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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now we continue our year-long series 51 Council Members in 52 Weeks in which we're welcoming every member of the New York City Council touching every neighborhood of the city in this year in which a majority of the council is new because of term limits, and its majority female for the first time ever.

Today, another one of those freshman woman members, Councilmember Alexa Avilés from District 38, which includes the neighborhoods of Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park which has one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the world. Of course, there are so many communities represented in that district when you hear those neighborhood names.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés was born in Puerto Rico and raised in East New York, Brooklyn. Before she worked in city politics, she worked in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector on various social justice initiatives. She also served as a PTA president at PS 172 in Greenwood Heights, one of the neighborhoods, as we just said, in her city council district. Councilmember Avilés, welcome to WNYC, welcome to 51 Council Members in 52 Weeks.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Good morning, Brian. I'm so excited to be here.

Brian Lehrer: As we do with all the new members, you want to tell people a little more about your background first, where did you grow up and what got you interested in politics or public service?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Absolutely. As you mentioned, I grew up in East New York, Brooklyn. I talk about my engagement and service to the community has always just been part of my life. My mom was a substance abuse counselor. As a single mom helping other families through some of their darkest times really pushed a light in me. My entire career, my entire life has always included some level of service to the community. It's really just been a way of life.

Brian Lehrer: Having been born in Puerto Rico, I have to ask you, considering the news, do you still have family there? If so, how are they doing in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Yes. Thank you so much, Brian, for asking. I do have family in Puerto Rico and friends. Thankfully, everyone is doing okay. Folks are entirely traumatized on the eve of the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria to have another hurricane. It's a very difficult situation but Puerto Ricans need self-determination as one of the longest-standing colonies, and they need renewable energy. They need skilled workers to support and care workers right now during this time.

Brian Lehrer: What do you mean by self-determination? Do you want Puerto Rico to become an independent country?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: I want Puerto Ricans to decide what they want to do. As you know, as a colony, Puerto Ricans on the Island have no weight in that decision, which is solely held by the US government. I would like Puerto Ricans to be able to decide what it is they want to do. Even in this recovery, Puerto Ricans have been asking for renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, yet the colonial government continues to be very wedded to fossil fuel corporations and infrastructure, which we see as absolutely opposed to what the abundance of sun that the Island has and just its geography. Earthquakes, hurricanes, not friends to fossil fuel infrastructure.

Brian Lehrer: Interesting to bring fossil fuel infrastructure into it. I don't want to spend too much more time on Puerto Rico because of course the context of this series is the neighborhoods of New York City. Since you raised it in that way, what would true self-determination, that is Puerto Ricans being able to make these decisions for themselves, look like? Because as I understand it, there have been a few referenda and they've chosen continued Commonwealth status in relation to the United States.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Brian, we could definitely have a whole show just dedicated to this issue for sure. In short, really what it is is there have been many problematic processes that have happened throughout the years. Of recent, there have been proposals for a process that calls for a binding process, a process that truly educates and really articulates the different proposals on the table, and includes a bunch of options and true democratic processes.

I think we're moving towards a better process, however, it is still very much controlled by the United States government.

Brian Lehrer: All right. We've done in-depth segments on that in the past and we certainly will do more in-depth segments on that in the future, but let's come back to Brooklyn because we're asking all the councilmembers to describe their districts and the people in their districts. Who lives in district 38 these days, demographically speaking? How has that changed during your lifetime?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Oh, my goodness. District 38 is just an incredible quintessential immigrant community in New York City, and has welcomed waves of different immigrants throughout its entire history. Right now, District 38--

Brian Lehrer: Let me just say, for people who've just joined, we're talking about Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, all or parts of all those neighborhoods, so diverse and so New York in that respect. Go ahead and continue. I just wanted to bring all the listeners along.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Thank you so much. Demographic-wise, obviously, there have been certainly shifts in the community. I would say our biggest shift we've predominantly been, over the decades, majority Latino districts and then with a second largest Asian community. Right now, we are actually just 40% Asian right next with Latinos. Asian community has grown tremendously throughout New York City, and a relatively stable white community which I think the demographics continue to shift.

Brian Lehrer: In housing, when we asked you off the air before the show, what your main priorities are as a new member of city council, you were like "Housing, housing, housing." How do you protect or advocate protecting people from being displaced or to what degree is some amount of gentrification acceptable because neighborhoods do change and demand to live in different places, changes over time?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Brian, as you know, in this series, I am not the only councilmember that has raised housing as a critical issue in the community in this city. I think we have to use all the tools in the toolbox. We have to create new tools and we really need just significant political will to invest the dollars to meet the urgency of the moment. We are doing everything from-- most of our caseload is really supporting residents fighting against displacement tactics, bad landlord behavior, older adults who have no way to go, or because the rents are just too high.

We just are trying to keep people in place, keep them in their neighborhoods. We are trying to continue to advocate for expanding tenant protections and really advocate for the fundamental housing that our city has not built and certainly has not been built in our district is deep affordable housing that actually meets the needs of the people in New York City.

Brian Lehrer: How do we fund that? That's always the $64 billion question.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Absolutely. We have the resources. It is a matter of what we do with those resources. I think this calls to question, really, a fundamental paradigm shift on what we value. Do we build housing to the need of our community, or do we build housing to the want of the profit margins to the developer? I would argue it's very much driven in the direction of the developer. I think we have the resources, we need to be creative. We have an incredible workforce here that can figure that out but we really just need the political will.

Brian Lehrer: That's not really an answer to how so much because the need is for so much. The supply is so less than the demand for affordable housing. I guess a series of mayors, over time, have made deals with the private sector. You know what they are. 20% affordable and then we'll let you build the other 80% market rate, all these kinds of things, because there isn't enough pure public funding to make many things majority or 100% affordable at the level of the need. How close can we get how?

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: I would say this, absolutely. We see the consequence of doing bits and  pieces.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Obviously, this is a more complex issue. It's not just as simplistic as even a deluge of funding. We have $100 billion city budget. We have a state budget that is equally as significant. We can dedicate a significant increase of resources to the type of housing that we want along with other strategies. It's not just a funding issue. I think that we have to deal with the complexity on a multiple range of levels.

What we have seen is a full dependence on private market solutions, and yet, what the data tells us here is those private market solutions have really continued to fuel displacement. We have the highest homelessness rates we've had in the history of the city. I think it's time we step out of the realm of the private market will solve this and really fully invest, really significantly more than we have.

Brian Lehrer: You serve as chair, we should mention, of the City Council Committee on Public Housing. Do you think that the recent arsenic scandal in the Jacob Riis houses, not in your district, they're on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, but can that be a wedge into some kind of meaningful betterment of NYCHA city-wide?

Council Member Alexa Avilés: I hope so. NYCHA has been in crisis. Honestly, as we know, public housing is one of New York City's greatest assets. Despite the challenges that public housing faces, very publicly, I might add, it still has tens of thousands of people on waiting list, who urgently want to be in this kind of housing because this is what will be able to keep them in New York City. My hope is that there'll be increased transparency, accountability, and obviously, we need to improve the conditions for residents living in public housing.

Brian Lehrer: We can take a few phone calls, especially from the district. I see Jonathan in Sunset Park waiting with an interesting question. We'll take you in just a second, for Councilmember Alexa Avilés from District 38 in New York City Council, and that is in Brooklyn, as we continue our series touching every neighborhood of New York City this year, 51 Council Members in 52 Weeks, District 38 in Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, all are parts of those neighborhoods.

(212) 433-WNYC, (212) 433-9692, or tweet a question @BrianLehrer. Jonathan in Sunset Park, you're on WNYC. Hi, Jonathan.

Jonathan: Hi, Brian. Hi, Alexa. Alexa, I don't know if you remember me, I've met you out on the street several times. I think the first time was on election day.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Awesome.

Jonathan: I know you meet a lot of people.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Hi, Jonathan.

Jonathan: [chuckles] Hi. What I wanted to ask about is, I'm a cyclist, I ride my bicycle all over Brooklyn, sometimes into Manhattan, and what I find continually frustrating is the condition of the streets in the area, particularly down on 1st Avenue, 2nd Avenue, 3rd Avenue. There are few bike lanes, even on 4th Avenue, there is a bike lane, although it's often obstructed, but just the condition.

In August, I was riding in Manhattan on the West Side, where, I'm sure you know, there's these beautiful bike lanes and walking paths and safe, protected lanes, and they've developed a water fount with parks and volleyball courts and restaurants. I know a lot of that is for tourists. I'm just wondering why it is that all of this is done there. I know rich people get more because people who have more get more, but 85% of New Yorkers don't live in Manhattan, which means, 85% of council members don't represent Manhattan. I assume that council members have to approve budgets for development plans.

Brian Lehrer: Jonathan, I'm going to leave it there for time. I think his question is very clear. It seems to him like Manhattan gets all the bike lane love.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Yes. Jonathan, good to hear from you again. Thank you so much for calling in the question. Absolutely, 100% agree with you. You will see the infrastructure right in our community lags behind certainly any other community. We have seen years of disinterest, honestly, and disinvestment from the local government. On the issue of bike lanes, absolutely. The condition of the bike lanes is appalling, quite frankly.

Yes, a majority of our residents are car-free. We are hoping that this council, along with some of our predecessors who really started the ball rolling, to create a safe network for cyclists. We see the surges happening all over New York City, how important it is both for the environment and just for everyone to be able to get around the city in another way. I'm a big proponent of making sure we fix these issues.

There are so many issues from the blocking of the bike lanes to just a network that doesn't go anywhere, that isn't comprehensive. We recently put out a letter really asking for even the city to oblige by its own laws to make sure that bike lanes are not obstructed when there are construction projects. There's enormous amount of work to do, and we're committed to supporting our cyclists and our residents, quite frankly.

Brian Lehrer: We're asking every member in this series what's the number one reason that people have contacted your office, actually emailed or called or walked in or however they contacted your office. Since you took office in January, what do people need that they call or email asking you for most commonly?

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Brian, it's housing. In particular, it's been senior housing, which is a heartbreaking affair every single day for us. Our seniors are in desperate need of stable housing options.

Brian Lehrer: No surprise considering the rest of what you've been talking about. We usually hear housing or garbage, those two things.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Absolutely. That would definitely be a second, and our third would be immigration services.

Brian Lehrer: You're part of the first-ever female majority on the New York City Council. Do you see that having an impact on policy in a way that you could put in words?

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Oh, for sure. I think we've seen an incredible, robust reproductive rights package that has taken years in the making. Schools, I think there's a lot of exciting legislation that's been put forward by this council, and certainly more to come. We're very early in our tenure.

Brian Lehrer: Julio in Sunset Park, you're on WNYC. Hi, Julio.

Julio: Hi. Good morning. Long-time listener and long-time caller. It's wonderful to have Alexa on here. A couple of months ago, Board of Elections poll workers weren't able to be assigned because of a feud between Democratic Party leadership. I'm just curious what reforms you would consider to champion to ensure folks, particularly those who rely on this income, can continue to support our elections.

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Thank you so much, Julio. Good to hear from you. I'm a big believer in certainly professionalizing and rationalizing the Board of Elections, and that basically looks like a lot of different reforms across the board. I have learned that certainly the way poll workers are allocated begs to be desired. That's something that I would obviously want to work really closely with you all and others.

I think we should really invest in our Board of Elections and take it away from some of the antics of the past where they connected to party politics and invest in our democracy. I think that's going to be the way that we can get at some of these issues that we experience.

Brian Lehrer: As we run out of time, we are inviting every member of City Council, as you know, to bring a show-and-tell item from their district, something that people not from the district may not know about but you would like them to know about. What is that for you? What did you bring us for show-and-tell?

Council Member Alexa Avilés: Oh, Brian, I agonized over this question because it's like asking to choose among your children. I'm going to bring forward a gem of our community, Sunset Park, which is the middle, a 25-acre park that was built in the 1890s that has the best skyline waterway, best skyline views of Manhattan, incredible hills, beautiful trees, but what really, really makes Sunset Park so amazing, it is the Recreation Center, it is our Youth Center, our Senior Center, it is the place of wellbeing and healing for our community where you see our Asian seniors dancing and playing mahjong, our Mexican neighbors picnicking with their families. You just see every part of our community together using this park in so many fantastic  ways that you just can't help to feel proud and excited every time you see it. I welcome everyone to Sunset Park.

Brian Lehrer: The view, and a mom from around there told me, I haven't seen the playground, but a mom from around there tells me the playground in Sunset Park is awesome. You know what? I'll bet three-quarters of people living in New York city, they know the neighborhood, Sunset Park, they hear that, but they don't know that there's an actual Sunset Park. I'm glad you brought it up.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: It is one of my favorite places in the neighborhoods for sure. Just to walk around just fills me with so much joy.

Brian Lehrer: Councilmember Alexa Avilés, our latest guest in our 51 Council Members in 52 Weeks series from District 38, which includes Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park. Thank you so much for joining us.

Councilmember Alexa Avilés: Thank you so much, Brian. This is great.

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