SNAPSHOTS | Diana Ayala sees solace in community center advocacy
Continuing our series of political
“Snapshots,” the Bronx
Times sat down with each of the
Bronx’s recently elected offi cials
for a discussion on their 2022 legislative
agendas and issues of
importance to their districts.
BY ALIYA SCHNEIDER
After running uncontested
in November, City Councilwoman
Diana Ayala is set to
enter her second term representing
District 8, a legislative
district which consists of Mott
Haven, Highbridge, Concourse,
Longwood and Port Morris — as
well as East Harlem in Manhattan.
The biggest issue in her district,
she said, is gun violence,
which she called an epidemic
that is continuously growing.
The solution? Funding local
community-based organizations
and expanding their
hours and services.
The councilwoman said she
secured funding for cornerstone
programs in NYCHA’s
Mill Brook, Mitchel and Patterson
Houses in Mott Haven,
which help connect young people
to wraparound services and
integrate activities with employable
skills for the basketball
and culinary industries,
for example.
“Growing up as a young
person in the Lower East Side
where gun violence was a real
part of our everyday lives, that
was what helped me and many
of my friends to get out of the
community, get a job,” she said.
“Staying focused on those opportunities
helped us survive.
I hope to be able to replicate
that.”
Ayala said she also secured
$15 million for a youth hub in the
parking lot of the 40th Precinct
between Alexander and Willis
avenues at East 139th Street.
The center will have health and
wraparound services, extracurricular
activities and workforce
development, serving the many
young people who are food insecure
and borderline housing insecure
in the area, she said, emphasizing
building community.
Also during her fi rst term,
Ayala pinned down an $18 million
commitment from the city
to build a community center in
Highbridge, which she said is
oversaturated with drug treatment
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facilities, shelters and
families lacking social services
and after-school activities. The
FDNY EMS Station 17, located
at 1080 Ogden Ave., will be moving
locations — Ayala anticipates
within the next year —
and then will be demolished so
the future center can be constructed,
she said.
She also said it’s important
to watch out for budget equity
for the Bronx. The borough
needs more sanitation services
and garbage and rats on the
Willis Avenue Bridge pose a
public health risk, she added.
A supporter of overdose prevention
centers, the councilwoman
pointed to high rates
of opioid-related deaths in the
South Bronx and East Harlem.
She said she plans to continue
to raise awareness about
the opioid crisis and bring resources
to constituents.
Moving into her next term,
Ayala said she will be paying
close attention to affordable
housing access. Workforce development
and forming partnerships
with local groups to
provide job application opportunities
will also be a priority.
DIANA AYALA
AGE: 48
NEIGHBORHOOD: EAST HARLEM
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY: PROGRESSIVE
DEMOCRAT
Fun Fact: She loves to drive alone so she
can blast the radio and sing at the top of her
lungs. She appreciates a variety of genres,
from salsa to country. “I’m very random.
My playlist is ridiculous. It doesn’t make
sense to anybody.”
Councilwoman Diana Ayala shakes hands with an attendee
at a food distribution on Nov. 19. Photo Jewel Webber
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