This week the contentious race to fill the open 45th District City Council seat is heating up as one candidate in the special election said her banners are being torn down across the district and another announces his housing policy.
The district includes Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood and Canarsie.
Jovia Radix, a candidate in the eight-person race, said her campaign posters are being ripped down across the is district, including a poster and her on the front of her campaign office at 4517 Avenue D.
“We had a campaign banner up for less than 24 hours and then it was miraculously down,” said Radix.
Radix said she reached out through social media about the political vandalism, and several of the other candidates contacted her and/or her campaign vowing that this election should not go down the road of these types of election tactics.
“Everyone kind of reached out to say, ‘You are right. This is petty. Let’s not go this route,'” said Radix, noting that the campaign team of candidate Farah Louis, even volunteered to help the Radix team put up another banner.
Meanwhile, L. Rickie Tulloch, one of only three men left in the race, released his comprehensive housing plan to address the housing crisis that is impacting the community and the city. This plan comes on the heels of Tulloch rolling out his education platform last week.
Tulloch’s housing plan includes:
- Increasing funds to preventative services to help people on the brink of homelessness stay in their homes.
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- In 2018, the City spent over $245 million on homelessness prevention across multiple agencies but spent over $1.4 billion on shelters. Tulloch wants to keep people in their homes and wants to increase funding for prevention services to $600 million.
- Create a program similar to SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) that would freeze the assessed value of a senior’s home, as long as they have lived there for 3 years.
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- Rising taxes are a concern for all of us, but are especially daunting for seniors on a fixed income who have often spent their lives in our neighborhoods. By freezing the assessed value of a senior’s home, their real estate taxes will not go up.
- Work to downzone residential areas and upzone commercial areas so that new mixed-use buildings include affordable housing that is based on the poverty level, not AMI (Average Median Income).
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- Tulloch believes that zoning must be used for the community’s benefit, not the developers’. Downzoning the residential areas will save the neighborhoods’ character and affordability. Upzoning the commercial areas will create opportunities to build affordable housing that is truly affordable for the community.
- Require any residential development projects receiving funding from the city to use poverty level, not AMI, to determine affordability.
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- Tulloch wants the AMI levels to reflect the community rather than the greater NYC metropolitan area that includes Westchester and Long Island.
- Additionally, Tulloch wants the City to stop giving funding to projects that don’t serve the community.
“Housing affordability is a concern for all of us, and we need innovative solutions to keep our neighborhoods affordable and limit gentrification. As your next City Councilmember, I will work to prevent homelessness, keep our seniors in their homes, push for more affordable housing that truly matches the community’s needs, and rezone our neighborhoods to preserve their character and affordability,” said Tulloch.
Tulloch this week also received the endorsement of former Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs.
Jacobs was the former Assembly member representing the area before Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte (Ditmas Park, Flatbush) won on the Afro-Caribbean and Caribbean bloc vote. The area used to be predominantly Jewish before turning into a Caribbean enclave over the last decade and a half. Bichotte is backing Farah Louis who like her is of Haitian descent.
“I am excited to endorse Democrat L. Rickie Tulloch as the best choice for City Council. He has been an active and committed advocate for our neighborhoods for four decades, and we have worked together to make our communities stronger. He understands the issues facing our families – like the need for better schools, more affordable housing, and good jobs – and offers comprehensive solutions that will benefit everyone in the 45th District and beyond. I urge everyone to vote for Rickie Tulloch on May 14th,” said Jacobs.
The special election is slated for Tuesday, May 14.
