Tenants’ rights attorney and workers and families’ advocate Shaun Abreu hosted a meet-and-greet yesterday to officially announce his candidacy for City Council.
The meet-and-greet took place at 1 p.m. in Morningside Heights’ historic Sakura Park. There, Abreu outlined his platform, which is largely based around advocacy for tenants, small businesses, families and the general working class. Among his policy proposals are increased protections for tenants facing eviction, emergency food vouchers for food insecure New Yorkers, and after-school programs for the children of working parents.
“The pandemic has redefined how we live,” said Abreu. “Small businesses and homeowners are struggling, food insecurity is on the rise, and historic job loss will result in an avalanche of evictions, while racial injustice continues to plague our nation.”
Abreu is running in City Council District 7, which covers Manhattanville, Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, and Hamilton Heights. Abreu was born in the district – specifically, Washington Heights – to an immigrant family. He later went on to become a first-generation college graduate, and now works as a tenants’ rights attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group. As an attorney, he advocates for those facing the very same problems he and his family faced growing up.
“When I was in elementary school, I came home one day to find my mother sitting at our kitchen table, holding an eviction notice in her hands,” said Abreu. “I will never forget the look in her eyes and the pain we went through as we left my childhood home and took shelter with neighbors. As a tenants’ rights attorney and your future Council Member, I look forward to championing expanded free legal services for tenants and small businesses facing eviction, truly affordable housing, initiatives to combat food insecurity and health inequities, and universal after-school to address the academic achievement gap our students face.”
