Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Stefani L. Zinerman for NY Assembly District 56
Candidate Name: Stefani L. Zinerman
Office Seeking Election for: NY Assembly District 56
Campaign Website: https://www.zinermanfor56ad.com/
1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?
I am best qualified to represent this district because my entire life has been rooted in the same communities I seek to serve, and my record shows that I don’t just talk about our issues — I organize, legislate, and deliver on them. My lived experience as a daughter of Central Brooklyn, a caregiver, a community organizer, and a Black woman in America has given me a deep understanding of how policy shows up in people’s daily lives: in our housing, our schools, our health outcomes, and our public safety. I have spent decades building relationships with neighborhood leaders, block associations, faith institutions, labor, and advocacy organizations, long before I held elected office, and that grounding keeps me accountable to real people, not to political insiders.
In the Assembly, I have already demonstrated that I can navigate Albany effectively while staying anchored in movement values — securing resources for housing stability, youth programs, and community-based health, and advancing legislation that centers racial, economic, and environmental justice. I bring both subject-matter expertise and operational discipline: I know how to run a campaign, how to build a coalition, how to move a bill, and how to hold agencies accountable for implementation. Just as importantly, I show up — at tenant meetings, school forums, senior centers, mutual aid distributions, and on the line with workers — and I bring those voices directly into policy conversations.
What distinguishes me is that I see this work as stewardship, not status. I measure success not by press releases, but by whether our neighbors are housed, healthy, safe, and politically powerful than they were before. My life’s work has been to transform community pain into policy change and collective power, and that is exactly the kind of leadership this district deserves in the Assembly.
2. What LGBTQ+ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally? Brooklyn Pride Center and the Brooklyn NAACP.
3. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBTQ+ issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump and his policies?
I have consistently shown up in the streets, at the podium, and inside government buildings to fight for LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, racial justice, and criminal justice reform, and I see that public presence as a core part of my job as a Black woman representing Central Brooklyn. I have marched alongside queer and trans neighbors at Pride events and LGBTQ+-centered rallies, stood with advocates demanding an end to violence against trans women of color, and joined coalitions calling for stronger protections in housing, healthcare, and education for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. I have also participated in reproductive justice rallies to defend and expand abortion access and comprehensive reproductive healthcare, because I see LGBTQ+ rights and bodily autonomy as fundamentally connected struggles. I am proud of my 100% rating from Planned Parenthood.
On racial and criminal justice, I have attended and spoken at protests and vigils in response to police killings and misconduct, rallies in support of bail reform and discovery reform, and demonstrations demanding investment in housing, schools, and jobs instead of mass incarceration. I have joined community actions against voter suppression, against attacks on immigrants, and in support of Black Lives Matter and local organizing to make our neighborhoods safer and more just. Throughout the Trump presidency, I stood with New Yorkers at protests and press events opposing his attacks on immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ+ people, women, and people of color, and I spoke out against his racist, xenophobic, and anti-democratic policies; I continue to oppose his agenda and those who seek to roll back our rights. While I do not keep a master list of every single event, my record makes clear that when our communities mobilize for justice—whether on LGBTQ+ issues, abortion rights, racial equity, or democracy itself—I show up, I stand with them, and I use my voice and my office to amplify their demands.
4. In light of the Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?
I plan to confront Donald Trump’s agenda the same way I always have: by organizing my community, building coalitions, and using my legislative power to protect and expand our rights.
First, I will keep strengthening grassroots infrastructure in Central Brooklyn so we are never caught flat-footed by federal attacks on women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and communities of color. That means regular coordination with coalitions and rapid response teams that can mobilize for protests, court hearings, school board fights, and elections on short notice. I see my office as a hub for connecting residents to know-your-rights trainings, immigration and legal services, reproductive health resources, and LGBTQ+ affirming care.
Second, I will continue to use my role in the Assembly to build a “shield state” for vulnerable communities: passing and defending laws that protect abortion access, gender-affirming care, immigrant families, trans and queer youth, voting rights, and civil liberties—regardless of what Donald Trump does in Washington. That includes funding community-based organizations, strengthening non-cooperation policies with harmful federal enforcement, and using oversight powers to push state agencies to implement protections on the ground.
Third, I will help elect and re-elect progressive champions at every level—school board, City Council, state, and federal—because the most effective way to blunt Trumpism is to build durable governing majorities rooted in justice. I will keep organizing voters who are often ignored—Black, brown, LGBTQ+, low-income, disabled, immigrant, and young voters—so they are not only turning out on Election Day but also shaping platforms and priorities.
Finally, I will continue to speak plainly about what Trumpism is: a coordinated effort to roll back civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and democracy itself. I will not normalize it. I will use every platform I have—legislative hearings, press, social media, and community meetings—to call it out, to support those targeted, and to give my neighbors clear, concrete ways to fight back together.
5. Will you seek or accept endorsements from individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights?
No.
6. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?
Yes.
7. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?
No. I have not hosted or funded a Drag Story Hour, but I fully support Drag Story Hours and similar inclusive programs, and I stand with the libraries, cultural institutions, and LGBTQ+ organizations that offer them in the face of right-wing attacks.
8. How will you work to enhance protections for immigrants and uphold New York’s role as a “Sanctuary City”?
I will work to enhance protections for immigrants and uphold New York’s role as a sanctuary by treating immigrant justice as a core public safety, public health, and human rights issue, not a side topic. In the Assembly, that means strengthening and fully funding state laws that limit information-sharing with federal immigration enforcement, protect access to schools, hospitals, courts, and shelters regardless of status, and ensure language access and due process protections in every state and city agency that touches immigrant New Yorkers.
I also work closely with legal service providers, worker centers, faith institutions, and grassroots immigrant organizations in Central Brooklyn to identify gaps on the ground—whether it’s access to counsel, wage theft enforcement, housing protections, or protection from hate crimes—and then use my office to move resources and policy to close those gaps. I support defending driver’s license and ID protections, and resisting any effort to use local law enforcement as an arm of federal immigration crackdowns.
Finally, I see my role as legislator and organizer. I will continue to use my office as a safe, trusted hub for immigrant neighbors; host know-your-rights trainings and clinics; push city and state agencies when they are out of compliance; and build coalitions that unite immigrant justice with labor, housing, LGBTQ+, and racial justice movements. New York’s commitment to being a sanctuary must be measured at the precinct, classroom, courthouse, and clinic level, and I am committed to making sure our laws and budgets deliver safety and dignity for all families in our district.
9. Do you support New York becoming a Transgender Sanctuary State?
Yes. I fully support New York being a true Transgender Sanctuary State.
Trans and nonbinary people, especially Black and brown trans women and trans youth, are under coordinated attack across the country, and New York has a moral obligation and the legal capacity to be a refuge. As an Assemblymember, I support strong “shield” protections for gender-affirming care, including refusing to cooperate with out-of-state investigations or prosecutions, protecting families who come here seeking care for their children, and ensuring that providers can deliver medically necessary treatment without fear. We became a “safe haven” for youth in 2023 and I will continue to back legislation and budget priorities that expand anti-discrimination protections and strengthen access to affirming care.
10. If elected, will you commit to supporting legislation that raises taxes on the richest New Yorkers and large corporations in order to fund the services and investments our communities need?
Yes. I am committed to supporting legislation that raises taxes on the richest New Yorkers and large corporations so we can fund the services and investments our communities need.
Our district lives every day with the consequences of underinvestment: unstable housing, under-resourced schools, overstretched hospitals and clinics, and a frayed social safety net. We are told there is “no money,” while billionaires and highly profitable corporations benefit from decades of tax cuts, loopholes, and giveaways. I reject that austerity logic. I believe those who have benefited most from New York’s economy have a responsibility to contribute more so that seniors, working families, LGBTQ+ people, and young people can live with dignity and opportunity.
If re-elected, I will support and help advance progressive revenue measures that:
Increase taxes on ultra-high incomes and extreme wealth.
Ensure large, profitable corporations and Wall Street pay their fair share.
Close loopholes and end corporate subsidies that don’t deliver for communities.
11. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?
I represent the most vulnerable by centering their realities in every policy decision I make and by treating housing, healthcare, safety, and dignity as non-negotiable rights, not privileges. I see every day how homelessness, housing insecurity, and the challenges faced by asylum seekers are produced by policy choices—underfunded services, punitive immigration systems, and a lack of truly affordable housing—and I am committed to using my office to reverse those choices.
That means fighting for more supportive and deeply affordable housing; expanding rental assistance and eviction prevention; fully funding legal services for tenants and immigrants; and ensuring access to healthcare, education, and work opportunities for people in shelter and new arrivals. It also means showing up in shelters, intake centers, and community organizations to listen directly to residents and frontline workers, and bringing their solutions into budget negotiations, oversight hearings, and legislation.
I believe our district’s strength comes from welcoming and caring for people in crisis, whether they are long-time neighbors who have lost housing or asylum seekers fleeing violence and instability. I will continue to work to expand language access, mental health support, and pathways to permanent housing for both groups, and I will push back against fear-mongering and NIMBY-ism that tries to pit communities against one another.
I have not opposed the existence of shelters in my district. My focus has been on making sure any shelter or housing facility is safe, well-run, integrated into the neighborhood with real community engagement, and paired with the services people need to move from crisis to stability—while also advocating for permanent, dignified housing so that shelter services is truly a temporary stop, not a destination.
12. Will you sponsor and support legislation which will ensure that state and local resources are not used to facilitate or cooperate with federal immigration enforcement (New York for All Act) to prevent the funneling of people into ICE custody, and the sharing of sensitive information with ICE?
Yes, I co-sponsor the Assembly version of the bill (A03506B).
13. To advance safety and justice, New York must address our archaic sentencing and parole laws. Do you support the following key legislation: 1) Second Look Act (S.158/A.1283), which would allow judges to review and reconsider excessive sentences by considering if incarcerated people have transformed while incarcerated or based on changes in law and norms; 2) Earned Time Act (S.342/A.1085), which would strengthen and expand “good time” and “merit time” programs in prison that encourage personal transformation and reunite families?; 3) Marvin Mayfield Act (S.1209/A.1297), which would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, thereby allowing judges to consider individual factors in a case?; 4) Elder Parole (S.454/A.514), which would allow incarcerated people over age 55 who have served 15 years the opportunity to go before the parole board?
Yes, I co-sponsor all of the noted bills.
14. Do you oppose the death penalty?
Yes, I oppose the death penalty.
As a Black woman representing a community that has long been over-policed, over-prosecuted, and over-punished, I cannot support a punishment that is irreversible, deeply racist in its application, and has repeatedly condemned innocent people. The death penalty does not make us safer; it reflects a belief in disposable people instead of in accountability, healing, and transformation. I believe our justice system should focus on prevention, rehabilitation, and repairing harm—not state-sanctioned killing.
15. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?
Yes. I support outlawing solitary confinement.
16. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated? Will you work to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, worked toward rehabilitation and are not deemed a threat to society?
Yes. I absolutely commit to visiting constituents who are incarcerated, listening to them directly, and making sure their experiences and insights shape my work as an Assemblymember.
I also commit to working to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, taken meaningful steps toward rehabilitation, and are not a threat to society. That means supporting reforms that create real second chances, advocating in individual cases where appropriate, and pushing parole and clemency systems to function fairly and humanely. For a district like ours that has carried the weight of over-policing and extreme sentencing for generations, fighting for the dignity, safety, and freedom of our incarcerated neighbors is not optional—it is central to justice.
17. Do you commit to make applications for clemencies available to your constituency including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?
Yes. I commit to making clemency application information readily available to my constituents, including linking to the application and related resources in my constituent newsletter and on my official platforms.
I also commit to sharing that information directly with the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club and submitting the link and any explanatory materials you request so we can work together to ensure that people who are eligible for clemency have real access to the process.
18. Did you rank Andrew Cuomo on your Democratic primary ballot in 2025? Who did you support for mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary and general election?
Absolutely not. I did not rank Andrew Cuomo on my Democratic primary ballot in 2025.
In the 2025 mayoral race, I supported progressive, pro–working class leadership that is aligned with our values on housing justice, policing reform, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and taxing the wealthy to fund public services. In the Democratic primary and the general election, I backed candidates who were committed to those principles and who have a demonstrated record of being accountable to communities like Central Brooklyn, rather than to real estate and corporate interests.
19. In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of scores of people with AIDS, excused city council members who voted against the gay rights bill and was blatantly racist, would you support and sponsor a bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge?
Yes. I would support removing Ed Koch’s name from the former Queensboro Bridge and restore or rename it in a way that reflects our values of equity, remembrance, and inclusion.
Ed Koch’s record on the AIDS crisis, LGBTQ+ rights, and race is deeply painful and harmful to many New Yorkers, especially those who lost loved ones to AIDS or lived through his administration’s neglect and hostility. Continuing to honor him on such an iconic piece of public infrastructure sends the wrong message about whose lives and histories we value. I believe our public names and monuments should uplift leaders who fought for all New Yorkers, not those whose actions contributed to suffering and exclusion, and I would work with affected communities, advocates, and fellow legislators on a renaming that centers justice and healing.
20. What is your legislative remedy to secure the building of low and moderate-income housing around the state?
My legislative remedy is to pair strong tenant protections with aggressive, deeply affordable housing production in every region of the state.
I support expanding dedicated state funding and tax-credit programs aimed specifically at low- and moderate-income housing, so mission-driven and nonprofit developers can build and preserve truly affordable units—not just luxury projects with a few set-asides. I also back a statewide housing voucher program, stronger rent and eviction protections, and tenant opportunity-to-purchase tools so existing residents are stabilized and can help acquire buildings for permanent affordability. Finally, I support tying state incentives and funding to clear affordability and fair-housing benchmarks, so localities that block multi-family and low-income housing can no longer take state dollars while excluding working-class, immigrant, and Black and brown families.
21. Will you refuse donations from AIPAC, SolidarityPAC, police and corrections associations, the fossil fuel industry, and the charter school industry?
I am committed to running a campaign that reflects my values and my responsibility to the communities I serve. I will not accept contributions from AIPAC, SolidarityPAC, or the fossil fuel industry, as I believe our political system must prioritize peace, human rights, and climate responsibility over special interest influence.
With respect to police and corrections associations, I believe in maintaining independence in policymaking and will evaluate support from any organization through the lens of justice, accountability, and community safety.
Regarding charter schools, I believe strongly in supporting public education while also respecting the choices families make for their children. In my district, many parents choose charter schools and many of my constituents work in them as educators and staff. I support the right of parents to make educational decisions for their families, and I respect the educators who serve students in those schools. My focus is ensuring that all children—regardless of the type of public school they attend—receive a high-quality education and that educators are supported and treated fairly.
My campaign is grounded in accountability to the people of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, and I remain committed to policies that advance equity, opportunity, and strong public institutions.
22. Do you support removing criminal penalties for consensual commercial sex work between adults? Also known as Cecilia's Act for Rights in the Sex Trades (S2513 Salazar / A3251 Forrest).
Yes.
23. There is an effort to have mandatory inclusion of the New York State proposal that would require public schools to teach about the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, commonly described in the bill text as an “insurrection.” Do you support this proposal?
Yes.
24. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?
I would want the club to look not just at my positions, but at my record of standing with movements when it is hard, not just when it is popular.
I come out of Central Brooklyn organizing spaces where LGBTQ+ liberation, racial justice, immigrant rights, disability justice, and economic justice are deeply intertwined. I have tried to bring that same intersectional lens to my work in the Assembly—whether it’s fighting for housing and tenant protections, reentry and criminal justice reform, or protections for trans youth and access to reproductive health care. I hope you will weigh how consistently I have shown up: at protests, at community meetings, in budget fights, and in legislative negotiations, pushing for outcomes that materially improve the lives of the people most impacted by state violence, poverty, and discrimination.
I also want you to consider how I use my office as an organizing tool—sharing power with community partners, amplifying grassroots leaders, and inviting directly impacted people into policy-making spaces. My commitment to you is that I will continue to govern in deep partnership with movements, to be honest about political constraints without hiding behind them, and to treat your endorsement not as a trophy, but as a charge to be even bolder in the fights ahead.
25. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all appropriate literature and electronic materials?
Yes.