Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now we're going to start a series of interviews with the four new members of City Council in New York City. Remember, the elections last fall did not have a lot at stake for a lot of levels of government. It was mostly an off-year election but because of the redistricting laws and things like that, it was an election year for all of the New York City Council, and it wound up with four new people being elected, four rookies.

Other people were by and large elected to the districts they were continuing to run from as incumbents. We have put out invitations to all four, and we're going to start that series right now in District 42 in Brooklyn and meet Chris Banks. Council member Banks succeeded and defeated longtime council member Charles Barron. District 42 includes constituents in East New York, New Lots, Spring Creek, Remsen Village, Star City, and East Flatbush, also home to the stunning Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.

We'll talk with Council member Banks about his relationship to the district, a little bit about his biography since he's new at this, and what his priorities are going to be or are starting out to be in City Hall. Also, touch on some news of the day. Council member Banks, congratulations on your election, and welcome to WNYC.

Chris Banks: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Brian Lehrer, thank you for the invite.

Brian Lehrer: First of all, did I get the neighborhoods in your district right, at least?

Chris Banks: Yes, yes. East New York, Brownsville, Canarsie, a little bit of East Flatbush. We also have Remsen Village, which is sometimes debated on to be Canarsie or Remsen Village, but Canarsie for the most part.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, maybe you saw that New York Times piece a few months ago that was all about neighborhood lines and how fuzzy they are and how sometimes certain blocks are defined for a while as one neighborhood and for a while as another neighborhood, or it depends on who you ask. Maybe there's a Canarsie-Remsen Village example of that.

Chris Banks: Yes, yes. This possibly is. [chukles]

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we invite your calls for New City Council member Chris Banks, and first priority will go to people in the district, but it doesn't just have to be people from the district. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692, call or text. Want to tell people about your background a little bit? Where'd you grow up? What first got you interested in politics or public service?

Chris Banks: Yes. Born and raised in East New York. Started as a block association president of the Van Siclen Block Association, served on a local community board, president of a local 75th Precinct Community council. I ran a not-for-profit organization servicing the aging population and doing a lot of youth development programs in the East New York community.

Brian Lehrer: Just to look back a little bit on the race that you won, do you consider yourself very different politically from Charles Barron? He was such an icon, is an icon in the community. He got elected from there so many times for city council or state legislature, considers his Black Panther legacy a big point of pride. Are you a different kind of politician from him on the issues or, why even challenge Charles Barron?

Chris Banks: Well, I think my election was really more about a generational change. My predecessor was in office over 20 odd years. He had a stranglehold on the political power, and I think the district just wanted a breath of fresh air. They supported me. I was someone who was on the ground for over 15, closer to 20 years of working, organizing for NYCHA residents, for Mitchell-Lama residents, and showing real results fighting for the community. I think the community said it was time for a change and now I'm the new New York City Council person.

Brian Lehrer: Are you saying it ran on effectiveness rather than differences on issues?

Chris Banks: Well, I think effectiveness is key. We are also I think across the board there are some issues that maybe the approach we differ on. I think overall fighting for the 42nd Council District, making sure that we have a seat at the table is important. I think his approach was definitely different. It isolated the community, the district. We saw the results of that all across the board when it came with providing funds for social services organizations. Also to the lack of accessibility to the affordable housing stock in the district. Also, his abysmal I would say not being able to focus on some of the key issues like Lyndon Plaza, which is a major Mitchell-Lama in the district that has been [crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: Did we lose-- oh, you're there. Okay. Something happened for a minute with my audio. Hopefully, there's not a problem. You mentioned housing when then-Councilman Barron was on, in October of 2022, not in the context of a campaign, we were interviewing people on housing, and he said that district, your district has had, I'm sorry, had been unusually successful in stopping gentrification. He pointed to rents in East New York, relatively lower than other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, especially nearby Bed Stuy, I think, came up in that conversation.

Do you agree that gentrification is less of an issue in East New York and District 42 generally and that the kinds of rezoning and housing development that's been put there under, I guess really the de Blasio years and with Councilman Charles Barron have been more positive than other neighborhoods that resist some of the new development?

Chris Banks: Well, gentrification is always a threat. Always has been a threat. We've had privatization of NYCHA developments, which some folks can't perceive as a form of gentrification. Also, a lot of the housing that was brought to the community, we had a major housing expansion in the district, but once again, we had a lot of local residents who have not benefited from that new housing that came into the district. I think there are a lot of issues that came to the district that obviously could be perceived as a possible attempt to gentrify the community.

I think overall, there are just general concerns. We've had a plethora of bike lanes placed throughout our community. I think a lot of community's been very frustrated with how the city has arbitrarily placed bike lanes in dangerous areas. Well, creating dangerous situations to place in bike lanes in those areas. Gentrification I believe it's always a threat. I think for foremost we've been able to somewhat starve off gentrification.

Brian Lehrer: I always ask new members of city council since there are 51 city council districts in New York, that's our city carved up into 51 different neighborhoods either effectively or artificially, but 51 is a lot of different areas in one city. I ask new council members to describe their districts to people who live in the rest of the city and the rest of the listening region. How would you describe the demographics of your city council district and the main political and cultural dynamics?

Chris Banks: Well, parts of the district, we have a high concentration of high-density housing. We have nine NYCHA developments. We have a major growing senior population. Surprisingly, a lot of folks in the 42nd Council because we have a lot of homeowners, one to two family homeowners. We have actually three major industrial parks in the district. As I said, every district is unique in its makeup and different, and the 42nd Council Mag District is definitely different and unique to a lot of the council districts throughout the city.

Brian Lehrer: Text message from a listener says, excuse me, ''Charles Barron was a stalwart supporter of New York City retirees in our fight to keep the healthcare we earned and promised, will council member Banks support us by co-sponsoring Intro 1099 when it's reintroduced.?'' That, for our listeners who don't know, is basically to keep the city and the municipal unions from moving people by force from traditional Medicare onto Medicare-managed care.

Chris Banks: Yes. Can you repeat that question?

Brian Lehrer: Yes. The listener wants to know if you're going to support Intro 1099 when it comes back this term. That's the measure and you could tell us if you're familiar with this issue yet. New York City municipal retirees, city employees who the city wants to force onto Medicare Advantage plans rather than traditional Medicare to save money. Do you have a position on that? Are you familiar with the issue?

Chris Banks: I'm still wrapping my head around that issue. I know later on in the campaign it came up but as again, as we were knocking on the doors of residents, that obviously wasn't a big issue for them. Nevertheless, we are definitely taking into consideration the effects of that particular piece of legislation. Again, I believe the courts had weighed in on it. As I said, we're fairly new, so we're going to sit down and study that and speak to the constituents on that issue and see where they're at, and then take a position.

Brian Lehrer: That's true that that is also in court. Have these first few days of your term been? Here we are on what, January 12th. What surprised or excited you in these first less than two weeks?

Chris Banks: You got to repeat that question. I'm having a little bad feedback.

Brian Lehrer: How have the first days of being a city council member been? What's been new and different and exciting or surprising or, oh my God, you do it like this?

Chris Banks: I'll be honest with you. My first day on the job, we had a major fire in the district, which was New Year's Eve. We had a five-alarm fire where we had two NYCHA buildings, which got caught on fire. I was baptized by fire in a sense. I was out there 7:00 PM 10, 15 minutes after the fire had started up to 5:00 AM that morning helping, assisting the residents to make sure that they got into hotels and giving them resources and just trying to make sure that they got the assistance that was needed.

These are issues and things that I've fought and organized over my years in public service. It's just really, I have the title now and I'm able to do much more. Obviously, I'm getting used to being called a council member. Listen, heavy is the crown. Again, we thank the residents for the opportunity and we're looking forward to continue to fight and have a seat at the table.

Brian Lehrer: How do you think Mayor Adams is doing so far for the people in your district?

Chris Banks: Listen, there's frustrations with the administration across the board. Obviously, with the budget cuts, proposed budget cuts, and it seems like districts like mine who have historically always been left behind, we get hit the hardest. They said when it rains, it pours. We have to make sure that we are one at the table and we're fighting to make sure that the 42nd Council Mag District gets the resources it needs and deal with some of the systemic issues that have been facing my district. I think across the board, I wouldn't grade the mayor, but I would say that there is frustration with some of his positions that he has taken across the board.

Brian Lehrer: How about his approach to public safety? I know public safety is one of the issues you wanted to mention today.

Chris Banks: Well, yes. Public safety, I think it's been a major issue in our district. Obviously, we want to make sure we support increasing the visibility of the cure violence organizations and that is particular organization, TMK which is doing a lot of work here out here in the East New York area or the 42nd Council Mag District. Public safety is important. I served as the president of the 75th Precinct Council, president, vice president for a host of years. Trust me, I understand the importance of public safety. I think we look forward to working with the administration on how to improve public safety.

How we hold a community accountable would also hold the police accountable and bridge that gap between police and community. I don't believe we can exist without the police, but I think when there are obviously issues that come up, we need to stand up firmly against it and call them out, and at the same time work with them to build that relationship that is needed to provide public safety and safety to the residents of the 42nd Council Mag District.

Brian Lehrer: Do you support the state-level bail reform law the way it is at this point, or do you think it contributes to crime in your district in any way?

Chris Banks: I think we can possibly revisit the bail reform laws. I'm open to have a conversation about that. I think we can revisit it. I would like to hear what the constituents are saying about any needed reforms or what position they may take. As an elected official, I always tell folks we have to consult with the constituency before we make a decision. That's always been my posture. We will have some town hall meetings to address that again because we know public safety is a major issue and we know that we need to protect our residents.

Brian Lehrer: One more question from a listener, listener writes, "I am not in Bank's district, but I am involved in protecting nesting shorebirds in Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway Beaches. They know your district includes some of that. Does Councilperson Banks support efforts to protect wildlife and conservancy issues in his district? We would love support from local politicians around Jamaica Bay."

Chris Banks: Oh, yes. Actually, I believe the Jamaica Bay shares a major part of my district, and back in the Shirley Chisholm Park a long Starrett City, and in the Gateway area. We're definitely always looking to protect the wildlife and protect the environment. We know that it's important to protect the environmental footprint of the district. We know that I think, that's key and important to stabilize in our community and leaving this world better off than we got it. I would definitely love to have more conversation about that and to see their positions and how we can work together to accomplish that.

Brian Lehrer: Last thing, and I know this is coming. I'll remind our listeners that a couple of years ago when we did a series with every one of the members of the New York City Council, we invited at least, and I think all but one except all 51 members of City Council on the show, to talk about their districts after that big turnover election year. We included in each one an invitation to bring a show-and-tell item from your district. Just one thing that a lot of other people might know about, can be person, place, or thing in your district that you think they might find interesting. You have a show and tell for us today, I think.

Chris Banks: Well, I have a lot. I can brag about the 42nd Council Mag District for hours and days, but since you've narrowed me to just one I'll definitely talk about the Shirley Chisholm Park. Shirley Chisholm was our former congresswoman. Before obviously the district lines are redrawn which created the the Ed Town's congressional seat. The Shirley Chisholm Park which was created and funded, I believe, under Congressman Jeffries. That particular park has obviously, become a major, major attraction in the district. It shows the great pristine green space that exists in the district. I always encourage folks in the summertime or even in the wintertime or fall to definitely jog, to bike ride, and to enjoy that area because it's definitely a beautiful space.

Brian Lehrer: The brand new city council member from District 42, New Lots, East New York, Spring Creek, Remsen Village, Starrett City, East Flatbush, District 42, it's Chris Banks. Council Member Banks, thanks so much for coming on with us. Good luck during your term. We look forward to talking to you as things come up.

Chris Banks: Likewise. Thank you.