Aviles gives a great speech at her State of the District event, by Brian Abate

Council Member Alexa Aviles gave her State of District 38 speech at PS 1 in Sunset Park on September 14.

The night’s events included remarks from Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Tiffiney Davis of the Red Hook Art Project (RHAP.) There was also artwork from RHAP as well as featured performances by the P.S. 1 Chorus (led by Principal Wanda Lopez-Ramirez), the Ballet Folklorico Guadalupano, the Academia de Mariachi of Sunset Park, and the P.S. 94 Dragon Dancers.

There was also excellent food donated by Red Hook’s own Defonte’s, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Johnny’s Pizzeria, Sahadi’s, Sunset Park BID, and Tacos El Bronco.

All of the speakers thanked and praised Aviles for the work she has done for the Red Hook and Sunset Park communities.

“When Southern governors began sending asylum seekers to our city last year, we did not stay silent,” Aviles said. “We advocated for national, state, and local strategies to help meet their needs and cover costs. At the same time, I’ve been so heartened and proud to watch our neighbors, our district residents greet people with compassion, donating their time, their energy, and their resources.

“For the record, if you didn’t know, now you know, New York City cannot be destroyed! We cannot be destroyed! Fear-mongering and scapegoating are nothing more than a distraction. The people of District 38 are strong, we have, courage, we have grit, and we care.”

Additionally, Aviles spoke about the importance of public housing, saying “I will continue to fight and demand dignity for NYCHA residents. Public housing is the city’s most important housing asset and it must be invested in. I will fight against the privatization of public housing as well. The lack of housing for the people from this district, for our seniors, is what keeps me up at night. Our shelter system has functioned as a housing system and that should not be the case.”

Aviles also spoke about the fiscal budget and some of the different areas where she was able to secure funding.

“We secured over $15 million for improvements in Sunset Park, in Coffey Park, for the P.S. 503 and P.S. 506 playground which is one of the major playgrounds in our community, so we’re excited to see that work underway. We’ve delivered $9 million to our neighborhood schools for much-needed repairs and upgrades.

“I will always be a PTA (parent–teacher association) mama, and I’m particularly proud to make sure our kids in P.S. 1 get a stem lab, that water fountains are upgraded, that an upgraded auditorium gets done, that a music room gets built in P.S. 94, and so many other projects.

“Lastly, we allocated approximately $4 million to fund our local senior centers, our youth programs, our parks programming, arts, culture, adult literacy, food justice, and so much more. I know $4 million sounds like a lot but we know we need more. Many of you are running these organizations, and I want to thank and salute both you and your staff.”

The night concluded with live mariachi music and lots of delicious food. Though the vast majority of political events are serious, the State of District 38 was a fun night

Brian Abate