Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. By the way, a couple of the finalists in the best photo contest were shots of rainbows that people stumbled upon. That's how you shoot a rainbow, right? You're not setting up a rainbow in a studio you stumble upon, [gasps] "There's a rainbow," and you whip out your phone and you shoot the rainbow and maybe it comes out. Well, 10 minutes ago, somebody texted, so I don't know if it's too late, but I'm passing it along.

10 minutes ago, somebody texted, "Hello, WNYC. I know the photo segment. It was yesterday, but there was a rainbow right now over the Empire State Building. Incredible." Like I say, I don't know if it's still there or if this person made it up, but there it is. There's a tip as of 15 minutes ago. Maybe there's a rainbow right now over the Empire State Building if you could see that from wherever you are. There you go.

Now, an exit interview with New York City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez. You'll hear why in a minute. Her district in the Northeast Bronx includes Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Pelham Bay Country Club, Van Nest, Westchester Square, Throggs Neck, and City Island. In November, Council Member Velázquez lost her seat to a Republican Kristy Marmorato, and that marked the first time in 40 years that the GOP won a city council seat in the Bronx.

We're going to invite Kristy Marmorato and other new members of council on after the first of the year, but we want to do this exit interview first because one major reason for Velázquez's loss in a district where the majority, the vast majority of registered voters are Democrats, was her decision to support a rezoning plan that would spur housing development. We will ask her about some of the lessons from her tenure at City Hall, the politics of housing amid the city's housing crisis, and why there continues to be so much resistance to exactly what so many people think the city needs and some other topics. Council Member, welcome back to WNYC. Always glad to have you.

Marjorie Velázquez: Good morning and happy holidays. Thank you for having me this morning.

Brian Lehrer: Happy holidays to you. To start out, did I get the neighborhoods in your district right?

Marjorie Velázquez: Correct. I think starting next year, we did lose Westchester Square.

Brian Lehrer: Now, listeners, that we've established the district, we have time for a few phone calls for Council Member Marjorie Velázquez from District 14 there in the Bronx. If you're from any of the--

Marjorie Velázquez: 13.

Brian Lehrer: 13, I'm sorry. If you're from any of--

Marjorie Velázquez: Lucky 13.

Brian Lehrer: See, I got the neighborhoods right, but I got the number wrong. If you're from any of those neighborhoods, speak to your outgoing council member, lament her loss, tell her you're glad she's gone, talk about the housing development issue, or anything else. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-96-92. Because housing development and building more dense housing, and we'll get into the particulars of this project that you voted for and you got voted out partly because of that, but because there are so many demographics involved here, a lot of race and class, how would you describe the demographics of your city council district and the political and cultural dynamics that flow from them?

Marjorie Velázquez: Well, first of all, you have to talk about how this district, if it were for this district, my family wouldn't be here. We're talking about Indian Village was where my aunt and uncle bought a home. My dad and grandfather came in from Puerto Rico to live. My dad ended up working in City Island selling frog legs. To say that this was full circle, it was amazing.

Having the privilege and the honor to represent such a diverse community when we're talking about the opportunities granted to not only my family but to so many others, where we're talking about the grit and the heart that so many of my constituents have, and we're going to be honest that this is the Bronx that has been overlooked for so many years. That's the lesson I learned from my family in giving back to community and honestly taking care of community, especially when resources aren't there.

Having the privilege and honor representing this district, and certainly investing in bringing so many resources over $40 million in two years, making sure that our priorities of hospitals, certainly schools, and public safety were prioritized, and making sure that we funded how we can bring up the quality of life in the district, and certainly making sure people felt included, that they were at the table. More importantly, the voices that had been ignored for so long had representation that actually was there to listen.

Brian Lehrer: I'm thinking about what you said about your family selling frogs' legs.

Marjorie Velázquez: They still sell frog legs in City Island, Johnny's Reef. Yes, they do. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: Frogs' legs for Throggs Neck. That's either poetic or creepy, I'm not sure which. What are the basic demographics of the district?

Marjorie Velázquez: We're talking about hardworking New Yorkers, right? You've got your teachers, your firefighters. You've got so many small mom-and-pop stores, entrepreneurs that have taken the leap to own their own business. Certainly, my mother-in-law, that's how she started here, right? I'll take it back. Not even my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law's parents, they came here from Austria and set up a couple of businesses. For folks that are of the district, they remember the two stores. First, it was an upholstery store, and then they went into having the first women's clothing that ended up selling Jordache jeans when it was at the height of Jordache jeans. That's how a lot of folks actually know my husband's family because of the Jordache jeans. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: You don't want to tell me white, Black, Hispanic, Asian. I'm trying to get whether there was a demographic backlash against you.

Marjorie Velázquez: Well, we are diverse, right? We are actually a majority-minority community where Latinos are the highest population in this district. As their first Puerto Rican woman, certainly, the first person of color to represent them in the city council level, it was a beautiful thing to see, right? When we're talking about a constituency that is heavily Latino, having my family's origins as the basis of this is where we can go, and there's just other opportunities for any little Latina in school right now looking up and say, "What are my possibilities? Where can I go?" They could also add now city council. They see it also in this district. They see it as the very first Latina with state Senator Fernandez. They also have in parts of this district is Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez as well. It's been a lot of great representation that has changed to reflect the district.

Brian Lehrer: We can get into whether or not you agree with the assessment that one of the key reasons you couldn't hold onto your seat was your support for that rezoning plan in your district, the Bruckner rezoning. First, let's talk about the plan itself. What exactly was proposed and what was the basis of your support for it? I believe you opposed it at first and then came to support it.

Marjorie Velázquez: Right. What was initially proposed was a monstrosity that just didn't work and it was very vague. Working through community board meetings and different community groups, certainly, we arrived to the final proposal, which was one three-story building, two five-story buildings, and one eight-story building. The eight-story building is the one that is dedicated to senior housing with wraparound services for our seniors and also security, right?

When we're focused to the priorities and the conversations that kept on coming up, it is senior housing, it is veterans housing, and specifically, it is when we're thinking about our veterans, right? All they do, we need to welcome them home with a home. We need to make sure that we are not forgetting about our vets. Providing them 25 units was a fight that we won. Having that opportunity and delivering that was huge.

There's also the component of affordable home ownership. That was one of the things the community really wanted to see more of an opportunity to own. That was a huge win as well. Those are the basics of the proposal. The other situations and the other pluses, if you will, was including an additional transit study, an additional school study because we understand that we're giving 350 families an opportunity, an opportunity just like my family got to make this district their home.

Oftentimes, I tell you, these two years, I've had so many folks call that I ended up hiring a housing specialist to come in every single week to facilitate because that's the need. There is clearly a need within the district and it's meeting that goal, especially when we're thinking about our most vulnerable population like our seniors, right? I need to find a home for those who laid the foundation, those who made sure that our kids had an opportunity to be here.

My seniors have always been a priority, not just thinking about their homes but also figuring out, making sure their senior centers are actually up to par, that we're fighting for better programs, and so investing in that as well. I take pride in that and just like the beauty has been, right? During Thanksgiving, we went out into senior centers and surprise giveaways with turkeys and having the opportunity to hug them and hearing them and saying, "Thank you for seeing us. Thank you for being with us in a real way. Thank you." That's beautiful.

Brian Lehrer: Let me jump in for time, but I hear you, and it sounds like you are proud to this day of that vote. How much do you think backlash to that particular development project? I'll say that it was basically in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, just on the Bronx side of the Throgs Neck Bridge. It's a relatively low-density area of New York City. There are a lot of private homes there. It's not what people might think of as New York City if you think of New York City as a lot of big apartment buildings, but there are a number of neighborhoods like this.

A lot of neighborhoods like this around the city, but this is about Throggs Neck in particular, low-density backlash to the idea even of these relatively few eight-story buildings that you're talking about, even with the set-asides for seniors and veterans, which a lot of people would say they would support in theory. How much do you think backlash to your vote for that development project is the reason you got defeated for city council?

Marjorie Velázquez: Certainly, it was significant. I will say, it was also the amount of communication and not being able to communicate to folks. Unfortunately, there were some bad actors who wanted a fearmonger, who did not want to see this project come through instead of talking about what the realities are. Look, I have to be honest. It's on me. I needed to communicate to folks stronger and deliver the message above those angry voices who didn't want to see it through.

I needed to say, "Look, this is an eight-story building dedicated to our seniors. These are two five-story buildings that will help an aid our vets that deserve a home." That's on me in communicating that and making sure that faith over fear will always prevail. That is it and that is the message that it's on us to communicate and to make sure that our faith in each other, that our faith that our neighbors deserve a home, that our seniors deserve an opportunity to stay in the district that they've built, that our vets who have given so much deserve a home here.

Yes, because this district has so many vets, and yet here we are with only 25 units, and that was hard fought for. We have to be brave and we have to be courageous in doing so in taking the leap of faith and letting folks know that this is possible, that we can deliver for our communities, that we can build in our communities, especially in a commercial area of Throggs Neck. We could do that and we will do that. You know what? I will continue to advocate for this proposal because it's the right thing. It is the right thing to take care of our neighborhood.

Brian Lehrer: Call coming in from the district, 212-433-WNYC. Let's hear from Jason in Pelham Bay. You're on WNYC. Hello, Jason.

Jason: Hey, Brian. Hey, Marjorie. I was just calling to say, yes, I live in Pelham Bay. I've heard a lot from neighbors and on social media from people that they were, I think as Marjorie just pointed out, ill-informed about the rezoning in the area. I think there are certain code words that have been used in conversations about populations that would be moving in as opposed to who the housing was designed for.

I think, in my experience, I used to work in affordable senior housing. People are very fearful of new developments in this area of the Bronx because they're afraid it's going to bring in someone who looks other than themselves and people who have not traditionally lived in this neighborhood. I applaud Marjorie for the work that she's doing and has done. I just hope the new councilwoman will attempt to be as open and welcoming of people in the neighborhood.

Brian Lehrer: We'll certainly invite her, the incoming council member, Kristy Marmorato, on the show and let her have her say. Jason, thank you very much. Council Member Velázquez, the caller makes it sound like this is about race and class, at least as much as it's about density and neighborhood feel. Is that your opinion too?

Marjorie Velázquez: I have to take a moment because it was a beautiful thing to hear Jason, who is a constituent, who also believes that we all deserve a home here. He's from the district and we have to recognize his voice and amplify that, right? Oftentimes, it is fearmongering of a few and we've seen it. We've seen it in my city council race. Now, we also see it in a larger national scale and it is-- Well, thank you, Jason.

Obviously, he's not on the line, but thank you because that is what is going to take. It's going to take folks to say, "No, I do want this." Yes, you are a vocal minority. You're not going to fearmonger your way into this. You're not going to make me fear a boogeyman. You're not because that's where we win. We win when we're talking about how we together are taking care of one another, how we together can deliver this, how we together as a community can go against any fearmongering because we're better together.

That's it. The reality is that. Our reality is that we need to stand up to bullies and let them know that they can fearmonger all they want, but it doesn't mean a thing because we know who we are as a community. We know my story, right? My dad came in in a different time period. He was welcomed not only to Indian Village, but he had a job here at a time where the boogeyman is literally created by a party who's invested in dividing us.

We are stronger when we talk about the reality. The reality is that my dad, my mom, I am here. We're not going anywhere. We're not boogeymen. We're here because we belong here. We're here because we believe in one another. Certainly, the sense of community that my parents brought me up with is the sense of community that has allowed me to represent this district, that has allowed me to invest in this district, has allowed me to work with both Adrienne Adams, our speaker, Eric Adams, our mayor. These are two people of color, two Black people. Adrienne being historic with her role and owning her space. That is what we are as New York City and we will refuse to allow the boogeyman to win.

Brian Lehrer: Do you worry that other elected officials will look at your defeat and see housing so desperately needed as even more of a losing issue?

Marjorie Velázquez: That's a great question. I can talk for myself. Given my experience, I would say have the courage to challenge it. Have the courage to know even if it is, it's not your role here. It's not that title. It's what you can do with it. It is the fact that, now, we have 350 families having an opportunity to have a home at a time where not only New York City has a real big housing crisis but that we have an opportunity to have better jobs for our families, opportunity to create pathways and pipelines for folks to get into trades. Look, my district is heavily with the carpenters and they were super supportive of me throughout. Why? Because they believe in not only creating better housing but better housing with better wages, better protection. That's how we do it. That's how we build New York City back up.

Brian Lehrer: I want to ask you about another issue. I guess one of your last votes, maybe your last vote as a city council member, this week when council passed the How Many Stops Act requiring police officers to document low-level encounters with the public. Looks like Mayor Adams is going to veto that bill because he says it will snow police officers under with paperwork rather than spending their time protecting people.

It's got a very large majority of city council for it. We had Jumaane Williams, the public advocate, on the other day saying that the mayor, willfully or not, misunderstands what the requirements are because of the handheld electronic devices that NYPD officers have now. It's just, "Bob-bop-bop," and they record the stop. It's not going to stop them from doing the rest of their job. I think I saw that you voted no on that, is that correct?

Marjorie Velázquez: Yes, that is correct. I did vote no.

Brian Lehrer: Because?

Marjorie Velázquez: Look, I do want to be very clear that I support accountability and transparency, especially when it comes to all agencies. That is a priority to all because in understanding is how we can build better and understanding the needs of the agency is how we can actually deliver in a holistic manner. That's always been a pride and joy of me. It's not just only NYPD, but we're looking at what happens in our schools, what certainly happens in our fire departments, and what happens even in our hospitals when we're talking about transparency, when we're talking about delivering, and it's knowing.

I honestly support accountability and transparency, but I don't believe this bill was the best way to get our goals accomplished. I believe that, as a matter of policy, I can't support burdening officers with work that doesn't address not only the safety concerns, but, certainly, we want to make sure that we are giving the officers what their role is, which is to not only provide safety but to protect our civil rights, to make sure that there is improved public safety. Protecting these civil rights that we all deserve and just building honest, good relationships within the communities are our universal goals. Ultimately, I don't feel like this bill would achieve that.

Brian Lehrer: I guess the supporters say, on the civil rights side of what you were just articulating, that it enhances civil rights when so many stops are of Black and Latino New Yorkers to know how many-- it's called the How Many Stops Act, how many stops each NYPD officer is making and of whom at a more granular level than previous policies have allowed. How would you respond to that?

Marjorie Velázquez: We have to consider what's going on at this point in time within New York City. We're looking at budget cuts and we have to consider that the workforce, our NYPD workforce, is less now. We have to consider what their realities are. Has there been the communication of how they're going to accomplish this when the Level 3 is currently what they are reporting?

When we're discussing what it looks like, we'd have to make sure that this bill met the needs. Unfortunately, it doesn't meet the needs, especially at this time where we are experiencing really tight budget and when we're experiencing a workforce in the NYPD where we're adding more workload. We have to make sure that we are working to make sure that we're going to accomplish these goals because we can do that.

We can be transparent. We can be more accountable. We can have a way to track this data in a way that meets it without-- At the same time, there is a way to balance it. In balancing that is making sure that we are not overdoing it and limiting the capacity of certain individuals. When we're talking about this happening, what kind of conversations are we looking at, what our goal is? If we're not going to get the accountability and transparency with this, then what is it?

Brian Lehrer: One more question on this.

Marjorie Velázquez: Sure.

Brian Lehrer: I understand you had proposed an amendment to that How Many Stops Act with Republican colleagues from the city council. I've heard that some people were surprised that you work with Republicans. Of course, you've now been defeated by a Republican for your seat but that you worked with Republicans on that rather than some of your fellow Democrats. Any response?

Marjorie Velázquez: As a city council member, you have to work with all parties, right? I've worked with so many different parties when it came to my open dining bill. When I think about the folks I sat down with, I sat down with Republicans. I sat down with members of DSA because, at the end of the day, issues affect us all regardless of parties. When we're talking about how we build a bill and how we have to actually include all voices, it is including all voices, and making sure that we are talking about all perspectives and addressing concerns.

Look, a compromise is a compromise. When we come up with a bill, it has to include all voices. It has to make sure that we are looking at it not only from a short-term perspective but also what long-term effects would it have in our communities because, at the end of the day, that's our priority. That's our goal as legislators, right? We need to make sure that when we're looking at the work that we've done, it is that precisely. I look at my Skip the Stuff bill. I look at my open dining bill.

I look at the Yankee bill where we were able to facilitate and give our nonprofits a chance, to give our nonprofits another source of income because of this. It is working with all parties to make sure that we are looking at how to deliver to New York City, period. At the end of the day, we have to work with one another. That is one thing that I would love to think that experience and having the opportunity to work under Speaker Adrienne Adams, who oftentimes really just had us think from different perspectives and say, "Hey, have you spoken to this person? Have you spoken to this person?"

I think about the street-vending bills and how we had an eight-hour hearing, right? Literally, it was listening to all sides and making sure that everyone had an opportunity to ask their questions and have an opportunity to listen to the realities of folks on all sides, not just the admin side, but certainly everybody that it's impacted. Having those opportunities and being granted that through the experience of someone like Speaker Adrienne Adams has been incredible for me. I am honored to have that ability to do that with her.

Brian Lehrer: We've got two minutes left in the segment. Julia in Bushwick has a question about something else from your tenure as city council member as we near the end of this exit interview. Julia, you're on WNYC with outgoing Council Member Marjorie Velázquez from the Bronx. Hello.

Julia: Hi, Brian. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Doing all right. Thank you.

Julia: Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: I can hear you. Happy holidays. What's your question?

Julia: Great. Happy holidays. Councilwoman Velázquez, I want to thank you for your service. I wanted to ask you. After all this talk about keeping people in their homes and especially senior citizens, I noticed that you were on the board that would consider a bill to eliminate brokers' fees. You declined to bring this bill up, so it won't have a chance to be voted on.

I believe Council Member Ossé brought this bill up and this really affects on New Yorkers. I've been looking for an apartment for a year. It's my second time looking for an apartment for a year during COVID. Ever since losing my rent control, I find that brokers' fees go from about $2,000 to $8,000 to $15,000, especially for a rent-controlled apartment. This is preventing people from having housing and getting everybody who's from New York out of New York. It's happening.

Brian Lehrer: Julia, I have to jump in for time. Forgive me. I do want you to answer her question, Council Member. You were opposed-

Marjorie Velázquez: What was the question--

Brian Lehrer: -to the bill that would have eliminated a lot of brokers' fees for renters.

Marjorie Velázquez: Actually, thank you for the question, Julia. I didn't hear it clearly, so thank you for making it clear, Brian. The reality was and how I did discuss it with my colleague was that there wasn't an opportunity to present it this year because we had so many impactful bills. We had the street vending. We certainly had so many opportunities for the others. Unfortunately, it wasn't heard this year.

Brian Lehrer: You do hope that that comes up next year and you would like to see it passed?

Marjorie Velázquez: Well, look, there's an opportunity for a conversation if I'm not going to be a council member. It's on Council Member Ossé who's introduced it to go ahead and advocate with the next committee and, certainly, the speaker's office to work on it.

Brian Lehrer: You're not taking a position?

Marjorie Velázquez: The reality is I'm not going to be a council member.

Brian Lehrer: Last question. 30 seconds. What are you going to do? What are your plans?

Marjorie Velázquez: I'm sorry. Well, I just wanted to clarify that the bill that was proposed was not eliminating brokers' fees. Having a clear conversation on that proposal and having a clear conversation within communities is certainly a priority and should be a priority next year, so I do agree on that statement.

Brian Lehrer: Fair enough.

Marjorie Velázquez: To the last question, look, there has been an opportunity. I'm 42 years old. Every single day, I learn something new. Certainly, learning as to what next steps will be and having an opportunity to sit down with so many folks who have been in government and transitioned into private or nonprofit and just literally sitting down with them all is what I've been doing. I'm just looking forward to continuing my investment here in my district. I am a district leader. Having that opportunity to work on a grassroots level is incredible. I still have that opportunity just to build.

Brian Lehrer: Marjorie Velázquez, good luck with life after city council. Maybe you'll be back on the show in another capacity. It sounds like you want to stay involved with public issues.

Marjorie Velázquez: Certainly.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you for coming on the times that you have while in office and thank you for today.

Marjorie Velázquez: Okay, thank you.

 

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