Get to Know Two of Queens Newest Assembly Members

QUEENS REPS ONE-ON-ONE GONZALEZ-ROJAS LAYS OUT PRIORITIES FOR DISTRICT

BY BENJAMIN FANG

Jessica González-Rojas made history last year when she was elected as the first person of color, and specifically the first Latina, to represent the 34th Assembly District, which includes Jackson Heights, Woodside and East Elmhurst.

Having lived in the district for 22 years, González-Rojas noted that 62 percent of the district is made up of immigrants, and 88 percent are people of color.

“I’m deeply humbled to represent a community that is reflective of my own experiences,” she said. “I’m excited to be an advocate and represent this district.”

Weeks into her first session as a state lawmaker, González-Rojas said she has several legislative priorities, including health care, criminal justice, education and transportation.

Before being elected to the Assembly, González-Rojas was a health care advocate for 13 years, serving as the former executive director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. She was also an adjunct professor at both CUNY City College and NYU Wagner School of Public Service.

González-Rojas noted that though her district doesn’t have institutions like a library, a hospital, a community center or a senior center, the area is rich in small businesses, especially restaurants. She noted that the industry has been “decimated” by the COVID19 pandemic, as well as the many rules and regulations they face.

“As someone who doesn’t cook, I’m a frequent patron of the many diverse restaurants in the district,” she said. “It’s something that makes our neighborhood rich and diverse, yet they are struggling.”

Over the summer, the legislator said, the State Liquor Authority targeted many immigrant small businesses and restaurants in her district for violating COVID protocols. Some businesses were fined tens of thousands of dollars, which she said is enough to put them out of business.

“I’m a proponent of creating more business-friendly rules and education before they begin the fining process,” González-Rojas said. “There needs to be a much more just process that focuses on education.”

On the legislative side, the Queens lawmaker was a co-sponsor of the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Business Act, a bill that was passed by the legislature last month. The legislation protects restaurants from eviction and foreclosure, restricts third-party delivery fees, freezes unemployment insurance rates and establishes a partial-unemployment system.

González-Rojas said she’s also exploring the idea of a commercial rent control model for businesses. She noted that rent for storefronts have “gone through the roof,” even in her district.

“As someone who is shopping around for a new district office, I would love to have a storefront,” she said. “But the rent is out of reach for so many folks.”

In addition to supporting small businesses like restaurants and

Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas made history with her election.

local retail, González-Rojas said she is also supportive of street vendors, the “smallest of small businesses.”

“We’re a neighborhood that really thrives on the diversity of businesses that we have,” she said. “They’re part of the ecosystem.”

The lawmaker said while she supports thriving small businesses, she also cares about worker justice, and will advocate to ensure workers are paid adequately and get the health care they need.

She’s a proponent of the New York Health Act, which would enact the state’s version of a singlepayer health care system.

“I think that would help a lot of businesses to not have to worry about health care plans, and making sure their staff gets the care that they need,” González-Rojas added. “I see that as a priority.”

THE FRESHMAN IN THE ASSEMBLY

BY JACOB HENRY

Khaleel Anderson was scouring the new 900-page executive budget in Albany while speaking on the phone about his experience serving as the new assemblyman for southeast Queens and the Rockaways.

“I haven’t criticized the budget yet, because I’m not finished reading it,” Anderson said. “I want to make sure I do this thing right.”

At 24, Anderson is the youngest member in the history of the New York State Assembly. He wears his age as “a badge of honor,” earning respect from colleagues and constituents alike with his experience as an organizer and activist.

“People understand that experience does make a difference,” Anderson said.

He was born in Crown Heights, but his family moved to Far Rockaway when rent in Brooklyn became unaffordable. This shaped his activism and community work, but also gave him an understanding of what issues the area faces.

Anderson said that whether a person is living in Rosedale or South Ozone Park, the issues are still the same. They include environmental racism, lack of access to food, poor schools and living in a transit desert.

Food insecurity is a focus for Anderson, and his district faces not just a lack of access to grocery stores and delis, but also a scarcity of fresh ingredients and produce.

“I can’t fuel my body off a Twinkie,” Anderson said. “Most of my constituents have to travel two miles or more to get to a real grocery store or get real access to produce.”

He wants to put his community “back in the driver’s seat” by empowering his constituents to grow their own food.

“It’s really that community-led effort and empowerment piece that can move folks in a direction that creates a space in which we are rolling back some of the decadeslong inequity and systemic oppression,” Anderson said.

However, he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these issues, along with bringing tragedy to the area. The assemblyman himself lost family and friends to the virus.

“This has been a really morbid time for our people,” Anderson said. “But it has also exposed a lot