| Gateway Plaza resident Jenifer Rajkumar describes the upcoming election for the 65th Assembly seat as, “a once-in-a-generation chance to put a Battery Park resident, somebody who knows this community and has worked for it, into a seat in the legislature. The time is ripe to elect one of our own.”
Ms. Rajkumar believes that, “I am uniquely qualified, because I have a track record of accomplishment, both professionally and in the community.” She is a civil rights lawyer who has helped organize local movements such as a lawsuit on behalf of Gateway Plaza tenants, and hosted multiple massive rallies to prevent the handover of North Cove Marina to the owners of the Brookfield Place office and retail complex.
“I have both a granular and a deep understanding of Battery Park City,” she says. “I am familiar with with the intersection outside of Gateway Plaza, and what needs to be done to manage pedestrian and traffic safety there. I know that the playground at Rector and West Thames needs to be upgraded. And I am directly knowledgeable about the need for qualified crossing guards outside of this community’s schools. I know these things because, as a resident, I live Battery Park City issues seven days a week.”
“I have worked on the ongoing campaign to get residents appointed to the board of the Battery Park City Authority,” she adds. “As a member of the Assembly, it will be a top priority for me to ensure that this community has a voice at the table, not only in Albany, but also here, within the Authority that governs this community.”
“It’s about replacing Albany’s unfortunate culture of corruption with a culture of service,” she added. “My campaign has been a service campaign — volunteering at the Bowery Mission, hosting free legal clinics for all Lower Manhattan neighborhoods, and working with Democracy 4 BPC.”
Asked to name a constituency she will focus on, Ms. Rajkumar cited “everyone, all the time,” but particularly senior citizens, saying, “all across Lower Manhattan, there are buildings where elders are being denied the protection of SCRIE,” the City’s Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption program. “I want to expand that protection to places where it hasn’t been applied, such as Gateway Plaza, but in other neighborhoods Downtown, as well.”
She also says, “we obviously need to build more schools Downtown, which is a City function, but there’s a strong role for State legislators to play in this process. I will help find space, by working with developers who want to build the residential towers that have caused our local population to explode.”
More broadly, she says, “elected officials like an Assembly member can leverage the fact that Lower Manhattan is the new frontier in development by brokering deals that get us vital assets, like schools, senior programs, affordable housing, and community centers.” |
