Robert Jackson Looks To Defend Washington Heights, Inwood Seat

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — The Democratic primary for the New York State elections will take place on June 28, and one of the most influential races in Upper Manhattan will be for the State Senate seat Robert Jackson currently holds.

The district, which is currently the 31st but is expected to become the 33rd after redistricting, covers Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights, Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side.

Jackson has held the position since 2018. Before his election to the State Senate, Jackson was a Council Member for uptown's 7th District from 2002 to 2013.

Jackson grew up in Northern Manhattan, attending schools in Washington Heights and eventually graduating from SUNY New Paltz. After college, Jackson became a Community School Board president and filed a lawsuit against New York State to fix an inequitable school funding distribution formula.

He was also a labor leader in the PEF union for over 20 years, was the Education Chair during his run in the City Council, and is now the chair of the Civil Service and Pensions in the Senate. He also has taught at Cornell University on civic engagement.

Earlier in April, Patch covered Angel Vasquez, who is running against Jackson for the State Senate seat.

Here are Jackson's answers to a variety of questions aimed at getting a better understanding of his push for reelection.

1) What is the driving force pushing you to run for re-election, representing Upper Manhattan?

I raised my family in this neighborhood and understand the power of diversity. I am a black man who was raised by a Chinese father. I grew up poor and through hard work and getting a good education became a labor leader, later a City Council leader, and now a State Senator. I have a wife and three daughters. I understand that each of our uniqueness, when combined, can topple mountains. I cannot stand idly by and allow my neighbors to be left defenseless by failed policies, political shenanigans, and corrupted leaders and systems.

I love public service and representing the people of this district every day. In 2018, I ran to bring down the corrupted scheme in the state senate where the IDC and Republican's back-dealing blocked a Democratic State Senate majority, funds for our public schools, tenant protections, rent reforms, Reproductive Health Act, Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act, the NY single-payer health plan, badly needed ethics reforms, election reforms, and real criminal justice reforms. We need to open doors of opportunity, not slam them shut. Today in 2022, I'm proud of the work that we've done together but there's still much to do to make sure all New Yorkers have a roof over their heads, food to eat, sustainable wages, access to mental health and social support services, universal health care and representation that puts people's needs over politics and profits.

We are made strong by our diversity and we must promote equality, justice and fairness. Our youth need every chance and opportunity to succeed. Workers deserve good jobs with good benefits and we all need clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and open spaces to enjoy. Those are the principles that have guided me as a labor representative, tenant leader and elected official and that I will continue fighting for as the State Senator.

2) How do you differentiate yourself from challengers in the Democratic field?

From my first elected position as School Board President where I launched the Campaign for Fiscal Equity school funding lawsuit to fix a school funding formula that was cheating our children, walked 150 miles to Albany to highlight the cause and won a court judgment that awarded $16 billion for NYC public schools, to my 12 years on the City Council where I sponsored the Small Business Survival Act and promoted equality, fairness and justice, to recent fights for tenants and against the IDC, I have taken on the tough fights for New Yorkers … and never backed down.

I have the experience, energy, and integrity to represent the district. In the City Council, as Chair of the Education Committee, Chair of the Contracts Committee, and Co-Chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, I helped pass the prevailing wage bill and Diversity in the FDNY. I also established the Drop-Out Prevention Initiative for schools and youth programs, and the Advocates for Children Education Helpline for parents to seek legal and expert advice on navigating services for their children, in the city budget. I used my advocacy to lead on smart and sensible budget choices that saved the Samaritans Suicide Hotline from being eliminated from the city budget, kept fire houses and senior centers open, and thousands of school aids from being terminated. I am also proud of passing signature legislation that created more jobs and opportunity under MWBE (Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises) and the Student Safety Act.

I am mostly known for my record on fighting for public education. Besides winning billions of dollars for our students and schools, I received the Dewey Award which is the highest honor awarded by the United Federation of Teachers. Together, we delivered Teacher’s Choice, BRAVE, and Dignity for All in schools.

Now, my education legislative agenda includes: Reduce Class Size; Solutions not Suspensions bill, where school suspensions are eliminated for students from kindergarten through third grade and reserved as a last resort for higher grades after offering restorative practices; the Student Wellness Act, mandating mental health professionals in all schools; and LGBT curriculum which creates a task force to inform on inclusive curriculum in all schools.

Recently my bill Turn on the TAP passed in the budget, which restores financial aid for college opportunities to incarcerated people, resulting in decreased recidivism and increased opportunities for gainful employment. I have a similar pending bill that provides financial aid for students experiencing homelessness and applying to higher education. As Chair of Civil Service and Pensions, I made sure New Yorkers who worked mandatory overtime to keep our state running are not penalized for their dedication and that the pension investment period is reduced from 10 to 5 years. There’s still a great deal of work to do to support and retain talent in our public service workforce.

Dealing with the triple pandemic of covid, racism, and gun violence, I’ve been present and shown up for my constituents in a number of ways. From assisting countless constituents resolve unemployment insurance issues including our gig workers, and successfully apply for covid rental assistance, to connecting them to vaccines, home testing kits, and K95 masks, my team and I are committed to supporting and remaining accessible to the residents who live and work here. My office sets up Senator on Your Corner in every part of the district, as well as rent assistance clinics in schools and outdoors. I organize constituents to empower them to be part of the solution in response to the issues that impact all of us, such as George Floyd vigils, an 85 block march from Marble Hill to Harlem to repeal 50A, coalition of parents to address the opioid crisis, and the uptown community gun violence task force resulting in funding for violence interrupters, programming for youth and arts, and gun buyback programs.

I’ve accomplished a great deal by working hard for and with the community, labor, and other stakeholders, and am committed to continue doing even more in this difficult time facing our city and state.

1) The Inwood rezoning plan was a longtime controversial plan within the Upper Manhattan community. Where do/did you stand on the issue, and how would you balance the addition of new affordable housing and other developments in Upper Manhattan while still preserving the existing neighborhood?

Before I was elected to the NY Senate, I was one of the co-founders of Northern Manhattan is Not for Sale. I was against the rezoning from day one. The Inwood rezoning is not responsive to the working-class families who live here and will lead to the displacement of families that have lived here for generations and small businesses that have been the cornerstones of our community, many of which have served us for decades. The coalition had an alternative rezoning plan developed by the people who live here. It took our median income, the viability of our small businesses, our depleted resources, flood zones, strained infrastructure, labor and workers' rights, and schools into account. Rezonings in NYC need to go through a racial impact study to ensure that social justice—racial, environmental, and economic—is at the center of NYC’s development. The analyses would include how the costs and benefits of such rezonings are distributed across racial/ethnic groups and describe the risks of displacement disaggregated by race/ethnic group. The coalition was successful in raising awareness about racist housing policies that hurt Black and Brown communities, and provided an opportunity to increase awareness and education on land use processes that lead to displacement. It also served as a model for other anti-predatory rezoning fights across the city and is the reason the previous city council introduced the Racial Impact Study legislation.

I always say “know the rules of the game or the game will use you”. Let’s first redefine the narrative that we are receiving affordable housing under the Inwood Rezoning. It is currently not affordable to the families who will be disproportionately impacted by the rezoning where the median family income is $34,000. Now, we have to make sure that we protect tenants by organizing them around their rights and connecting them to legal services. We have to understand the responsibilities of the agencies, the process going forward, the status of the commitments, and make sure that all stakeholders stay involved. Transparency, workers rights, protecting tenants and small businesses, and supporting our infrastructure continue to be priorities. It’s why my office will be hosting small roundtables with stakeholders and agencies to get an update on the Inwood Rezoning.

I support the Northern Manhattan Community Land Trust, and co-sponsor the senate legislation that supports this model which would make it possible for low-income residents to rent or own their own affordable housing. In addition to pushing to pass Good Cause Eviction, in the senate we are looking to close the loopholes currently being used to deregulate rent-stabilized apartments. I was successful in championing additional funding in the budget for COVID rent relief and as the senator that represents the highest number of rent-stabilized units in the state, will continue to make sure our constituents benefit.

2) There is increasing concern around pedestrian safety on uptown streets with car crashes, bike and ATV riders, and more. What concrete steps are you taking, and will you take in the future, to address better street safety for pedestrians in Upper Manhattan?

Our seniors, children and families deserve to be able to walk safely on sidewalks without fear of getting hit by a vehicle. There is no singular cookie-cutter answer but an interagency response becomes more urgent as the warmer weather approaches. In the state senate, I am a proud and vocal sponsor of my colleague’s Senator Hoylman’s bill on the FURIOUS Act which expands the use of already existing speed cameras. Right now the current speed cameras are limited to school areas and hours. When the bill passes, the speed cameras will be expanded to record speeding vehicles at longer distances from the school and outside of school time. An issue related to this however, relates to paper licenses which is an enforcement issue that the local precincts can and need to address. ATVs on city streets and sidewalks are already illegal and their unsafe use is also a matter of enforcement. My senate office is in constant communication with DOT about expediting well-placed speed bumps. In pockets of chronically unsafe vehicular use, we meet and follow up with the residents who live in the immediate area and the different agencies to come up with a specific plan. For example, my office recently met with residents, DOT and NYPD in one of the areas of concern and provided the idea of instituting rumble strips to decentivize drag racing. We’ve taken several tours with DOT to discuss dangerous traffic patterns.

3) Washington Heights and Inwood were hit harder than other Manhattan neighborhoods by the coronavirus pandemic. What concrete steps would you take to make sure businesses in the community are able to flourish as the pandemic hopefully comes to an end?

Our small businesses, the majority owned by immigrants, were decimated by the pandemic. As the previously prime sponsor of the Small Business Survival Act, I am keenly aware of how small businesses are often subjected to unregulated and unfair rent hikes and are most vulnerable at the time of lease renewals. Small businesses need protections from rent hikes, property taxes, and online conglomerates such as Amazon. There are many government programs to support businesses but the bureaucracy, the language access, and the technical and legal jargon in the applications and processes pose huge barriers for small business owners. Another reality is that the information doesn't get to who needs it the most.

As state senator, I helped pass legislation that provided the small business COVID rent relief program. My office hosted a resource fair for small business owners that included legal advice, resources, and support services. Besides legislating, I advocate, inform, and push, push, push. As a result, my office has successfully helped small business owners apply to the state program to pay their arrears, we have negotiated with landlords to help keep business owners from getting shut down or pushed out, and negotiated better payment terms with crippling utility expenses. I conduct several walk-throughs in the district where we talk to small businesses to listen to their needs and provide them with the information via the small business support squad resources we curated. My discussions with small business owners helps me refocus on what I need to do in Albany and in the district to make sure they thrive.

This article originally appeared on the Washington Heights-Inwood Patch