Tuesday, April 15th
6pm Doors, 6:30-8pm Forum
70 E 4th Street
Free and open to the public
RSVP strongly encouraged due to limited seating
Learn more about the Democratic candidates running for City Council in District 2 and their positions on arts and culture, affordable housing, economic development, social services, public space, and more.
Confirmed candidates for the event include (in alphabetical order)
Sarah Batchu
Harvey Epstein
Andrea Gordillo
Allie Ryan
Anthony Weiner
The program will consist of a pre-selected set of questions provided in advance to the candidate. Candidates will each have an equal amount of time to respond to the questions. Candidates will each be offered an opportunity to make a closing statement.
The format of the event does not allow for direct questions from the audience, but candidates will be invited to remain after the formal program ends to answer individual questions and meet with constituents.
You may email ryan@fabnyc.org to suggest topics or questions for the candidates. Although we cannot guarantee that your topic or question will be presented during the program, we will share submissions with the candidates so they are aware of your concerns.
Meet the Candidates:
Sarah Batchu
Sarah was born into a family with a lifelong dedication to the betterment and wellbeing of her community. The daughter of two physicians, she was raised to understand the importance and powerful impact of caring for others. From an early age, she believed that service was not just a value but a way of life.
As a student at Barnard College, Sarah’s commitment to service deepened even further as she responded to the movement around campus sexual assault. As a survivor, Sarah intimately understood the toll that a lack of safety could take on the mind and body. With the guidance of fellow survivors and community activists across the city, she transformed her own pain into an ongoing commitment to building a safer city for all—and has had a results-driven career in public service ever since.
From the earliest days of her career in New York City government at City Hall, Sarah began tackling the big issues head-on—like addressing the city’s crumbling public housing infrastructure and planning an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In just a few short years, Sarah’s dedication and tenacity yielded remarkable, proven results for thousands of New Yorkers:
Sarah raised millions to build innovative public programs serving New Yorkers from all walks of life, including women, immigrants, and people with disabilities.
Sarah successfully advocated for reforms to increase access to safe and affordable housing for formerly justice-involved New Yorkers.
Sarah designed, launched, and managed Get Help NYC, a groundbreaking online platform that became the city’s primary resource hub during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah worked directly with public housing residents to enshrine their rights into law and to give them a voice in the renovation of their homes.
Sarah raised over $7 million in rental assistance for tenants facing COVID-19-related financial hardship, ensuring housing stability for undocumented New Yorkers and gig workers left out of State and Federal programs.
Following her successful time at City Hall, Sarah joined the Lower Eastside Girls Club as Chief of Staff and was part of the leadership team that launched the Center for Wellbeing & Happiness, an intergenerational community space dedicated to transforming self-care into community care. Within two years, Sarah and her neighbors brought this vision to life, creating a thriving space with over 1,000 members on the Lower East Side.
Sarah’s personal and professional experience continues to reinforce her mission to lead in the creation of healing spaces and supportive communities. And, above all, Sarah remains firmly rooted in her belief that all New Yorkers deserve to feel safe in their communities and in the best city in the world.
Harvey Epstein
Harvey Epstein has dedicated nearly three decades to building a stronger, fairer community on Manhattan’s East Side. Representing neighborhoods from the Lower East Side to Murray Hill, Harvey’s commitment to the people of the East Side has been evident through his tireless work in the New York State Assembly.
Before joining the Assembly, Harvey served 14 years on Community Board 3, including as board chair, where he tackled critical land use issues and fought for community needs. As a public school parent, he led as president of the District 1 President’s Council and numerous PTAs, advocating for equity and excellence in education. Harvey’s activism extends to protecting low-wage workers, preserving local daycare centers, and championing diversity in public school admissions. As a former Co-President of CoDA and a leader for progressive campaigns, he’s been a driving force for change.
During his five years as a tenant member of the Rent Guidelines Board, Harvey helped achieve an unprecedented milestone: the first-ever rent freeze for one-year leases in the board’s 47-year history. This victory protected millions of New Yorkers in rent-stabilized apartments, preserving their homes and stability.
Since his election, Harvey has passed over 50 bills into law, prioritizing tenant protections and affordable housing. Now, He is running for the City Council because he believes there is more work to be done at the local level. As a member of the Council, he’ll tackle the housing and climate crises, break down barriers to mental health care access, invest in our youngest New Yorkers, and fight for the rights of people with disabilities.
Harvey lives in the East Village with his wife, Anita, their children, Leila and Joshua, and their beloved rescue dog, Homer. Together, they embody the vibrant, resilient spirit of the community he has served for decades.
https://www.peopleforharvey.com/
Andrea Gordillo
Andrea Gordillo is a cultural leader, a proud daughter of Peruvian immigrants, a long-time Lower East Side/East Village resident, and Chairperson to Manhattan’s Community Board 3. Through her personal experience and multiple roles as a public servant, she is driven by, and understands what our communities need — dignified housing, cultural vitality, climate resiliency, and true public safety — and she knows how to get it done.
Andrea has led multiple cultural institutions throughout Lower Manhattan to advance racial and economic justice at The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, Fourth Arts Block, Loisaida Inc., and the Public Theater, for nearly a decade. She knows the power government and communities can harness to not only keep people in their homes, but in creating a vibrant community.
With a background in social policy, she has applied her experiences more recently to local campaigns and projects on Manhattan’s East Side, where she’s lived for the past 11 years. She served as president of the progressive democratic organization Coalition for a District Alternative, leading it through the pandemic and helped advance on key issue campaigns like the This Land is Ours Community Land Trust Initiative, and many more.
This past year, she was elected by her peers to serve as Manhattan Community Board 3’s Chairwoman. In her short tenure, she has led her community through complex changes faced, from the sudden closure of Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, the crisis of leadership on immigration at St. Brigid Church, and many more. She also serves on the New Majority’s Young Leadership Council expanding the power of women in government, and on the community advisory board to the Union Square Tech Hub.
Andrea attended NYU’s Gallatin School to obtain her masters degree, where she was a member of the Graduate Student Organizing Committee, affiliated with the United Auto Workers, and believes in the power of a union.
https://www.andreagordillo.nyc/
Allie Ryan
Allie Ryan is a community leader, land use and parks advocate, documentary film producer, artist, mom and a part of a Union family (IATSE Local 52). She is running for City Council to represent the East Village, Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park, Lower East Side, Kips Bay, Gramercy Park, NoHo, Union Square, and the Flatiron because she wants to put District 2 residents first: for residents to walk out the door and feel safe and enjoy all that New York City has to offer.
The daughter of a Nurse and an Engineer/Artist, Allie has always had a tough pragmatic independent spirit. Since childhood, Allie planned to live in New York City, and moved here permanently in the mid-2000s where she met her future husband, a musician and activist filmmaker. He taught her to ride a bike on the streets of NYC on their first date and opened the door to the Alphabet City underground music, community gardens, cycling and filmmaking scene. They created Dedicated Lane Productions, a documentary film company that tackled subjects ranging from the formerly incarcerated re-entering society, to the NYPD harassment of bicyclists during the Bloomberg administration, as well as the squatter punk and activist communities advocating for free speech and right to assembly. Allie and her husband are raising their two daughters in Alphabet City.
Over the past twenty years Allie has joined and built coalitions, participated in government processes, and introduced solutions to fight back against rezonings and public policies for which the residents never voted. Two years ago Allie ran for this City Council seat and won 40% of the vote against an incumbent; securing the best results against an incumbent in the entire city of New York. People took notice. Now, Allie is back because the district has only gotten worse. Allie symbolizes an end to the status quo of elected officials who haven’t put residents first. Who have caused Allie and many local residents around the city to crowdfund seven lawsuits and sue to stop unwanted programs such as the SoHo NoHo Rezoning, street dining Restaurant Sheds, the Congestion Tax on the working class, as well as the destruction of Elizabeth Street Garden, building of towers on Governors Island and destruction of over 1000 mature trees in East River Park for which Allie was arrested trying to prevent.
After publicly opposing congestion pricing in 2021 and testifying at MTA public hearings, in 2023 Allie became a founding member of the New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, which filed a city-wide lawsuit against the MTA, demanding that the MTA conduct an Environmental Impact Study and issue an Environmental Impact Statement that addresses the economic hardships, environmental impacts and inequity caused by congestion pricing.
Anthony Weiner
A lifelong New Yorker and the son of a public-school teacher, Anthony Weiner served in the City Council and was elected to serve seven terms in Congress.
At City Hall Anthony won citywide recognition for his efforts as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Housing. He fought on behalf of some of New York’s most underserved and underrepresented citizens. He fought to increase federal funding for NYCHA and to add more police on the beat. But it was his investigation into the cause of sudden and fatal stairwell fires that made him front page news. He battled the Giuliani administration and exposed dangerous practices that eventually led to the city replacing the paint in developments citywide.
In Congress Weiner became a national figure for his relentless battle to provide health coverage for the responders of 9/11 and the residents of downtown. And as Congress’ leading advocate for Medicare for All, Anthony became the national advocate for the Single Payer health care model. He has also fought to uphold New York values. The National Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) praised him for his vigilant efforts on behalf of a woman’s right to choose. He has won perfect scores from our nation’s largest environmental groups. Congressman Weiner was given the “honor” of a grade of “F” from the National Rifle Association. And despite serving one of the most conservative districts in the City, Weiner endorsed Gay Marriage as far back as 1998.
New York Magazine called him “an ascendant force in New York politics.” The Daily News named him one of the “Leaders of the Twenty-First Century.” PolitcsNY.Com gave him their highest rating and judged him “among the best the Empire State sends to Congress…no one out-works Weiner.” The Forward called him one of the 50 most influential Jewish Americans.