Shahana Hanif Won’t Back Down

Hundreds of thousands of dollars from real estate developers, finance executives and lobby are flooded into the race of the Council of 39 districts of New York in an attempt to cancel the council of Shakhan Hanif.

Hanif, daughter of Bangladesh immigrants, grew up in Kensington, a neighborhood in an area known as a small Bangladesh Brooklyn, who is home for a large number of delivery and drivers. It was an open critic of corporations funding their opponent, such as Uber, including the sponsors’ legislation that raised the minimum wage. It will expand access to the sick time and prevents drivers deactivation for no simple reason.

Selected in 2021, she became the first woman to represent the district and the first Muslim in the City Council. Now it is at the Lakmus Test Center in New York politics: can billionaires buy local elections and displace legislators with proven progressive results?

— Lucas

Peter Lucas: Once upon a time, New York once boasted strong public programs such as a free college through Cuny and a reliable transit system. But it has been discarded since then, and the city is currently suffering from Eric Adams’s disinvesting and rigor. How do you fight otherwise?

Shahan Hanif: I was an neoplagical opponent of Eric Adams’s fierce savings, and from it down, the leadership in our city is in crisis. Everything, from housing to child care and the necessary services, feels very inaccessible to the daily New York. Obviously, this administration does not prefer working people and families and in order with the retreat of investments from public schools, childcare, parks and more.

As a progressive baukus -bacus, I believe that our struggle in the city council – serves as working families, to ensure that we will hold a check for the mayor and invest in programs such as programs as Houses now, ladies for generationWhat was one of our companies, which revived two existing housing and development programs (HPD) for affordable housing. It is very clear that the mayor is not at all interested in the material needs of our constituents.

PL: Housing is the main part of your platform and the work you have done in the office. Can you talk a little more about your approach to housing? And can we support a policy that creates more housing that is still available and available instead of being able to equalize your pockets?

S: New York is in an affordable housing crisis and a housing deficit is crucial. I’m not in terms of the fact that if it’s not all available, we can’t build anything. And I do not think that this can be solved solely through the development of the market rate.

Take Resonation of the birch linen. It was a factory for restaurant bedding, and approximately a century later the family decided that they were going to move the building into the housing, which required changes to the decline. We have secured a 10-storey building with 100 available units from 240. Not all will be an expert by lifting, but that should not rule out you from the formation of how we solve this crisis.

PL: Another aspect of housing is the protection of tenants – such as rental control and fines at predatory and negligent landowners. How does it fit?

S: As an organizer of the tenant, I organized public housing residents in Queensbridge. In my post in the Council, I advocated freezing rent for rent residents. With progressive coacus i helped submit chi os Travel lawwhich will change life. I fight the bad landlords in my area and call on residents who continue with the problem concerning their master to file 3-1-1 because it is important that they are put. We organize to convey Tenant Opportunity to purchase ACT and Opportunity community to acquire law.

We need to protect all housing stocks, which is controlled by rent. The rent advice, which the mayor appoints the majority – under Adams, we saw the rent. I want people to be able to stay in their homes and should not choose whether they save, care for children or products.

Another big question for building the affordable housing is that the agency entrusted to this, HPD is a lag. They are not a reliable urban agency, which is experiencing all offers that have been approved for accessible housing, as our administration did not set the preference for financing and staffing.

PL: You have the support of large trade unions and workers’ rights in the city. In particular, you were a fan of delivery and Uber drivers. Why is it so important for you to have work support – as well as for reinforcement?

S: I grew up in Kensington-Malenki Bangladesh Brooklyn, which is made of most of the working class, many of whom are Bangladesh Muslims who travel and deliver all day to be able to rent, pay and support their families. Their fights were my fighting at the Council, where I pushed the city to make a fair minimum wage for drivers and delivery workers.

In 2021, I went on a hunger strike from the Alliance of the New York Taxi Taxi, a member of the City Council of Shakar Krishna and a representative of the State Assembly Zakhran Mammani (currently running for Mary). At the end of the first week, we were arrested for civil disobedience, and I will never forget hundreds of drivers who appeared in a taxi that day. These workers have fought for this for years, and I know people in society who have suffered from their debt, including those who pushed to suicide. After 15 days we provided millions of apology by taxi medallion.

We currently have a bill that supports the restitution for the salary that stole from the workers. I am the author’s legislation that would expand the paid sick time for concert workers. I am prioritizing workers who do not have legal status or are in the process, including a bill on workers, which obliges all employers in New York to provide strong work protection to their employees. This legislation was supported by the Central Labor Council that cooperated with us, although the workers we are fighting cannot be united yet. My struggle for workers is what I am very proud of, and so 12 unions supported me. My opponent he has no.

PL: Have you encountered a backlash for this?

S: Uber gave my opponent a ton of money from the paid bill on the sick -and billionaires such as James Dolan, are conducting a great out of my legislation that prohibits the technology started Madison -Skver -Harden).

But, outside the specific legislation, my record of progressive, which advocates things as affordable housing, work rights and work protection, as well as climatic justice, also makes me the goal.

PL: Former chairman of the Immigration Committee, you have spoken out immigrants, especially as attacks on Trump – in coordination with Adams – intensively. Can you talk about your immigrant protection work, including The law of trust in New York?

S: I am a proud daughter of Bangladesh immigrants. My parents were not citizens when I grew up, so the struggle for immigrant rights is also the story of my family.

The New York confidence law, which now has 30 sponsors, is a legislation that would allow private right to action for those who have fallen victim to the illegal conspiracy in accordance with our laws. New York is the city -the celebration, but we still see Ice with the help of local law enforcement agencies and support our mayor, choosing people almost daily. This is a massive violation of rights, and hopefully this bill stop the conspiracy.

PL: You were one of the first city advisers who approved the ceasefire in Gaza and continued to call for the end of the genocide. Some people may ask why a local politician is important to comment on the international issue?

S: I called for a bilateral ceasefire, and, unfortunately, the violence has just worsened since then. Unlike other cities, New York has not yet adopted a ceasefire resolution to which my colleagues and I pushed. Why are we so afraid to call for peace and recognize Palestinians as people? In my area, people of all religions are concerned and want to see the end of bloodshed. It is also important to note that our money is funded by this genocide. We desperately need a ceasefire, which means the release of all the hostages and the prevention of more US dollars who are going to bomb Palestinian children.

PL: Again, we saw this peak interest of great money, especially in the form of support for Israeli groups such as Pac solidarity.

S: I’m not surprised. Their coalition is the right Israeli pack, which wants to sign us together and it includes people who have been opposed to progressive reasons for years.

PL: A lot of money goes from people with the GOP support history, including Len Blawnik, who donated a million dollars to Trump’s entrance fund. Your opponent, by irony, has written About the impact of big money policy. What do you do out of her willingness to accept their support and desire to support her

S: First of all, I’m ashamed. My opponent has never said anything about throwing dark money or their connection with Republicans. The money spent on her behalf is indeed showing the interest of corporations and billionaires – including people related to the Trump administration.

Personally, I don’t know the billionaires. Our city deserves representatives who understand their struggle and will fight for them, not the one who is being bought and sold by the same companies that are being operated.

She presented herself as a candidate for democracy and spoke about money in politics, but her companies reflect the opposite. So, as a voter, I’m just confused. Who are you really? We need honest leaders, and now it is really difficult to understand who she is.

PL: What is the antidote of your company to this Cascade Corporate Costs?

S: I always try to make the choice that leads people to our movement. We have a ton of volunteers: from “Jews for Shakhan” to our operation Bangla in Kensington, and our grounding game is amazing. People know that this is a high -shaped race, and I am so proud that the message we send is that: we do not want money from outside, because no amount of money prevents us from fighting for the best and more merciful city that supports workers, not squeezing them. Our coalition is great, diverse, and this one that can successfully fight Adams and Trump.