WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JULY 30, 2020 7
David Aron ov Photo by Kaykov Media
Aronov announces bid to
become fi rst Bukharian
elected to City Council
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
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
aft er the collapse of the Soviet Union,
and we’ve never had an elected offi
cial,” Aronov said. “People tried
in 2009 and 2010, but they weren’t
successful.”
Aronov spent seven years working
in the offi ce of Karen Koslowitz, but
for the last few months he has been
organizing the eff ort to get an accurate
count for the 2020 Census. On
the subject of numbers, 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 Access-a-Ride … I know
there’s a proposal to take municipal
control of New York City Transit,
but Access-a-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 aft er 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 offi ce 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
offi ces being up for grabs.
HIGHER ED TODAY
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As a mentor in CUNY’s College
Bridge for All program, Sebastián Sepúlveda
is focused on helping high school
graduates navigate the tricky transition
to college and escape the so-called “summer
melt,” a phenomenon in which all
too many prospective students succumb
to uncertainty in the restless months after
high school graduation and abandon
their college dreams.
Sepúlveda, who is about to begin his
junior year at Lehman College, is part of
a critical group of CUNY students who
are supporting thousands of graduating
seniors from city public high schools
as they navigate pre-college paperwork
and financial planning, activities that
can easily trip up incoming freshmen
during the long summer break, particularly
this year.
“These are very difficult times for
everyone,” says Sepúlveda, a first-generation
college student who immigrated
from Colombia six years ago and says
the scope of his responsibilities has
grown because of COVID-19. “This is
about helping the community to make
sure that no one is left behind.”
Even in the best of times, the transitional
period can be a precarious stretch.
Studies show that as many as 40 percent
of low-income students accepted to college
can experience a “summer melt”
that prevents them from matriculating
in the fall. In the face of the pandemic-interrupted
spring, when graduates were
isolated from teachers and advisers, that
percentage could be even greater this
coming fall.
That’s why CUNY is proud to offer
College Bridge for All as an essential
service to increase access to postsecondary
education for high school
graduates. Thanks to an $877,000 grant
from Bloomberg Philanthropies and a
$250,000 grant from The Carroll and Milton
Petrie Foundation, the program is
poised to reach graduating seniors from
every New York City public high school
this year, a significant achievement that
has magnified CUNY’s ability to help
New York and its colleges rebound from
the pandemic.
Employing a near-peer approach,
CUNY student coaches share their own
experiences with graduating seniors to
convey the importance of continuing
to college. It’s the equivalent of having
access to a guidance counselor, a big
brother or sister and a college adviser,
all rolled into one.
Launched in 2016 in collaboration between
CUNY and the New York City Department
of Education (DOE), the program
also serves as a source of summer
employment, this year paying 176 CUNY
students and additional coaches from
partnering community-based organizations
to help thousands of recent high
school grads. All told, their efforts will
support the entire Class of 2020, about
55,000 recent high school grads.
The benefits to incoming students
have been clear. In 2017, participating
students enrolled in college at a rate 11
percent higher than the DOE average,
an impact that was driven by increased
college enrollment for students identified
as low income, Latinx and/or Spanish
speaking.
CUNY is now combating summer
melt on multiple fronts. We recently received
a $175,000 grant from the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation to pilot a new
summer bridge and persistence peer
mentoring program that mirrors the
goals of College Bridge for All.
College Bridge for All coach Cindy
Velíz, a junior at City Tech, describes
panicked texts from students who are
confused about paperwork and other
procedural hurdles, many of them
soon-to-be first-generation college students
who lack a support system to get
answers. Velíz walks them through the
process, easing their anxieties.
“I tell them stories about my own
experiences to make them feel comfortable,”
said Velíz, herself a first-gen college
student. “We talk about what they
may want to major in, their college
schedule, the kind of career they want to
pursue. ... We bond over our shared experiences,
and I feel like they’re more prepared
and excited to go to college after
our talks. It makes me feel good to know
that I’m making a difference.”
Recent graduates of city public high
schools who are looking to connect with
a Bridge coach can visit here.
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