David Aronov announces bid to become
fi rst Bukharian elected to City Council
COMPASSION
HAS A PLAN.
She has a name.
Her health plan actually knows it.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.6 COM | JULY 31-AUG. 6, 2020
there 60,000 or so Bukharian
Jews in the district,
spanning Forest Hills,
Rego Park and Briarwood.
But there is also
a massive senior population
at risk.
According to Aronov,
the cost of housing keeps
going up while incomes
remain stagnant and
transit is a perennial
issue for the disabled.
“Stress-a-ride,” officially
known as Access-a-Ride,
could be better managed
by the city rather than at
the state level by the Metropolitan
Transportation
Authority, Aronov said.
“We need to completely
revamp the system.
Maybe that means municipal
control of Accessa
Ride … I know there’s a
proposal to take municipal
control of New York
City Transit, but Accessa
Ride is something that
we could do pretty quick
because we have the
NYC Taxi & Limousine
Commission right here
in the city; it won’t take a
million years to do this.”
Some of Aronov’s policy
proposals look to expand
on existing policies
such as building upon
Universal Pre-K and
making childcare under
the age of three available
to all New Yorkers. Under
Aronov’s policy, the
cost of childcare would
be capped at 7 percent
of their income. The cap
would only be for parents
making above the 200
percent federal poverty
line and the rest would
be free
Although Universal
Pre-K is a de Blasio administration
hallmark,
Aronov says the policy
he hopes to propose
will be modeled after
one by Senator Elizabeth
Warren during her
presidential run. Aronov
was a delegate for her
campaign.
“I like having plans
and ideas and not just
throwing out empty rhetoric
and running just
to run,” Aronov said.
“There are real issues
that people face and if
you’re going to be in office
and not try to solve
them, you may as well
not run at all.”
Aronov grew up in
Briarwood; his parents
migrated from Uzbekistan
in 1991 much like
many Bukharians. At
Queens Gateway To
Health Sciences Secondary
School, Aronov
pushed for higher standards
in the school administration
which led
to the city Department of
Education stepping in on
matters. Later at Hunter
College he would be involved
in student advocacy
for a tuition freeze.
The citywide elections
are just 11 months
away with 41 out of 59
elected offices being up
for grabs.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by e-mail at
mhallum@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4564.
BY MARK HALLUM
David Aronov has policy
plans that he believes
will relieve some of the
most immediate issues
that face the Bukharian
Jewish community and
the larger population of
central Queens in City
Council District 29.
When Councilwoman
Karen Koslowitz is term
limited with the majority
of the 51 members in
2021, Aronov plans to
take this seat and despite
being 24 years old, he’s
not without experience
or name recognition.
“The Bukharian immigrant
community has
been here for the most
part for over 30 years,
came in 1991 after the collapse
of the Soviet Union,
and we’ve never had an
elected official,” Aronov
said. “People tried in
2009 and 2010, but they
weren’t successful.”
Aronov spent seven
years working in the
office of Karen Koslowitz,
but for the last few
months he has been organizing
the effort to
get an accurate count
for the 2020 Census. On
the subject of numbers,
David Aronov Photo by Kaykov Media
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