POLITICS
Hoylman Outlines Vision For Manhattan Beep Run
Out gay state senator comes prepared with priorities in race to succeed Gale Brewer
BY MATT TRACY
He’s got a plan for that.
Out gay State Senator
Brad Hoylman of
Manhattan, fresh off
a primary victory for reelection to
his Albany post, is diving into the
race for Manhattan borough president
— and he’s already got his vision
mapped out well ahead of the
June 2021 Democratic primary to
succeed term-limited Beep Gale
Brewer.
The economy, education, healthcare,
community boards, and —
yes — LGBTQ issues are among
the priorities on Hoylman’s to-do
list should he be elected borough
president in a race that already
features term-limited City Councilmembers
Ben Kallos and Mark
Levine of Manhattan as well as
Elizabeth Caputo, who serves on
Community Board 7.
The news of Hoylman’s decision
to run, fi rst reported by the Daily
News on August 17, comes in the
midst of a coronavirus pandemic
that has battered New Yorkers on
a number of fronts. Hoylman believes
he is the best person to help
right the ship in his home borough
and address the host of issues
that have emerged as a result of
the pandemic — as well as other
pressing problems facing Manhattanites
since prior to the COVID-19
outbreak.
Hoylman said he hopes to follow
in the footsteps of Brewer and
build on his accomplishments in
the Senate to deliver for the people
of Manhattan.
“I’ve passed 79 bills as a senator
and I think I can really bring
creativity, coalition-building, and
perseverance to the borough-wide
position,” Hoylman said during an
interview with Gay City News on
August 17.
The state senator has made a
name for himself in Albany, especially
on LGBTQ issues, since succeeding
out gay State Senator Tom
Duane in 2013. He is currently
leading the charge to repeal the discriminatory
loitering law known as
a ban on Walking While Trans and
State lawmaker Brad Hoylman is armed with a series of plans to boost Manhattan if he is elected
borough president next year.
State Senator Brad Hoylman, with his younger daughter, Lucy, last June, is a public school dad who
hopes to make the enrollment process less byzantine for parents.
previously spearheaded successful
legislative efforts to enact the
Gender Expression Non-Discrimination
Act (GENDA), ban conversion
therapy practiced on minors,
and legalize gestational surrogacy.
He serves as chair of the powerful
Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hoylman is aiming to trade in
his seat in the Senate for the role
of an executive who can craft but
cannot vote on legislation. He is
making the case that he has already
used his role as a state senator
to effect change in his own
backyard and will continue to do
so despite the limited powers of
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the offi ce he seeks. He cited his bill
to ban fl oating billboards on the
Hudson River, his work in negotiating
a reduction in the speed limit
on the West Side Highway, and his
joint effort with out lesbian Assemblymember
Deborah Glick to
prohibit overnight garbage truck
parking on city streets, among
other initiatives.
Looking ahead to the competitive
race, Hoylman brought up those
who have been asking whether
there is a future for Manhattan
and New York City as a whole.
“The answer has to be yes and
the answer has to be that our borough
represents the future of our
city,” Hoylman said. “We have to
get that right, whether it’s small
businesses or homelessness or a
sense of confusion about our public
schools and overpolicing.”
He added,” These are issues that
we’re going to have to sort out… I
think I’ll be extremely eager to be
part of that problem-solving on the
road to borough president.”
To that end, Hoylman said there
are opportunities to “reset the priorities
for the use of” 20 million
square feet of empty offi ce space
scattered across Manhattan,
pointing to the homelessness and
affordability crisis plaguing borough
residents.
“Mom and pops and locallyowned
businesses are evaporating
before our very eyes during the virus,”
he said.
Regarding housing construction,
Hoylman said, “The playbook
has been to favor luxury development,”
the hope being that would
encompass opportunities for affordable
housing units as well. But,
he said, “None of that has worked
to the extent that we need it to, and
with this enormous crisis comes a
great opportunity to develop what
I’m calling a Manhattan Marshall
Plan.”
That Manhattan Marshall Plan
envisioned by Holyman calls for
the development and advancement
of a formal plan for the economic
and neighborhood recovery of the
borough after COVID-19.
“There is no more important
task at hand, in my mind, in getting
New Yorkers back up on their
feet,” Hoylman said. “And that, in
my opinion, has to begin at the
community level.”
Hoylman also said he plans
to take on what he calls a “precipitous
decline in city services”
during recent months and years,
underscoring the need for a task
force dedicated to city services and
quality of life issues to bolster public
amenities for residents.
Hoylman, who served as the
chair of Community Board 2 prior
➤ BRAD HOYLMAN, continued on p.13
August 27 - September 9,12 2020 | GayCityNews.com
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