East NY 60th Assembly District Race: Keron Alleyne Vs. Nikki Lucas

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — Voters in East New York's 60th Assembly District will see two familiar names on their ballots when heading to the polls on primary day next week.

The race, slated for June 28, is set to be a rematch of a special election held for the seat in February. It will pit winning Assemblymember Nikki Lucas against Keron Alleyne, who ran on the Working Family Party line in the February race.

As with the special election, primary day will be especially significant for the the 60th District, which stretches over East New York and Starrett City

This year marks the first time since 2009 that someone other than former Assemblymember Charles Barron or his wife, Inez Barron, will hold the seat in the state legislature. Barron resigned the seat last year to join City Council.

Alleyne had been backed by the Barrons, who he used to work for, while Lucas has positioned herself as a critic of the couple's political dynasty.

In February, Lucas received nearly 80 percent of votes to Alleyne's 18 percent, according to BOE results. A third conservative candidate received the remaining 2 percent.

The assembly races will be the only primaries held on June 28 given an ongoing court battle over redistricting maps. Both the congressional and state senate races in New York have been postponed to August 23 due to the redistricting.

Patch has put together profiles of both Lucas and Alleyne based on a questionnaire. See both of their responses below:

Nikki Lucas

Campaign website

https://electnikkilucas.com/

NYC neighborhood of residence

East New York (Starrett City)

Office sought

State Assembly

District, if applicable

60th Assembly District

Party affiliation

Democrat

Education

Graduated in Liberal Arts at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and continued her studies at Syracuse University majoring in Policy Studies and Conflict Resolution

Occupation

Assemblywoman. I have 30-plus years as a community advocate. I am a former Female Deistrict Leader.

Family

I have a daughter who is a junior at a perfoming arts high school in New York City.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Age

52

Previous public office, appointive or elective

I am the current sitting Assembly Member in the 60th AD. In the past I was the elected as the Female District Leader in East New York.

Why are you seeking this office?

I am the current Assembly Member and I have been advocating for my community for over 30 years. As an elected official I can actually create legislation and bring resources to the community, which we have lacked for the past 20 years. I have been advocating for seniors, youth and families. I already had sponsored and co-sponsored legislation in the 4 months that I have been in office.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Affordable Housing, which has lead to my District being the highest in homelessness over the past 20 years.

How would you address ongoing concerns about public safety in New York City?

I created the 21st Century Rescue Plan for East Brooklyn, which includes an entire section on public safety, which includes the creation of a Public Safety Commission, which would be its own agency, outside of the NYPD. Please see my plan. It is detailed. go to 21stcenturyrescueplan.com

>b>Do you think the NYPD's response to the recent surge in crime will affect efforts at police reform and, if so, how?

You would have to explain what you mean by their "response". Police Reform includes a host of changes. Again, my 21st Century Rescue Plan for East Brooklyn addresses this issue. We need a Public Saftey Commission to work in every neighborhood, not to "police" the community, but to "protect " the community. The NYPD have been "policing" communities of color for many years, while "protecting" other communities. There is a big difference.

What is one policy you would support to make housing more affordable in New York City?

I would support a policy that provides mutli-family homeowners with tax breaks in exchange for guaranteeing that their apartments will remain at an affordable level, based on the specific neighborhood, not based on the income of all New Yorkers. Additionally, I would support keeping NYCHA out of the hands of private developers. NYCHA is the only true affordable housing portfolio that is owned by NYC.

Should officials do more to encourage New Yorkers to return to work in person? If so, how? If not, why not?

The first thing officials would need to do is to make public transportation safe. Safe from the spreading of germs and safe from crime (violent and non-violent). Businesses have created innovative ways for people to work from home. The city would have to become more innovative to encourage businesses and workers to go back to work in office settings. You cannot encourage people to go back to work in person if you have not been innovative to create safe situations for workers and businesses.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am experienced in advocating for the community, including seniors, youth and families. I have great relationships with other elected officials, which will allow us to work together to bring much needed resources to the community. For the past 20 years the district has been suffering. My opponent is supported by the system that has been in charge for the past 20 years, which has us stuck in the 20th century. I won the Special Election with 80% of voters casting their vote for me. They demanded change and I believe they already feel the positive change coming. I have the support from Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Mayor Eric Adams, Senator Roxanne Persaud, AG Tish James, and others. These are partnerships that the district has not seen in the past. My opponent does not have these important partnerships, nor is he interested in these partnerships. He doesn;t understand that these are the partnerships that bring resources to the current residents of the community. His approach is going to cause mass gentrification. He is working with others outside of the community, who hve no clue about the residents or the needs.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

I am the incumbent

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

Besides affordable housing, I am addressing equity in health care, equity in education, public safety, homeownership and the eradication of homelessness. No student should be homeless in my district, or in any other district throughout this city. Over the past 20 years our district has grown to be the homeless district of New York City. This cannot continue!

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am the sitting Assembly Member. In just 4 months I was able to get legislation passed by a unanimous vote, and signed by the Governor. I sponsored and co-sponsored bills that are all on the way to being passed and signed. I becamse the Assembly Member to pass legislation that impacts my community and to bring resources to my community. I have the capability of doing both.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

To work hard and stick to it, which is what I have done.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I want voters to go to 21stcenturyrescueplan.com to find out my plans.

Keron Alleyne

Campaign website

https://keronfornewyork.com

NYC neighborhood of residence

East New York

Office sought

State Assembly

District, if applicable

New York State Assembly District 60

Party affiliation

Democrat

Education

MPA

Occupation

Deputy Manager, Community Board 5

Family

My wife's name is Ameria Alleyne and my son's name is Khari. They mean the world to me, and a big part of why I'm running is to make sure that I can fight for the future our son deserves.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

N/A

Age

32

Previous public office, appointive or elective

I have been the male district leader.

Why are you seeking this office?

I'm running to make sure we keep Black radical politics alive in East New York, and to fight for the policies the people in our district and across the state deserve to live full lives. We need affordable housing, single payer healthcare, tuition free CUNY and SUNY, and good union paying jobs.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ___, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is the rising rent prices. I intend to fight to address this by supporting policies such as Good Cause Eviction to create better housing security and Universal Childcare to make sure there are better resources for parents.

How would you address ongoing concerns about public safety in New York City?

I would make sure that Cure Violence organizations such as Man Up get more resources to address violence at the root. Additionally, I would fight for other policies to address the root causes of crime - more union jobs, better funding for education and after school programs, building more affordable housing.

Do you think the NYPD's response to the recent surge in crime will affect efforts at police reform and, if so, how?

I feel that the NYPD's current response is similar to their previous responses - their budget continues to increase while social services and education spending are cut.

What is one policy you would support to make housing more affordable in New York City?

Good Cause Eviction!

Should officials do more to encourage New Yorkers to return to work in person? If so, how? If not, why not?

Officials should be fine with allowing remote work to continue where is it can be done. As long as the jobs are being completed, there is no need to rush people back into offices.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I don't take ANY money from real estate or corporate interests.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

Accepting money from the same forces that seek to get rich at the expense of our community, and not fighting for the transformational policies that our district needs.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

I seek to address a wide range of issues because all of our district's problems are overlapping - housing, healthcare, education, and public safety are all deeply interconnected.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As an activist, community gardener, Deputy Manager for Community Board 5, and a mentor for overaged middle school students, I've helped many constituents throughout the years with a wide variety of issues. I've always been dedicated to my community and will continue to be an unflinching fighter for them if elected.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

The best advice anyone ever gave me was that community is everything. We're all connected, and will rise to address our challenges together through hard work and sacrifice for each other.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

All of my positions are a reflection of my deep love for my community. Our neighborhood and people throughout New York deserve to have radical change that will help address their needs, and I'd be proud to represent you all in Albany.