1. Real Affordable Housing for All - a lifelong tenant who had a landlord spike his rent during a high-risk pregnancy and spent the pandemic in a one-bedroom with his wife and daughter, Ben knows first hand that we have an affordable housing crisis and will rezone to stop buildings for billionaires, protect existing rent regulated housing, and mandate new housing that is affordable for each neighborhood as part of every new development.
2. Invest in Our Children and Families - Ben was on free and reduced school lunch as a public school student and didn't eat because he was too embarrassed that's why he won free school lunch for every student as a Council Member and why he wants to turn every public school into a community center that offers universal child care, after school, three square meals a day to end youth hunger, a laptop with Internet to close the homework gap, and gives parents and adults in the community the services they need to get better paying jobs.
3. Economic Recovery Starting with You - the social safety net caught Ben in hard times offering health insurance and income when he didn't have it. But millions of New Yorkers don't get the benefits they need because they don't know or because of too much red tape, that's why Ben is working on "barrier free benfits" by automatically giving residents direct payments for earning income, rent increase exemptions, health insurance, even free mobile phones and affordable Internet. Ben will go further by raising wages, creating new jobs, helping people save for retirement, and filling empty store fronts.
4. Faster Commutes - Ben doesn't own a car and will invest in public transit, protect pedestrians and cyclists, and rethink our road and waterways so we can all get where we are going faster.
5. Quality of Life - Ben's been fighting to get scaffolding down, with plans to house the homeless, and to clean up with a new solar compacting trash can on every corner in Manhattan.