I have always subscribed to the quote, "be the change you want to see in the world."
I first met the Bronx in 2002 and after 5 years as a New York City Teaching Fellow, I was lucky to have been chosen for a homeownership program through the Housing Preservation and Development Program with the City of New York.
I am the lucky recipient of two New York City Programs that have changed the course of my life.
These amazing programs and the missions they promulgated have brought me to my current and forever home in New York City - City Council - District 8. From the classrooms of the South Bronx and upper Manhattan and the opportunity of home ownership, I began my journey to becoming a true part of my local community.
The Bronx is my home and I want to be a part of helping to make it a place where everyone who lives here is heard, represented, and included in the community. I will never forget these precious gifts from the City of New York and I want to be a part of helping others seize every opportunity to make our communities better places to live.
Over the past 15 years, I have been able to see and be a part of my local neighborhood and have witnessed the successes and the struggles that my neighbors and I have gone through on a daily basis. I have worked to learn and interact with all of my neighbors from different walks of life and being a part of the City Council would allow me to take this interaction to the next level, one that helps me to be a bridge between their needs and the systems of local government that work to act in their best interests.
Meet Daniel
A Policy Platform for District 8
Equitable Education
Housing Affordability
Culture
I will strive to ensure that education is equitable to all and that schools deliver the outcomes they've promised. We must provide services and guidance to students looking to enrich and expand their educational outcomes and make legal services available to parents and guardians looking to hold the Department of Education responsible for meeting the needs of its students in accordance with Special Education Laws and creating Least Restrictive Environments.
We must fight the housing affordability crisis from the perspective of tenants and small property owners. The City Council should be creating incentive programs to attract great tenants and ways to protect both homeowners and tenants from the ravages of the market. Our goal must be to find ways to keep housing affordable for local people while allowing homeowners to stay afloat amid rising prices surrounding home ownership. Additionally, we need to be advocates for public housing residents as they navigate the system and help them to access programs and services to give them the resources they need to live better within public housing while building opportunities for them to be successful in other types of supportive housing situations.
In the City Council, I will work to protect and expand cultural institutions and celebrate the rich and diverse culture, artistic history, and landscape of our Community Board’s borders. I want us to have more events like the E152 Puerto Rican Festival and bring our community’s newest members to the table, the Garifuna People, West Africans, and Dominicans among others.