Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Nydia Velazquez

Nydia Velazquez

  • Despite Tens of Billions Proposed, NYCHA Again Left Out of Major Federal Funding Packages

    NYCHA left out in the cold again (photo: Governor's Office)


    As the Democrat-led federal government moves toward passage of another massive spending package, billions of dollars in much-needed funding to repair crumbling public housing, particularly at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), has again been left out.

    The U.S. Senate on Sunday passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a major spending bill that will invest hundreds of billions in climate action and clean energy, cut health care costs and raise taxes, reducing the overall federal deficit. But the bill excluded investments in

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  • Redistricting and Latinos in New York

    Rep. Nydia Velázquez (photo: Ian Douglass/Waterfronts)


    The New York State Legislature has passed, and Governor Hochul has signed, new district maps for the House of Representatives, the State Assembly, and the State Senate. What do these new lines mean for Latino representation?

    While space limitations prohibit me from providing an exhaustive analysis, several new district lines are worth noting. Let us begin with Congress.

    Of all New York City’s four congressional districts represented by

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  • What’s Really Been Missing from the Democratic Presidential Debate Stage

    aftermath superstorm oped

    (photo: NYCHA)


    Another Democratic presidential primary debate is now behind us, and once again not a single question has been asked about how our next President will address one of the federal government’s biggest failures of the last half-century – the neglect and divestment in our nation’s public housing.

    Candidates across the board are developing new and exciting progressive policies that have energized the Democratic electorate (including many around affordable housing). But this central issue of restoring public housing, once a

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  • Rep. Nydia Velázquez: My Campaign Finance Pledge

    city council reyna puente cm

    Rep. Nydia Velázquez (photo: William Alatriste/NY City Council)


    When I first ran for Congress, I faced what observers said were impossible odds. No Puerto Rican woman had ever served in Congress, the incumbent was sitting on a $2 million war chest, and I was taking on a powerful party machine determined to stop me. Yet, I won.

    What guided me in that first race, and every election since, has been my neighbors’ voices, which I have continued to rely on—from town halls to street corners to knocking on doors. My opponent back

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  • Hiram Monserrate Has No Place in Elected Office

    nydia moya via ydanis crop

    Rep. Velázquez, the author, rallying for Moya for Council (photo: @ydanis)


    Elections send messages.

    You don't have to look any farther than the victory of Donald Trump to see that electing a racist, misogynistic demagogue helps to normalize abhorrent behaviors in the eyes of some Americans. That may be why, as the Southern Poverty Law Center reports, our country saw 1,094 bias incidents in the first 34 days after the November election.

    If the president advocates for violence against opponents and unabashedly sexualizes and demeans women,

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, May 11

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to look for this week in New York politics:

    SKELOS WATCH: The fallout from Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos' arrest on federal corruption charges continues, with Skelos facing increased pressure to step down from his leadership post. The Legislature is back in session in Albany on Monday, it seems that it is only a matter of time before Skelos takes the path indicted Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver took after his arrest:

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 23

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    We're getting close to the state budget deadline of April 1. This week will be full of both private negotiations and public sessions in Albany, where lawmakers attempt to come to a budget deal while showing significantly divergent takes on key issues - as well as central mechanisms related to the budget and policy.

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  • The Week Ahead in New York Politics, March 16

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    This week will again be dominated by budget negotiations - especially in Albany, where a budget is due by the end of the month, which is rapidly approaching. In New York City, City Council hearings will continue on Mayor Bill de Blasio's preliminary fiscal year 2016 budget - once those hearings wrap up at the end of the month, the Council will craft its response to de Blasio, negotiations will continue, and the mayor

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