Editorial
Op-ed
Make your choice
After rolling out ranked-choice voting
in special elections in Queens
and the Bronx earlier this year, it
will be used across New York City in the
upcoming June 22 primary.
In fact, it has already had an impact on
how candidates have campaigned. There
have been fewer negative attacks on opposing
candidates, as candidates fear possibly
alienating another candidate’s voter base.
It has also forced people to endorse not
only their fi rst choices for an elected offi
ce but also their second and sometimes
even third choices for the seat. The nature
of ranked-choice voting has shifted how
campaigns operate.
The race for mayor, example, is expected
to be extremely close — with no one candidate
probably winning more than 25%
of the vote on the fi rst-choice ballot. The
candidate who can garner the most secondchoice
votes may come out on top.
It’s a unique race just in terms of how
candidates are having to vie for secondchoice
votes as well as fi rst-place votes.
The reason ranked-choice voting was
implemented was so that voters have more
of a voice in who’s elected. Being able to
rank candidates allows for voters to have
more representation. Voters can still just
vote for one candidate if they choose to.
This is also known as a bullet ballot.
In the end, ranked-choice voting is a win
for voters. Think of a normal election where
a candidate wins with, let’s say, 37% of the
vote. That leaves 63% of voters unsatisfi ed.
Ranked-choice voting helps remedy
that issue, giving voters more say which is
always a positive — and giving a majority
of New Yorkers representatives they can
call their own.
Regardless of how you vote in the June
22 primary, if you’re eligible to participate
in it, please do so.
Voting is not a civic duty exercised once
every four years. The local elections count
just as much as any presidential election —
and, in many respects, are more impactful
on our daily lives.
We’re electing a new slate of executives
and representatives who will be tasked with
leading the city’s post-COVID recovery,
along with tackling all other issues we take
for granted — from public safety to school
curricula, from rezoning to trash collection,
from road repair to public transit, and
everything in between.
Make your choice, and make it count!
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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Luxury apt. building
workers shouldn’t
struggle to feed families
BY CHRIS SANCHEZ
Even before COVID-19 hit New
York City last year, I lived in fear of
getting sick. For the last 8 years, I
have worked as a porter at a luxury building
on the West Side of Manhattan where
apartments routinely sell for more than
$1 million. I take great pride in keeping
the building clean and welcoming for the
residents but I make slightly more than
minimum wage and I’m struggling to support
my family.
I make just $18 an hour and I have no
health insurance. My fi ance was laid off
right before the pandemic and I’ve been
supporting both of us and our three kids on
my salary. I constantly worry about money
and I’m terrifi ed of getting sick.
We’re on such a tight budget at home
that sometimes I skip a meal just so I can
save a little money to feed my kids. I haven’t
been able to see a doctor in over 2 years and
I have lived in dread of what might happen
if I were to get sick during the pandemic.
My coworkers in the building also face
the same challenges I do trying to support
their own families on pay as low as $16.50
an hour.
About 2,000 building service workers
in New York City are in the same boat as
we are: they work in high-end buildings
but their pay and benefi ts are below the
industry standard prevailing wage.
That’s why my coworkers and I are urging
our legislators in Albany to pass a bill
that would mandate high-end New York
City apartments that receive tax breaks pay
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
family-sustaining wages and benefi ts to the
workers in their buildings.
We are only asking for the good jobs
that have long been the hallmark of our
industry. Building service worker jobs have
provided good pay and benefi ts and been a
bedrock of the New York City economy for
generations. Luxury buildings shouldn’t be
undercutting that standard.
For the last 15 months, I’ve risked my
health and the health of my family every
day on the job and so have my coworkers.
But even before the pandemic, we were
struggling. We all deserve good pay and
benefi ts that will enable us to provide a
bright future for our kids.
A prevailing wage law linked to tax
abatements would ensure high-end apartment
buildings pay a fair wage, raising up
the wage fl oor in our industry and making
a huge difference for our families.
With a prevailing wage law, I’d be able
to eat every meal, pay all my bills and have
some money left over at the end of the
month to save to buy a home and to send
my kids to college.
With only a few days left in the legislative
session, my coworkers and I are calling on
the State Senate and Assembly to pass this
bill and send it to the Governor to sign into
law.
More than 15 months after the pandemic
started, I am still working hard every day
to protect all the residents in my building
and help them stay healthy and happy. I
just want to be able to do the same for my
family.
Chris Sanchez lives in Brooklyn.
10 June 10, 2021 Schneps Media
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