Candidates for Bronx Borough President Square Off in Student-Led Forum at Lehman College

Current Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Councilmember Rafael Salamanca Jr both took part in the conversation which aired Monday on BronxNet and touched on housing homelessness schooling youth employment gun violence food insecurity and other issues Watch it below Current Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Councilmember Rafael Salamanca Jr during the BronxNet Lehman College forum YouTube BronxNet On April the multimedia department at CUNY s Lehman College in collaboration with BronxNet TV hosted a student-led forum for the two Democratic candidates vying to be the next Bronx borough president Current Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Councilmember Rafael Salamanca Jr were both in attendance to answer questions presented by Lehman College students including sophomore Amen Dilawar and senior Jovan Figueroa this author Gary Axelbank a Lehman College graduate from the class of and current host of the weekly show BronxTalk moderated the open forum which aired Monday night Ready to vote NYC s primary elections take place June Check your voter registration here Among other issues the candidates were questioned about housing insecurity and the borough s homeless population and what their leadership would do to move the Bronx closer to a sustainable and just housing future While borough presidents have only an advisory role in the city s land use decisions their recommendations can help shape housing proposals It is unacceptable that any family in our city and in our borough goes to bed at night in a homeless shelter It is unacceptable it is not what we stand for as a borough and we must do better noted Gibson a former state assemblywoman and city councilmember who took office as borough president in Gibson noted she will focus on accelerating affordable housing making sure that it is really affordable Looking at protected classes like seniors and veterans and people with disabilities and runaway and homeless youth and foster youth and domestic violence survivors is an essential component she declared Making sure that programs like FHEPS and CityFHEPS vouchers are real for families Investing in society housing because it s the largest affordable housing that we represent in the city of New York Councilmember Salamanca Jr who was elected to his South Bronx seat via special vote in and chairs the Council s Land Use Committee had the opportunity to answer the same question Homelessness is something that I m extremely passionate about he explained My Council district has over homeless shelters in the South Bronx in the th district I have more homeless shelters than any of the other Councilmembers that exist out there But I m also building the greater part affordable housing in the entire city of New York He pointed to a bill he sponsored passed by the Council in that requires developers that receiving city funding to set aside percent of apartments for people experiencing homelessness Each candidate was also given time to offer general opening and closing remarks to the audience Is food more expensive Do you feel safe when you leave your home when you re going to the bodega or to church or taking residents transportation Our families are paying more and getting less and yet we keep hearing the same promises without real results Salamanca reported He spoke of securing billions of dollars for his district in the nine years since he took office including millions for local schools and playgrounds and pushing to close a longtime jail in Hunts Point I m a product of the South Bronx I was born and raised here and I m at the moment raising my -year-old son here the councilmember reported I run for borough president because Bronx families deserve leadership that fights for them delivers results and ensures that our borough remains a place where Bronx residents can raise their families and thrive In turn Borough President Gibson spoke in her remarks about allocating million for the Bronx over the last three budget cycles for local schools playgrounds libraries and cultural institutions She also noted being a graduate of CUNY Baruch and SUNY Albany I am so proud of what SUNY and CUNY have done for me she announced For my entire professional career I have been proud to represent our great borough of the Bronx first as a member of the New York State Assembly then as a member of the New York City Council and now for the last three years serving as your Bronx borough president Gibson added Waking up everyday on purpose with a purpose Realizing my assignment and my purpose in life which is to make a difference in the lives of million residents that live work and raise their families across our borough Other questions that were appealed to BP Gibson and Councilmember Salamanca were on tuition youth employment guns and violence food insecurity strength and environmental issues The entire operation lasted under an hour You can watch the forum in its entirety below The post Candidates for Bronx Borough President Square Off in Student-Led Forum at Lehman College appeared first on City Limits