“Many Lower Manhattan are very discouraged right now, because of the results of last week’s presidential election,” State Senator Daniel Squadron reflects. “But it’s vital that people who are concerned or upset about the outcome not to give up, but instead to double down on involvement and engagement.”
State Senator Daniel Squadron: “It’s important to realize how closely national and local politics are related. What happens on the presidential level understandably gets a lot of focus, but it is linked to state and local government, and these are driven by activism and engagement at the community level. The issues that we think of as national are really the sum of people making a difference, city by city.”
A venue for doing that will be the Community Town Hall meeting that Senator Squadron is hosting tonight. “This is an interim event, six months after the larger Community Convention, which I host every spring,” he says. “It is an opportunity to meet constituents and hear their concerns in a more intimate setting. My goal is give people a voice, and have a conversation about the community.”
Among the issues the Senator expects to take questions about are affordable housing, transit, schools, parks, ethics reform, and community engagement — as well as the presidential election. “It’s important to realize how closely national and local politics are related,” he says. “What happens on the presidential level understandably gets a lot of focus, but it is linked to state and local government, and these are driven by activism and engagement at the community level. The issues that we think of as national are really the sum of people making a difference, city by city. And that kind of engagement always helps to determine the outcome of the next national election.”
“Everybody knows that people are busy, their lives are hectic,” he observes. “So it’s easy not to focus on the impact of local government and local representation. And that leads to the concern people will disengage. But based on the feedback and energy I’ve seen in the last week, I don’t see this happening. We have to be aware of that concern, however, and fight that instinct. When you’re unhappy, get more involved.”
Within Mr. Squadron’s 26th Senate District, there are vastly different communities, ranging from the affluence of Tribeca to the privation of City housing projects on the Lower East Side. “But this is really one community,” he reflects. “Wherever you live and whatever your issues are, it’s appropriate to expect government to address your concerns. And many of these concerns, like schools and transit, are universal, affecting every community.”
Even priorities that are more local in nature, such as the campaign to have residents appointed to the board of the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA), or the need for basic maintenance in public housing, “are more effectively argued for when advocates are conscious of the broader context,” Senator Squadron says.
“One of the goals of events like the Town Hall and the Community Convention,” he notes, “is to get people to work together. We are one community, and we have a shared destiny.”
Looking back on public issues he worked on in 2016, the Senator says his worst disappointment is the national election, while his greatest satisfactions were, “progress on resiliency in Lower Manhattan, where we got another $100 million allocated, and success in getting public comment allowed at BPCA board meetings.” Looking ahead to 2017, he says, “I will continue to push to make 2017 the year when Albany finally listens to my calls to clean up and strengthen public housing, and I keep hoping that the State legislature will, at long last, embrace ethics reform.”
The Community Town Hall will be held at tonight (Tuesday, November 15) in the historic Engine Company 31 Firehouse building (now known as the Downtown Community Television Center-Firehouse), at 87 Lafayette Street (between Walker and White Streets), starting at 6:00 pm. This event is free, and open to the public. For more information, please call 212-298-5565.