City can take to expand access and affordability.
Yes. The City Council can work with the administration and the Health and Hospitals corporation to expand NYC Cares. To allow immigrants to benefit from NYC Cares regardless of immigration status. To ensure NYC Cares provides dental care and preventative care. The city should support more community-based outreach and enrollment assistance to engage the hard-to-reach eligible but uninsured.
Who did you support for office in the following primaries or special elections: A) Mayor in 2013 B) PublicAdvocate in 2013 and 2019, C) President in 2016 and 2020 C) Governor and Attorney General in 2018?
A) don't recall B) don't recall, Michael Blake C) Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden (he was the only one in the race at the time) D) Cynthia Nixon and Letitia James
Top 3 issues you aim to address locally and legislatively
Unemployment, Education, Affordable Housing
Mayor de Blasio has indicated his intent to call a third Charter Revision Commission, what additional reforms would you support to 1) the budget process, 2) the land use process, and 3) the powers and duties of municipal offices?
I would support a comprehensive land use policy, permanent participatory budgeting in every council district (from discretionary funds), an Elected Civilian Complaint Review Board with binding decision making power.
Please explain your vision for the present powers of the office you are seeking and how you intend to exercise them?
We need bold, transformative policies to elevate our marginalized communities and our economy and to commit to racial and economic justice. The New York City Council can seize this moment by fighting for policies for working people. In my view, the city council enables a progressive city through the budget it negotiates. By ensuring city agencies are appropriately and equitably funded. By ensuring the land use process is modernized, democratized and data driven.
Do you commit to working with Jim Owles during your campaign and while in office? What role can the club and the progressive LGBT community play in holding you accountable?
Yes. The club and the community can hold me accountable by making sure I am passing legislation and creating opportunities for historically marginalized communities, like ours. Particularly, for trans and non binary New Yorkers.
If you receive the endorsement, do you agree to identify the club on all literature and electronic materials where you list endorsements?
Yes
What additional information would you like Jim Owles to consider when we are making our endorsement decisions?
Im proud of what my campaign has been able to accomplish with very little institutional support. We've met the matching funds thresholds, built a strong infrastructure of experienced staff, have a sizable volunteer base that is energized, and have considerable endorsements from various organizations and elected officials.