City Council Candidate Responses
District 26
1. Please briefly share your background and note any experiences you may have in engaging older adults, whether professionally or personally, and in connecting with the non-profit sector.
Sultan Al Maruf
I am an immigrant from Bangladesh. While having various positions in BMCC Lions Club (President), UNA Queens (President), Phi Theta Kappa (VP), sailing club (Dockmaster, Instructor, Race Committee Chair), and completing 2-master degrees in MS in Business Management & Leadership, MS in Human Resource Management, I focused on global issues, such as, Climate change, Women’s Right, Antiwar, Poverty, Hunger, Human Rights issues, UN Funds, etc. But, after engaging HOPE Homeless survey and facing corrupt landlord, I soon realized that there was homelessness crisis in NYC. So, I started to advocate for tenants’ rights personally and politically. Professionally, I was an IT Director, a Federal employee in Census, and a Federal employee in U.S. Small Business Administration. If I gets elected with your help and support, then I wish to end housing crisis, free MTA, and other important issues. Furthermore, 51%+ of my district’s voices will be my voice regarding all issues and I will be donating 50% of his council salaries to the charities. I’m an Health Aide to my mom, who is 75% old and a patient. While growing up, I took care other elder patients including changing their bedpan, feeding them with the spoon and feeding tube.
Ebony Young
I come with a twenty year profession as an Executive leader for the YMCA's. I have managed several Active Older Adult programs in partnership with AARP, and other local organizations in Western Queens. Programs included: Wellness, Financial Literacy, Digital Literacy, Predator Protection Services, Safety, and emotional stability after retirement.
Badrun Khan
When the pandemic first shut everything down, I had senior citizens in my community reach out to me to let me know they were low on food. I brought them food and supplies. I enlisted other activists in my community to reach out to seniors and make sure they were okay. We held food drives. We created a schedule to check-in. These check-ins were not only for food and other needs but just asking how they were holding up during such an uncertain time. My parents are older and I help them with many activities that most of us do without thinking much about. It’s hard for them to get out, but I know it’s important for their well-being.
Julia Forman
I am a board member of the Dutch Kills Civic Association, an organization with four decades of work for our community and a membership spanning every possible age bracket in that community. I've also been involved in organizing call lists for local seniors with various mutual aid networks, including the Astoria Mutual Aid Network, LIC Support, and Sunnyside and Woodside Mutual Aid, helping our seniors connect with vital services and information through the coronavirus pandemic.
Hailie Kim
I’m an educator, teaching at Hunter College, a working class New Yorker, and an immigrant who grew up in Sunnyside. As a teenager, I volunteered as an assistant at a Korean language program, and with a nonprofit that advocated for LGBT youth in my community. I am a proud union member of PSC-CUNY. Throughout COVID, I volunteered with food pantries at Mosaic Church’s Community Center, Sunnyside-Woodside Mutual Aid’s Woodside Houses pantry as well as one offs with LIC-Relief and Urban Upbound.
2. As we live longer and healthier lives, what are your priorities with respect to promoting equity across all ages in our City?
Sultan Al Maruf
I'm a believer in FREE Health Care for ALL. Often time, private insurance companies and other middlemen scam tax payers' money while we endure double standards regarding health services. Rich and powerful people gets high level services while I/We/Others get low quality services. I could not afford root canal, so I had to pull my teeth. Hence, we need to have universal Free Health care for All, so there won't be any discrimination regarding services.
Ebony Young
Included all ages on Community Boards, reaching out to community service centers that service seniors and finding ways to implement those needs throughout the cities agenda. Many Seniors come to the table to limitless knowledge and capabilities to grow & sustain a thriving city.
Badrun Khan
The fixed incomes of both older adults and veterans have made it difficult for these vulnerable populations to keep pace with rising rents. I’m happy the city has taken actions to promote a secure housing future for older New Yorkers through the increased production of senior housing. We now have a 10-year strategy that includes plans to create or maintain 10,000 units of affordable senior housing for New Yorkers.
New York City residents are just like their city, unique. We need to ensure all residents are not just aging, but thriving. This city has many opportunities for seniors to get involved and spend time with their peers. The data shows that seniors who are able to maintain an active social life, are healthier and happier. Elder abuse occurs too often, and many are afraid to report it. The city needs to expand multi-disciplinary teams to respond to cases of elder abuse.
Julia Forman
From my work with mutual aid organizations, it is abundantly clear how the increasing digitalization makes life harder for seniors with less tech expertise. We need to increase funding to NYC's Department for the Aging and ensure that we're not leaving our aging population behind when services move online. I would also like to take the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption and apply it to property taxes so that older homeowners can rest assured that the money they've budgeted for retirement isn't jeopardized by new development.
Hailie Kim
Conduct racial and income impact studies on any new proposed development
Racial impact studies, as proposed by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, would help protect against systemic racial injustice in real estate development. Similarly, income impact studies would help ensure that neighborhoods under development do not become unaffordable or inhospitable for existing residents and small businesses. Development does not have to equal displacement.
Equity in Education Funding
Address the inequitable Fair Student Funding distribution. Some school districts are funded as high as 130% of their FSF, while others are funded as low as 90%, Moving forward, all schools should be funded by the same percentage of their FSF to ensure equitable distribution.
Equity in Environmental/Climate Justice
We must make major green infrastructure investment in projects such as efficiency upgrades for public buildings, especially NYCHA.
Equity in Transportation
Along the same lines, we need more dedicated bus lanes to ensure bus commute times are not impeded by rush hour traffic. Getting to work on time, for many New Yorkers, is something that can ensure or take away a paycheck. Building dedicated bus lanes, especially in transit deserts like Maspeth and Ridgewood, would help alleviate the transit desert while ensuring that we are careful not to contribute to displacement in those areas.
Equity in Healthcare
Fully fund and expand NYC Health+Hospitals: Such an act would allow for barriers such as cost and lack of insurance to be removed for those who need urgent, primary care. This should also include expanding the range of services covered by NYC Care, as well as raising the means tested threshold.
Use zoning powers to threaten status of non-profit hospitals, forcing them to either pay taxes or provide higher levels of indigent care: Non-profit hospitals are among the most powerful entities in the state, having absorbed and destroyed local hospitals over the last two decades. Their market power allows them to raise insurance reimbursements and push uninsured and under-insured to the public hospital system, despite bringing in hundreds of millions in annual revenues and paying executives millions in salaries. The Council should threaten to sue these hospitals and take away their non-profit status unless certain levels of indigent care is provided, as well as restricting zoning permits to extract concessions.
Oppose hospital closures: During the last two decades and since the formation of the Berger Commission, state policy has encouraged hospital closures, mergers, and consolidations, drastically reducing hospital beds in the city, which devastated our city during the COVID-19 crisis. Although this falls under state jurisdiction, the Council should work with the Mayor’s office to oppose measures to close hospitals and reduce our quantity of hospital beds.
Support Medicare for All at the federal level and the NY Health Act at the state level
3. Do you support increasing the budget for the Department for the Aging (DFTA), which funds programs such as Senior Centers, NORCs, home-delivered meals, and more? Please give rationale for your response and specify any specific funding changes you are most committed to achieving.
Sultan Al Maruf
10000% support it. Senior citizens need all these services because they are extremely vulnerable and they already dedicated years of their time for our communities, country and people. So, it is our ethical, professional and moral duty to take care of them. Also, by providing these services, we are saving money.
Ebony Young
Yes, I support increasing the budget for DFTA. I am committed to eliminating funding in programs that are not managed appropriately, example: the Thrive program, and reallocating those funds to initiatives like DFTA who have a proven track record of real ROI.
Badrun Khan
I support increasing the budget for promoting equity across all ages in our City Department for the Aging because the data backs up the fact that more and more people in NYC are living longer. That number will only increase as the year's pass. Therefore, the budget should reflect this. There are three key areas where we should focus first.
The current $1.2 million to address the case management waitlist is not enough. At the very least this city should be able to provide seniors who need assistance develop a care plan and arrange for them to receive supportive DFTA- funded services. The current $10 million to adjust rates for senior centers to improve service quality and accountability is too low. We need at least 8 million to establish a new program to support caregivers of older adults, currently, the budget is only at $4 million.
Julia Forman
We have so many wonderful organizations doing mutual aid and nonprofit work on the ground, but the truth is that they can't cover everyone without a significant increase in funding. As a city government, we should be providing more funding to these organizations to make sure they're able to maximize their impact, and we should utilize our Department for the Aging to make sure seniors know what services are available. I will also prioritize language equity and ensure that no matter where a New Yorker was born and what language they are most comfortable speaking, they have access to the services they need to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
Hailie Kim
The number of older New Yorkers is projected to grow by over 41% between now and 2040. As a city council we will have to remain diligent regarding funding for the Department for the Aging and increase when and where appropriate. The growth and expanse of Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities is inevitable. Ensuring those communities have the proper support and outreach to allow its residents to maintain their independence is crucial. Also, programs such as meals on wheels are essential not just as a food program - but also for the wellness check it provides.
4. Do you support implementing a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for city-contracted human service workers and the full implementation of the Indirect Cost Rate (ICR) initiative for non-profits? Please explain your response.
Sultan Al Maruf
Yes. I'm a home health aide to my mom, so I personally know the pain of receiving low wages.
Yes, I fully support it.
Ebony Young
Being a 20 year veteran of human service/nonprofit I truly understand the impact that this has on our nonprofit organizations. We are all aware of the budget cuts made shortly after the approval of the 2021 budget. With a cut of up to 40% of FY 20 indirect funding and FY 21 funding remaining uncertain it puts our workers in dire stress. Government contracts are the stability of many of our social service organizations. This idea diminishes city progress and puts NP's at financial risks, while at the same time the need for the services have been exacerbated. The support of this plan is imperative.
Badrun Khan
Yes, city-contracted human service workers need to be able to afford NYC. The ICR commitment made by the City in November 2019 was a groundbreaking idea. Reimbursing the true indirect costs of human services providers, such as rent, human resources, and IT, for which providers have long been unable to claim in full is an enormous burden off the shoulders of these non-profit organizations.
Julia Forman
For too long, service organizations have struggled under a system that never acknowledged the true cost of the services they've provided, leading to service lapses and underpaid workers. If we're going to be a city that calls itself progressive, or even a city that claims to care about its seniors, we absolutely must implement COLA increases and the ICR initiative.
Hailie Kim
We absolutely must implement a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for city contracted human service workers. And yes, I support the full implementation of the Indirect Cost Rate initiative for non-profits. Covid-19 has hit not-for-profits and those who work for and with them very hard and they need our support. We need to ensure our human service workers are compensated properly. And we don’t want our not-for-profits to have to seek out lending to cover indirect costs that are very important to the management of funded program(s) etc.
5. Given that many older New Yorkers rely on limited fixed incomes and would prefer to age in community, rather than entering costly nursing homes, how will you address the need for affordable senior housing with services for a growing older population? How will you evaluate/respond to affordable senior housing proposals during ULURP?
Sultan Al Maruf
It has been almost 7 years that I applied for NYCHA housing, but I never got respond. I also applied senior housing for my mom, but I am still out of luck. So, I know the pain. I'm creating a comprehensive plan for ending housing crisis. First of all, we need to restart Section 8 voucher program for ALL. While doing so, we need to invest more money of building public housing for the senior citizens. Lastly, we need to reutilizes/redistribute our existing budget and cut the cost on existing budget. For example, we spend almost $20,000 per homeless person. If that's the case, then we should just give the money to the homeless person to live in a apartment.
Ebony Young
Any development in any area should be required to include a percentage of deeply affordable Senior housing with the demand of partners that provide services like: shopping & meal assistance, clinical therapy, medical facilities, digital enrichment, Financial literacy, and much more. This would include partnering with existing organizations in the community that already deliver these services. I have worked directly with a local senior organization and developer to complete a plan like this. It can work!
Badrun Khan
In addition to this increased funding, our current mayor has made numerous additional investments that will directly benefit older New Yorkers. We were able to expand the affordable senior housing commitment to 15,000 units and to raise the household income eligibility level for the Senior Citizen Homeowner Exemption from $37,400 to $58,400. The SCHE program provides a property tax exemption for senior citizens who own one, two, or three family homes, condominiums, or cooperative apartments. This alone would benefit approximately 30,000 households in New York City. If elected I would pass legislation requiring any contractor that comes into build housing must provide senior units on the first floor with ADA access.
Julia Forman
We need to make sure that we as a city are setting aside deeply affordable units in any new development, particularly new development with close access to grocery stores and accessible public transportation. And we need to partner with social service organizations to make sure that these units can be administered with access to necessary resources and services. I will not support any new development that will make lives for seniors harder or less affordable.
Hailie Kim
If we are going to have Senior Affordable housing to meet the growing need (41% growth between now and 2040) we need to be looking at ensuring we are growing our inventory of Senior Affordable housing at about the same rate. We also need to re-evaluate the AMI, as it currently is calculated based on households in all 5 boroughs and neighboring counties. The AMI needs to be specific to the neighborhood of the residence. We also need to ensure that Senior housing includes units that could accommodate children. We find that many of our Seniors are also playing the role of parent for one reason or another. We need to ensure that our housing inventory accommodates that need.
6. While many older adults wish to be connected, many lack the financial resources or training necessary to fully access technology, exacerbating the digital divide. How would you encourage the City to address this?
Sultan Al Maruf
My mom received free cellular phone, but it does not have enough data to use it. We need to increase Data limit so they can talk to the family members via video conference. I taught my mom to communicate via Facebook and Viber video chat. Now, she is communicating with them almost everyday.
Ebony Young
Creating partnerships with private organizations like Google can help to close this gap. Google just granted funding to do just this in NYC. The funding will be used to create a digital impact community initiative for low income older adults and empower them with the Technical skills necessary to function in the 21st Century. Continuing along this path will allow us to impact more Seniors throughout the city.
Badrun Khan
Something that I have personally seen is a lack of confidence when it comes to newer technology and resistance to learning out of embarrassment or frustration due to previous experiences. Therefore, the city should hire highly qualified teachers and provide free or low-cost classes for seniors on technology proficiency. Many younger people only use their laptops for a couple of years before the newest and “better” model comes out and they buy that. Typically, they will try to sell in on a popular app such as Facebook marketplace or Offer Up. The city should start a buy-back program and sell these laptops to seniors at a discounted rate.
Julia Forman
All senior programming must be administered in a way that doesn't require tech expertise, whether that's utilizing phone or in-person outreach. But for those seniors who do wish to become more tech savvy, we should be using our local libraries and senior centers to provide the necessary instruction to bridge the digital divide.
Hailie Kim
The City should establish a Senior Technology Engagement Program (STEP) to be implemented locally by CBO’s. The funding to staff this program would come from a new city agency that is designated to provide basic fixed wage public service jobs with full benefits. They would supply a tablet to all eligible Seniors, along with introductory training and technical support when necessary. Lastly, I support municipal broadband. In New York City, 29% of households don’t have access to broadband internet. In the digital age, that presents a massive barrier to basic human necessities, such as education and healthcare. The city can no longer rely on private companies to meet the needs of its citizens and instead should provide broadband as a utility for all New York City residents through a public agency which will ensure universality, quality of service, and affordability.
7. During COVID-19, Senior Centers continued to work remotely, offering services in new ways to ensure their clients’ needs were met. To date, providers have not been authorized to operate in-person, despite restaurants, movies, and other entities, which older adults could also attend, being open. Further, community-based organizations, in many cases, have not been leveraged in the new meal delivery system. What are ways that you feel the City should work with nonprofits and engage older adults in the event of a future emergency?
Sultan Al Maruf
1. Senior Centers must provide movies and entertainment services. If those entities are getting State, City and Federal benefits, then they must comply with City's regulations. Otherwise, they will be banned from city's funding. 2. Senior Centers should allow weekly or monthly Food Cart from diverse restaurants.
Ebony Young
We must function proactively in making sure Older Adults are given the technical skills necessary to function at home, still be a part of groups, and not suffer from loneliness. Private funding allows us work with our local non profits to fund programs that bridge the digital divide for seniors. We must start now.
Badrun Khan
The work starts now. We need to create a board on aging within the nonprofit sector. It makes no sense to have a group of middle-aged individuals in a room trying to figure out how to engage older adults. Ask older adults ways they would like to be engaged in the event of a future emergency.
I believe that in all emergencies we should also evaluate the situation at hand since not all emergencies are going to be the same. Once we know what we’re dealing with we should rapidly deploy (to those whose job it is to provide for the elderly) state of the art safety equipment and training in order to make sure that those who depend on our system working as intended, are not going to go without while also being as safe as it is possible to be.
We should also be recognizing the different non-profits and community-led organizations which have been here throughout the pandemic. These organizations should be supported, expanded, and maintained in order to make sure that we have a diverse infrastructure in place which will immediately respond to any need that arises.
Julia Forman
So much of our city services have been operated without emergency backup plans, and our seniors have really felt the brunt of that throughout the pandemic. Even now, as seniors have been able to access vaccinations, they're still the ones facing the most drastic service cuts. A complete audit of what went wrong and how decisions have been made will be necessary in the coming years to develop a better plan for the next emergency. Right now, we do need to get service organizations operating in-person as safely as possible. And as government liaison for the Astoria Mutual Aid Network, I have seen firsthand the failings of our city government to fully support our aging population. I will take that experience with me and work with those organizations while in office to make sure the people on the ground are heard at City Hall.
Hailie Kim
As with so many things post-Covid, the city must conduct a post-mortem on all levels of responsiveness and this must be near the top of the list. This must include meaningful engagement with CBO’s, Senior Centers, and public hearings. So much of the guidance throughout the crisis was based on what we knew at the time. In looking back we can clearly see where inconsistencies and gaps existed.
8. With 1 in 5 New Yorkers over the age of 60, what are the changes you would seek to make to create a more age-friendly district? Please consider addressing the physical infrastructure of your district (walkability, accessibility, etc.), health care access, safety net resources, and other district specific items of note.
Sultan Al Maruf
One of my major campaign slogan is to have 'FREE SUBWAY/MTA' so that, we can have 'ELEVATOR TO ALL SUBWAY STATIONS'. I'm partially disable and it is difficult to climb the stairs. If we eliminate paid entrance system by taxing the wealthy with 1.2% MTA tax then we can have direct elevators to the subway platform.
Ebony Young
Safer side walks, expansion of safe bike lanes, access for emergency safety vehicles to speed response times to emergency calls, better access to hotlines for mental wellness, walkable senior friendly pathways with an increase of rest benches, and an increase of handicap accessible subway stations.
Badrun Khan
I feel my district is very walkable. The issue I see right now is that a lot of these resources are only available online. There is definitely a digital divide as far as access and ease of use. Therefore, I would create walk-in offices where older adults could come and find resources.
Julia Forman
We need more accessibility in all forms of public transit. While Court Square/23rd St. is one of the busiest stations in the MTA system, the G train there is not accessible at all and the E and M trains are only accessible going Manhattan-bound. These kinds of mazes need fixing ahead of any of the aesthetic redesigns that have often been prioritized. We also need a hospital in Western Queens, which will allow for a preventative health facility under the New York Health and Hospitals department. We need to ensure that crosswalks and curb cuts are prioritized during snow removal. In a city with so many pedestrians of all ages and physical abilities, it is unconscionable to continue to prioritize cars over people. Along those lines, we must also improve crosswalk technology for the visually impaired and implement longer cross times for pedestrians.
Hailie Kim
Elevator access to all subway stations - and routine maintenance to ensure they stay in working order
Redesign access-a-ride - improving on time pick up and drop off and conducting home interviews for eligibility instead of making passengers come to a local office
Ensure that the new Queens Bus Redesign Team proactively reaches out to Senior communities to gauge their input. Especially on issues such as bus stop spacing, route design, and education/outreach once design is complete.
Continue to work with public utilities to ensure that sidewalks are repaired in a safe manner once their work is completed
Increase funding for Meals on Wheels and EISEP
9. In the event of a budget shortfall, how would you push for the City to close the gap? Are there agencies or programs you feel should or should not absorb cuts? Please be specific.
Sultan Al Maruf
In my terms, there will NEVER be cut for FOOD, SHELTER, HEALTH, SENIOR CITIZENS SERVICES, and TRANSPORTATIONS. We will be reducing the budget shortfall by taxing the rich for enjoying and profiting from the New York City
Ebony Young
Reallocate funds appropriately. I believe Thrive is one program that we can cut to save millions and move funds to more urgent needs.
Badrun Khan
Any program in NYC that has the goal of making life better for its residents should not be cut. I am an advocate for education and would not want to see those services cut. Health services also should not be cut especially during COVID. We need to negotiate with bigger companies coming here. They will close our budget gap by driving additional revenue to the city. I would also look towards making certain cuts and reallocations to the police department's budget, which I believe continues to be over bloated and improperly implemented even after the cuts DeBlasio has made. As the city comes back online and the pandemic hopefully begins to subside due to climbing vaccination rates, I’m not opposed to safely beginning to bring back more city sponsored events which the city could charge for and make revenue off of in order to begin chipping away at any other budget shortfalls. We could also implement economic implant grants to bring in consulting agencies that could work with non-profits and government organizations, and find ways for them to bring in extra revenue in order to (at least temporarily) alleviate pressure on the city budget coming from that sector.
Julia Forman
Human services should be the last thing to face cuts. Instead, we need to be focusing on inefficiencies and wasteful spendings. That includes contractors doing work that could be handled in-house by city employees. I would also prefer revenue increases to cover budget shortfalls, such as ending the Stipulated Fines Program that allows reckless corporations to pay discounted (or non-existent) fines for blocking roadways and crosswalks, and increased automation of traffic fines for people who make life more dangerous for New Yorkers of all ages.
Hailie Kim
Currently, I am calling for a redistribution of 3 billion dollars from NYPD into social programs. This would be to aid public education, mental health and addiction services, as well as jobs programs. All things that we need to fund and make accessible to all, especially people in underserved communities. Should we experience a budget shortfall we can always find places to make the necessary cuts. But, it is not always about accounting or “finding” the cuts; it is about political will.
10. How should your constituents look to measure your success in achieving your responses outlined above?
Sultan Al Maruf
I will ask constituents' approval via online polls/survey. If 51% approve any issue, then I will comply that issue. I will issue pilot program about certain issues. Constituent will measure success by observing certain area.
I already took landlord to the housing court 7+ times with trial verdict over the last 7+ years. I have evidence (Photo, Video, and audio recording) of achieving success. So, everything I do will be readily available in video and audio. I'm the only candidate in my district who sued Governor, Mayor, exposed judges' corruption, took landlord the courts 7+ times, exposed city corruption, sued NYC Commission of Human Rights, etc. I'm fearless and same way I will be fighting for our communities. Also, I will be conducting polls, survey almost every weeks about residents' recommendations. CAMPAIGN PROMISE If I gets elected with your help and support, then I wish to (1) end housing crisis, (2) free MTA, and (3) other important issues. Furthermore, (4) 51%+ of my district’s voices will be my voice regarding all issues and (5) I will be donating 50% of my council salaries to the charities. BREIF INFO I am an immigrant from Bangladesh. While having various positions in BMCC Lions Club (President), UNA Queens (President), Phi Theta Kappa (VP), sailing club (Dockmaster, Instructor, Race Committee Chair), and completing 2-master degrees in MS in Business Management & Leadership, MS in Human Resource Management, I focused on global issues, such as, Climate change, Women’s Right, Antiwar, Poverty, Hunger, Human Rights issues, UN Funds, etc. But, after engaging HOPE Homeless survey and facing corrupt landlord, I soon realized that there was homelessness crisis in NYC. So, I started to advocate for tenants’ rights personally and politically. Professionally, I was an IT Director, a Federal employee in the Census Bureau, and a Federal employee in the U.S. Small Business Administration. Please VOTE, VOLUNTEER & DONATE ... WWW.SULTANMARUF.COM
Ebony Young
I plan to create a participatory community visioning session with my local constituents where they participate in mandating what we will accomplish. This will be posted and I will meet with a small group of representatives quarterly to be held accountable to this plan.
Badrun Khan
Everyone knows someone who is aging. You can tell in their eyes when they are happy. My constituents will know these services are successful because they will see a change with the people they love.
Julia Forman
I plan to be as communicative as possible with constituents of all ages as well as the nonprofit organizations that serve our communities. If there are needs that Covid put a spotlight on that I am not helping address, I expect them to let me know so that I can get to work immediately. My main focus as the next council member of this district is to center our recovery on making sure our new normal is even better than what we had before the pandemic.
Hailie Kim
As a young girl my local library improved my life greatly. It gave me access to books and a space to meet with my tutor. It made my life better. This is what I want for my constituents. Are the programs I am fighting for making their lives better? If they answer yes, then I have served them well.