A tenants’ rights attorney, born and raised in Washington Heights as the son of parents from the Dominican Republic, Shaun Abreu received his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Government from Columbia University and his JD from Tulane University in 2018. He previously served as the deputy campaign manager for the incumbent Council Member Mark Levine. Abreu is a strong proponent of Board of Elections reform, with several concrete, well-considered ideas for change, while supporting all of CU’s reform agenda across the board. He argued the City Council’s approval of the appointment of the Police Commissioner would also impose accountability on the Council, eliminating the tendency of merely fingerpointing at the Mayor and refocusing on the issues. Abreu has been engaged since his Columbia University days in promoting civics education toward building diverse government leadership and offered ideas built on his experience to improve civic engagement and voter turnout. His commitment to reform and well thought out platform makes him Citizens Union’s preference in this race.

Marti Allen-Cummings is a community activist, gig worker, and drag artist who has worked in the city for 13 years. AllenCummings currently serves as a board member of Community Board 9 and sits on the NYC Nightlife Advisory Board. As a drag artist who came out as non-binary, Allen-Cummings has been an activist and advocate for the LGBTQIA community for over a decade and has volunteered with organizations like the Ali Forney Center to reach at-risk youth. They have stated that their top campaign priority is affordable housing. AllenCummings proposes to create more accessible housing for all New Yorkers by increasing funding for NYCHA, spearhead community-led zoning changes, curb the influence of real estate developers, provide the homeless with increased support and resources, and protect tenant’s rights. AllenCummings has also made criminal justice reform a top priority and he has furthered a detailed plan based on reallocating the NYPD budget, investing in community-based initiatives, and overhauling the Citizen Complaint Review Board to give it more investigative power. Citizens Union appreciates Alan Cummings’ engagement in the community to issues such as better defining the roles/functions of police, “bathroom justice” (provision of and access to public restrooms by delivery/ essential workers and others) and seeking re-entry jobs for those leaving prison.

Daniel Cohen is a housing advocate for over 20 years with experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Since 2014, he has been Vice President of the nonprofit Housing Partnership, where he has assisted in the creation and preservation of 5,000 homes. Cohen also previously founded an affordable housing consulting firm and advised the city’s allocation of federal aid for the 9/11 recovery. As an expert in the field, Cohen proposes a “Housing First” policy to solve the city’s affordability crisis. Through directing more resources towards public housing and community developments, Cohen seeks to address some of the core challenges facing the city housing market. His policy includes over $4 billion in capital allocation towards housing, a plan at addressing racial disparities in housing, and several zoning reforms intended to give communities more negotiating power over developers. Cohen has also made public education a key priority during his campaign, and has offered comprehensive proposals for improving equity in education. Citizens Union was impressed by Cohens’ longterm contributions to the community, and found he displayed an engaging, continuing commitment to new ideas.

Maria Ordonez is a college student at Columbia University and community organizer from West Harlem. At 21 years old, she is the youngest candidate in the race. At Columbia, Ordonez is majoring in political science and has actively been involved in organizing around her campus for striking workers and has opposed gentrification in the neighborhood surrounding the University. Previously, Ordonez worked for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and is an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Ordonez has proposed ambitious initiatives to ensure that housing is a right for all New Yorkers, such as by investing in community land trusts and increasing subsidies towards public housing. She also emphasizes that all city residents should have access to quality education that is fully-funded and desegregated. Ordonez also supports a Green New Deal for NYC to decarbonize our environment and pursue climate justice. Citizens Union appreciates the impressive presence and ideas of Ordonez, and her suggestions for civic participation, such as participatory budgeting and creating spaces such as town halls for more civic dialogue and “co-governance.”

Raymond Sanchez, who grew up in a single-mother household in a NYCHA building, currently works at Aguila, a homeless services agency. Sanchez previously worked as Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s General Counsel and Senior Policy Manager overseeing all legal matters and the implementation of the agency’s policy agenda. He was also at the New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee, where he worked to implement Wi-Fi kiosks in Uptown Manhattan. Additionally, he has worked with various civic organizations, notably the Hispanic Federation and LatinoJustice. Sanchez also serves on the board of Areté Education and La Unidad Latina Foundation. His top priority as Council Member would be improving the quality of NYC education by reducing class sizes and increasing teacher salaries. Sanchez also aims to support essential workers by giving them access to increased city subsidies, especially in regards to affordable housing. Sanchez demonstrated a skillful ability to draw “relatable” lessons for city government and the community from his diverse career experiences, including using City Council audits of NYPD data to inform budget and other decisions and developing new models for defining what the job of police officer should be, as well as the re-use of spaces freed up as a result of the economy and the pandemic for schools and housing. But he has also expressed opposition to several of Citizens Union’s reform positions, stating that many would create more obstacles to progress.