Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Vanessa Aronson for City Council District 4

Candidate Name: Vanessa Aronson

Office Seeking Election for: New York City Council District 4

Campaign Website: https://vanessafornyc.com/

1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?

I am a former New York City public school teacher with deep roots and strong community support in my district. Growing up in a middle-class family as the daughter of a school nurse and a computer systems analyst, I learned early on about both resilience and the importance of community support. When my father passed away suddenly when I was nine, I watched my mother face the enormous challenge of raising and supporting two children on her own. My own childhood experiences with mobility and vision disabilities showed me firsthand how access to quality healthcare and early intervention can change lives.

In my community, I’m a leader and mobilizer in Democratic politics and activism. I ran for the District 4 City Council seat in 2017 and is proud to be returning to run for this open seat again, this time with significantly more name recognition and community support. As a former Math and Science teacher at MS319 in District 6 and UFT member, I experienced firsthand the transformative power of our public schools and understand the critical support that unions provide to workers. I am dedicated to students, families, our community, and organized labor. Prior to teaching, I spent a decade serving our country as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. I am a skilled negotiator. While representing the U.S. at the United Nations, I helped negotiate multi-million dollar agreements bringing food assistance to 795 million people. I previously worked at Hunter College, right in the heart of my community, and have spent the past 6.5 years as the Senior Director of Strategy at the ASPCA (American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), a national animal welfare organization founded in 1866.

Among other notable endorsements, I have earned the endorsement of the Lexington Democratic Club, the largest Democratic club in District 4, representing the 73rd Assembly District, which significantly overlaps with the majority of this City Council District. From Jan 2023 - Dec 2024, I served as the President of the Lex Club and successfully rebuilt the enthusiasm and energy of the club, after a period of decline. Under my leadership, membership grew by 400% into an active, resource-rich organization of dedicated volunteers who are excitedly campaigning with me.

Through my work in our community – co-chairing the Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) committee at Park Avenue Synagogue, serving as the chair of the Youth, Education, and Libraries Committee of Community Board 8, organizing Small Business Saturdays that bring neighbors together to support local shops, and serving as the President of our local Democratic club – I’ve built a strong coalition of local supporters and volunteers. I am a New York County Judicial Delegate and Democratic Committee member, avidly recruiting to integrate more community members into these foundational roles in the political process.

As a former Math and Science teacher at MS319 in District 6 and UFT member, I experienced firsthand the transformative power of our public schools and understand the critical support they need. And as a former U.S. diplomat and negotiator at the United Nations, I learned how to bring people together to solve complex problems and get things done.

I have the experience and acumen to build effective coalitions, develop practical solutions, and make a real difference in people’s lives – from improving accessibility and infrastructure in our neighborhood to ensuring a budget that prioritizes sanitation and public education.

My educational background is in Public Policy. I hold a B.A. from the University of Chicago and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. I live on the Upper East Side with my husband, Reid, and two children, a Pre-k student at PS290 and 8-month old.

2. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally? What LGBTQ candidates have you endorsed?

I grew up in a conservative district (represented by Henry Hyde - the author of the infamous Hyde amendment restricting federal funding for abortion access) and a Catholic community. I was raised by a single mother who was completely apolitical. She didn’t even vote, because she knew politicians didn’t represent the interests of low-income families, like ours. Because my sister and I loved to sing and dance, we started performing in local community theater productions when I was only four years old.

Over time, our passion for theater introduced us to new areas of the city and an amazing community of artists and performers who became our chosen family. This was the late 80’s/early 90’s, and when we learned about a disease killing millions of people in our community, we knew we had to get involved. We sang in AIDS benefits, rallied for healthcare funding, visited patients, and helped make quilt squares. None of this felt like political activism, it was human activism.

When I was a preteen in the late 90s, I started feeling tension between our catholic religion and the values I knew I wanted to espouse. Specifically, I couldn’t understand why my own religion didn’t accept my loved ones. While it was difficult for my mom who also grew up catholic, I convinced my mom to let me leave the catholic church. I also started the first LGBTQ+ club at my middle school.

LGBTQ advocacy has been a constant in my life. When I was serving as diplomat in the Foreign Service, and was barred from any political activity, I was a part of the movement to support same-sex couples in the Foreign Service, who were still not granted the same benefits as heterosexual couples (until marriage equality in 2015).

In my post-Foreign Service life in New York City, I have tried to support as many LGBTQ candidates/electeds as possible - Chris Quinn, Erik Bottcher, Corey Johnson, Danny Dromm, Crystal Hudson, Tiffany Caban, Lynn Schulman, Deborah Glick, Brad Hoylman-Sigal (but I supported a different candidate for BP), Clarisa Ayaleto, Minita Sanghvi - this list is not comprehensive, just a list of folks I know I have supported off the top of my head!

3. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all literature and electronic materials?

Absolutely. I would be honored to do so.

4. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump?

There are too many to remember over the years! Since childhood in the late 1980s, I have rallied, protested, and advocated for awareness and government action for the AIDS epidemic. As mentioned in earlier parts of this questionnaire, at the time, I didn’t realize that advocacy was political because my family was apolitical- it just was the right thing to do for humanity. As a teen and young adult, I rallied to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and for Marriage Equality. During the 2016 election season, I rallied and worked very hard against Donald Trump and his disgusting agenda. Since 2016, I have rallied, marched, protested, many, many times against Donald Trump

Most recent events include: rallying against NYU Langone’s ILLEGAL and spineless decision to acquiesce to the Trump administration’s discriminatory executive order and cancel gender-affirming care appointments for individuals under 19, marching at the recent People’s March, and in my capacity as a candidates, issuing statements against his Executive Orders against Trans rights, including removing trans service members from the military.

5. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?

Unfortunately, the opening weeks of the Trump administration have been a disaster for the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities, and immigrants. City government must work swiftly to provide directives clarifying noncompliance requirements regarding the New York Equal Rights Amendment, I.C.E. raids, attempts to violate immigrants’ rights under local and state law, and attempts to violate LG.I will ensure that my office proactively provides the residents of my district and businesses that traditionally have higher immigrant populations with educational resources about sanctuary city laws, how to get help, and how to best protect themselves from unlawful detainment. I will also maintain open dialogue with organized labor to solicit feedback about if and how their members are being discriminated against in opposition of sanctuary city laws.

6. Will you seek or accept endorsements of individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, such as Ruben Diaz Sr., Fernando Cabrera or Erick Salgado? Will you pledge to denounce their homophobia and anti-choice positions in the event you receive an endorsement from such individuals?

I would not accept the endorsement of individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights. I denounce homophobia and anti-choice positions.

7. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?

8. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?

Absolutely.

9. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?

Yes! I hosted a family-friendly Drag Story Time for my campaign for parents, grandparents, and children. Our Drag Queen Nancy Nogood read What Can a Citizen Do? By David Eggers and led a group activity with the kids to create a community tree filled with civic actions we can all do to help each other. It was honestly the most incredibly special event we have hosted thus far! Nancy is incredibly gifted at engaging children and it was a wonderful inspiring event. My own 4-year old was enamoured and asks about Nancy often. I’ve heard from many attendees that their kids have asked when they can see Nancy again! We hope to plan another Drag Queen Story TIme again soon!

While advertising the event, we received feedback from some constituents that they were against trans rights. We even had a reporter from the New York Post try to sneak into the event. This only highlighted the need for more LGBTQ+ advocacy in our district and we doubled down on our commitment to hosting the event and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights (while protecting the performer and attendees from the Post, of course!).

10. What proposals will do you support to increase the protection of immigrants and cement New York City’s status as a Sanctuary City?

Unfortunately, the opening weeks of the Trump administration have been a disaster for the rights of immigrants. City government must work swiftly to provide directives clarifying noncompliance requirements regarding I.C.E. raids and attempts to violate immigrants’ rights under local and state law.I will ensure that my office proactively provides the residents of my district and businesses that traditionally have higher immigrant populations with educational resources about sanctuary city laws, how to get help, and how to best protect themselves from unlawful detainment. I will also maintain open dialogue with organized labor to solicit feedback about if and how their members are being discriminated against in opposition of sanctuary city laws.

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 have never and would never oppose a shelter in my district. Homelessness is driven by a variety of root causes - two of which are lack of available housing, and lack of accessible mental health treatment, especially in-patient beds.

I am a strong supporter of Housing First policies, including the expansion of private rooms and stabilization beds for the short-term. These policies reduced homelessness among veterans in our City by 90% over ten years, and they should be expanded to cover all people experiencing homelessness. In the longer term, the best thing we can do is address the housing crisis. There’s a reason the most expensive cities are the ones with the most significant challenges with homelessness.

Regarding accessible mental health treatment, we need to prioritize keeping in place the beds and facilities we have now. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which suddenly announced last fall in 2023 has 153 inpatient beds for behavioral health and substance addiction. City Council must find a way to keep this mental health facility open and welcoming to patients.

I will prioritize developing a fully-funded mental healthcare system, supportive working conditions for mental healthcare providers, crisis response teams of social workers and mental healthcare providers, preserving the City’s affordable housing stock, and job training programs.

I am also very supportive of asylum seekers and believe we need to better support families seeking asylum in New York City. As someone who previously worked as a Consular Officer issuing immigrant Visas, I know firsthand how broken our US immigration system is. Although this would not be in my legislative purview in the City Council, I believe we need to reform the process for seeking asylum to more efficiently put seekers on a path to employment opportunities to support their families. As a City Council member, I will seek ways to better support these families as they wait in administrative limbo.

12. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2970, introduced by Council Member Shahana Hanif? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text urges the NYS Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would ensure state and local resources are not used to facilitate federal immigration enforcement. If not, please explain.

Yes

13. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2917, introduced by Council Member Crystal Hudson? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text endorses the Access to Representation Act, which would establish a “universal right to counsel” for indigent New Yorkers who are subject to removal proceedings under federal immigration law. If not, please explain.

Yes

14. Will you join our efforts to pass legislation mandating the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release? The legislation is commonly known as the New York Elder Parole Bill.

Yes

15. Do you oppose the death penalty? Yes

16. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement? Yes

17. 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

18. Do you commit to working to change our penal system toward a restorative rather than a retributive model of justice?

Yes

19. 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

20. Who did you support for mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary election?

Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley, and Scott Stringer (prior to the sexual harassment

allegations)

21. Which 2025 Democratic candidates have you removed from your consideration? Have you endorsed anyone? If so, who?

I do not plan to endorse a candidate for mayor given my focus on my own race, but I will gladly confirm that Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams will not be ranked on my ballot.

22. Do you support the renaming of the Ed Koch bridge and will you work towards the renaming including sponsoring such legislation?

Yes and yes.

23. What are your plans to address rent affordability in NYC? Did you vote for “City of Yes”? If not, please explain.

I am not an incumbent. I would have voted Yes for City of Yes. I know, first-hand, what it is like trying to live in New York City on a first-year teacher’s salary. Also, because of my experience working as a classroom teacher in a community outside of District 4 (I worked at MS319 in Washington Heights and as an ATR), I have a wider lens than my competitors about key issues impacting New York City and just how acutely lack of affordability is impacting families in New York City, including a number of my students whose families experienced homelessness during the time I was their teacher. These experiences inform my policy perspectives and priorities.

We are in the midst of an affordability and housing crisis. As a member of Community Board 8, I sat on the Land Use and Zoning Committees. I experienced first hand the important and grueling ULURP process and know what it is like to critically examine housing proposals.

There are five core strategies I will prioritize on the Council.

1. Protect current stock of affordable housing

Reports show that NYC affordable housing saw a net loss of over 150,000 units, over 75% since 2019. In 2023 alone, there was an estimated net loss of over 4,000 rent-stabilized units. Units are being deregulated, often illegally. We must protect the affordable housing stock we have. We cannot accept a decline in the percentage of affordable units as street homelessness increases. Affordable housing is key to creating a just and safe city.

2. Hold HPD and DOB accountable for enforcing affordable housing requirements.

Agreements to develop new affordable housing units are great, but they’re worthless if they aren’t enforced. We've seen numerous instances where development with permitted FAR increases under Mandatory Inclusionary Housing didn’t follow through and complete the promised affordable housing, especially when affordable housing was permitted to be off-site. Oversight is essential to tackling the housing challenge and the only way we can ensure that the new Universal Affordability Preference program will succeed.

3. Convert commercial to residential, wherever possible

The current office vacancy rate in Midtown is 20 percent. Many of these empty spaces must be repurposed as residential housing as we seek to optimize our current spaces alongside the creation of new housing. We can build up to 85,000 new mixed-income units in Midtown Manhattan by increasing allowable density on sites where residential towers are already permitted.

4. Prioritize age in place housing for seniors

We need to ensure that seniors have access to rental assistance programs as well as accessibility upgrades and in-home care. We must ensure that they are protected against harassment and know their rights under the right to counsel law. We must build vibrant communities where seniors can age-in-place in the neighborhoods they built and sustained.

5. Build modern middle class housing

City of Yes is a start to the larger project of ensuring the middle-class can thrive in our city. But City of Yes, on its own, is only estimated to result in about 5,000 new units per year across the whole city. That’s not going to be enough, especially in District 4 where we’ve seen plenty of development, but not enough new housing to show for it. We must be vigilant in ensuring new construction meets affordability targets. For example, what we have seen, including right across the street from my apartment, are tenements with affordable housing being torn down so that towers with a relatively small number of enormous apartments can be built, meaning that even when developers participate in mandatory inclusionary housing and comply with their legal obligations, we end up with fewer affordable units than we had before. This isn’t acceptable, and it isn’t going to help solve the crisis.

24. What are your plans regarding short-term housing?

I will oppose Intro 1107 and other efforts to weaken or eliminate short-term rental regulations in NYC. This bill would open the door for private equity to flood the market, make home ownership more out of reach for New Yorkers, increase rental rates, and jeopardize the jobs of hotel and construction workers. This bill does not have the interest of our labor force and residents in mind.

25. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why should we believe you would be a dynamic and progressive voice in elected office?

After 2016, when organizations across the country encouraged women and regular people like me to run for office, I was recruited by fellow teachers to run for city council in 2017- the same seat I’m running for now.

While I loved interacting with voters, working on policy solutions, advocating for vulnerable communities, as a woman candidate, I pissed a lot of people off. I was told I was too young, too cutesy, and that my voice was too high-pitched.

I didn’t win, but I didn’t let that deter me. I kept showing up. I kept showing up for organizations that didn’t endorse me. I kept showing up at the Political Club that kicked me out because I wouldn’t stand aside until I was eventually elected president. I kept showing up for my council member who defeated me - partnering with him on key initiatives for our community.

I kept showing up after I had children - bringing my breast pump on buses to swing districts. I kept showing up because I care about our community, our city, and our country.

And I’m showing up today, running for this seat again, and asking for your endorsement. And this time, my qualifications are second to none. I’m the only candidate in this race who served as a full member on our community board. I’m the only candidate who has been a member of organized labor. And I’m the only candidate who has served at multiple levels of government as well as in the non-profit sector.

I earned the endorsement of the Lexington Democratic Club - the largest club in this district that directly overlaps with the majority of this council district.

And with especially high stakes for our city: an affordability crisis, a housing crisis, a mental health crisis, public safety concerns, inaccessibility across the city - I believe we deserve a leader who keeps showing up, not just when they’re running for office, but day-in, day-out, even when it’s hard, when it’s inconvenient, when it’s uncomfortable.

That is my track record. And that is my promise.

I wasn’t born into politics. I was born FOR this movement. It would be an honor to have your support.

26. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?

I built my reputation in New York City and District 4 as a doer, an activist, a leader with integrity, a connector, an organizer, and a good friend with my own blood, sweat and tears. If I gain your endorsement, I promise that you will have a candidate who believes in the mission of Jim Owles, will share your values with my community, and will do all that I can to deliver for the people of New York City.

27. Are you a potential candidate for City Council speaker in the upcoming term? If so, what is your platform?

No. This would be my first term in City Council.

questionnaireJim Owles Liberal Democratic ClubApril 27, 2025nyc 2025