Platform
Affordable Housing & homeownership
Manhattan tenants are burdened record high rents with average rents for 1 bedrooms tipping $5,000. We must solve this crisis by building affordable and mixed-income housing that does not solely consist of majority market-rate apartments. We must also have a focus on creating senior housing, to assure that our growing senior population is accommodated. This includes queer focused senior housing, the need for which will increase over time. We need to build this infrastructure now!
By rewriting the tax incentives for developers to build affordable housing like the 421-a tax credit that recently expired after 50 years, as well as how we define affordablity, we can make sure that new developments in our communities serve our families first.
Upper Manhattan has many HDFC & Mitchell-llama buildings, privately owned co-ops for low and middle income ownership.
We must protect these small homeowners by creating the tax exemption on the state level, and creating a program to ensure low or no interest loans for these buildings to make necessary repairs & renovations where private banks have failed them.
Public health
In a post pandemic world, our Healthcare system’s flaws have never been more flagrant.
We have to assure the mental and physical health of New Yorkers
Mental health is a growing issue that must be addressed. By opening up more in-patient psychiatric beds, as well as creating programs to help make access to mental health licensing more equitable with a loan relief program for licensed mental health counselors, social workers, & other mental health providers.
We must also protect the health of our children, regulating the food additives that we feed our children at schools, restricting food suppliers from selling food with petroleum-based cosmetic chemicals linked to potential hyperactivity issues in children like Red #40 & Yellow #5.
Supporting steps towards Healthcare reform, like the NY Health Act are also important as we move forward.
Our environment, climate & parks
Our Climate is in crisis, and we are reaching record levels of flooding, heat, and cold across our city and state. We need to combat this in a multi-layered approach. We need to allocate more of our state budget towards building publicly-owned renewable energy sources - taking away control of our energy from fossil fuel companies and private corporations for the good of New Yorkers and our planet.
We must expand our urban canopy, a key in combating daytime heat and emissions by planting more trees in areas where these efforts have been historically underfunded, like in some parts of the 71st Assembly District including large swathes of St. Nicholas Avenue where there is a complete lack of trees.
Amazing parks like Inwood Hill Park & Riverbank State Park are a part of District 71, and I will assure that our Parks will be properly funded, cleaned, and staffed. A well funded park is a safe park, and safe public green spaces are key for our families efforts towards public safety.
We must ensure that our district finally receives it's fair share of our State's budget!
Reproductive Rights must be assured for anyone who seeks reproductive care, and we must assure that these protections are assured as rights in our State following the overturning of the Roe. V Wade decision. People of all faiths and walks of life should have the right to choose.
LGBTQIA+ Rights must be defended. Segura is a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment which would protect the rights of LQBTQIA+ community members. Segura wants to build senior housing for our growing queer senior population, cap copays and ensure insurance coverage on preventative medicine such as PReP, and fund programs that house queer homeless youth.
Congestion Pricing Relief is a major priority for our lower and middle income Manhattanites. with a cost of living crisis in Manhattan. Under the current proposal, any driver entering the “Congestion Zone” below 60th street in Manhattan is subject to a $15 toll every time they enter. This effectively creates a paywall to enter the major business and commercial center of our City and County.
There were no air quality studies of Upper Manhattan when planning congestion pricing, nor is there any money set aside to mitigate the potential changes in air quality in Upper Manhattan resulting from increased traffic on the George Washington Bridge and surrounding areas, an area already known as “Asthma Alley”.
It is irresponsible for the government to impose a new fine on Manhattan residents to move autonomously within their own county with no regard for the impact on parking, the environment, or the quality of life of residents.
Segura will push for relief from multiple angles:
Environmentally, Segura would ensure there would be funding earmarked for a thorough environmental impact study, as well as air quality improvement efforts throughout Upper Manhattan.
Economically, Segura would push for full exemptions from congestion pricing for all New York County residents making under $120,000 a year, with partial exemptions for all residents. I would also push for and propose a bill to exempt veterans from the Congestion Pricing tolls.
Parking is also a major concern - an area already burdened with inadequate parking, Segura advocates new municipal parking facilities to be built and/or included in some new developments in Upper Manhattan.
Election Reform including establishing Ranked Choice voting for all State Elections, & enfranchising independent voters including over 70% of Veterans, by allowing them to vote in partisan primary elections in New York State
Animal Welfare is incredibly important. As a former wild bird rehabilitator and cat rescuer, Julien Segura has a deep understanding of our local wildlife and pets and will fight to ensure the safety of our wildlife and maintain our ecosystem.
Segura will introduce a bill in Albany, (parallel to Int 1205 in the New York City Council) banning commercial bird releases, which generally involves doves being released at weddings & other events. Segura has personally worked with these birds and knows this leads to brutal, short lives for these poor animals, who are born in captivity and cannot easily survive in the wild.
Segura will also fight to ensure pet owners have the proper rights, especially tenants, to make sure that pet ownership and companionship is more accessible for all income levels, and make sure our pets can stay in their forever homes.