Keep Brooklyn working-class, immigrant friendly, and affordable to live in.
Those are the stated goals of Nydia Velazquez, the 11-term incumbent Democratic congresswoman serving neighborhoods from Bushwick to Dumbo to Sunset Park, who sailed to an easy victory in Tuesday’s election against unknown Republican and Conservative party challengers.
“My overarching priority is always making our communities more livable for New York’s working families,” said Velazquez. “Creating job growth and economic opportunity is critical.”
In her next term, Velazquez said she wanted to focus on helping women and racial minorities start small businesses.
“This sector remains a cornerstone of our local economy,” she said.
Velazquez also wants to continue pushing for immigration reform. She is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s Immigration Task Force, which wants to speed up family visa petitions and develop a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, among other goals. A bipartisan immigration reform package passed the Senate in 2013, but has been blocked by Republicans in Congress.
“In many ways, this is the civil rights issue of our time,” said Velazquez. “As we continue working to end policies that tear apart families, it is incumbent on all of us to create a sensible, sane, workable immigration system that honors our nation’s and our city’s immigrant heritage.”
Velazquez is also big on affordable housing, and touted her record supporting fights for greater rent regulation and tougher penalties for harassing landlords.
