As New Yorkers head to the polls on Nov. 4 to decide on a brand new mayor, voters will even be casting ballots for a number of Metropolis Council candidates, together with Caribbean legislators.
Brooklyn Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, looking for re-election, informed Caribbean Life on Monday, Oct. 27, that she is “proud to be working for re-election to proceed delivering actual outcomes for the individuals of the forty sixth District.
“As a nurse, small enterprise proprietor, and immigrant from Haiti, I do know what onerous work appears to be like like, and I’ve spent day-after-day combating to carry assets, providers, and respect again to our neighborhood,“ she stated.
“Whereas others search to divide or roll again the progress we’ve made, I’m targeted on build up our neighborhoods, investing in our faculties,
enhancing healthcare entry, and standing up for working households, immigrants, and seniors,“ she added.
“Our neighborhood is aware of what’s at stake,“ Narcisse continued. “We’ve come too far to let those that align with extremism that assaults
immigrants, undermines healthcare, and works to weaken public training signify us.“
Narcisse stated she is “delivering actual outcomes, securing hundreds of thousands for native faculties, parks, and libraries, strengthening healthcare entry, and offering robust, responsive constituent providers to make sure each resident is heard and supported.“
Council Member Rita Joseph additionally addresses the ceremony the place BunNan restaurant proprietor obtained Dr. Luc El-Artwork Extreme Small Enterprise Restoration Grant. Photograph by Nelson A. King
Narcisse’s Metropolis Council colleague and compatriot Rita Joseph additionally informed Caribbean Life that she had no opponent within the Major and also will have none within the basic elections for the fortieth Council District in Brooklyn.
“I’m strolling again to my seat,“ she stated on Tuesday, Oct. 28. “Beforehand, incumbents at all times have opponents.
“I’m truthfully humbled by it,“ Joseph added. “When no person steps as much as problem you, which means one thing. It means the neighborhood trusts you. And I don’t take that evenly — I’m going to maintain displaying up for our faculties, our youngsters, and our households the way in which I’ve been.“
When requested what she’s most happy with, Joseph, a former public faculty instructor in Brooklyn, responded that it was the primary AIMS program in September, a specialised early training setup for teenagers with autism and different developmental wants on the P.S. 6 Annex on Flatbush Avenue.
Joseph, who taught at P.S. 6 for greater than 20 years earlier than moving into politics, stated, “This one hit near dwelling. “
She stated this system makes use of “6:1:1 lecture rooms“: six youngsters, one common instructor, one speech instructor, and one paraprofessional. It begins at pre-Okay and goes via second grade.
By the 2027-2028 faculty yr, 55 extra seats are anticipated to be added.
“This is huge,“ Joseph said. “These are our kids with autism, with developmental challenges, and they deserve real support, not half-measures.”
Joseph stated she helped safe over $600 million for public faculties this yr alone—”the most important training funding the town’s ever made.“
When she first bought into workplace, she stated she instantly put $28 million in the direction of enhancing District 40’s faculties and parks.
Joseph stated she’s been “particularly fierce“ about defending packages that have been surviving on federal COVID cash that was about to dry up, pushing to make them everlasting fixtures within the finances.
She stated she fought onerous to save lots of neighborhood faculties, lunch packages, and the “hold harmless“ policy that keeps school budgets stable, when Mayor Adams came at schools with proposed cuts.”
Joseph stated she was additionally profitable in passing a invoice that requires the Division of Schooling (DOE) to precisely report class sizes 3 times a yr – “a transparency measure aimed toward ensuring the DOE follows via on the state’s push to shrink class sizes by 2028.“
Joseph stated she helped get NYC’s Workplace of Foster Care “up and working throughout the Division of Schooling in 2023 — a nine-person crew devoted to the roughly 6,500 foster youth in metropolis faculties.“
Since taking workplace, the Metropolis Council Member stated she’s visited near 100 faculties throughout all 5 boroughs; secured hundreds of thousands for college tech upgrades and renovations; improved parks, like Parade Floor Area 9; and runs month-to-month conferences with training advocates “to ensure neighborhood voices don’t get misplaced within the shuffle.“
On this legislative session, Joseph stated she’s launched 25 payments (six have turn out to be regulation) and co-sponsored 228 others.
With no opponent within the basic elections, Joseph stated she has 4 extra years forward to maintain pushing.
“We’re just getting started,“ she said. “There’s so much left to do for our schools, our kids, and our families. I’m not slowing down.”
Holding quotation, Council Member Farah N. Louis addresses a ceremony on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, as BunNan restaurant proprietor receives Dr. Luc El-Artwork Extreme Small Enterprise Restoration Grant.Photograph by Nelson A. King
Metropolis Council Member Farah N. Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, is looking for her last time period in representing the forty fifth District in Brooklyn.
“It has been the respect of my life to serve the individuals of Council District 45,“ she informed Caribbean Life early Wednesday morning, Oct. 29. “As I search my last time period, I’m extra energized than ever to proceed delivering actual outcomes for our neighbors.
“The work we’ve accomplished together is just the beginning, and I will not stop until we’ve built a foundation for lasting change in our district,“ she added. “Throughout my tenure, I have been a tireless champion for the most vulnerable members of our community and New York City, while fighting relentlessly to improve the quality of life for all District 45 residents.”
Louis stated she was the primary council member to prioritize inexpensive housing within the District, securing “critical funding to build housing and support key programs that have lifted countless families—no matter their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or creed.”
She stated she has been a council member for each constituent, listening to the individuals of this District and making selections on vital issues in direct response to their expectations that she assist essential measures.
“I don’t run from robust fights — I lead them,“ Louis stated. “I’ve been an unwavering voice for housing justice for our seniors, championing the Bethany Senior Terraces, inexpensive housing solely for older residents who deserve dignity, stability, and the flexibility to age in place throughout the neighborhood they helped construct. Our seniors constructed this District, and I refuse to allow them to be pushed out.
After many conversations with ladies of coloration within the District and past, Louis stated reproductive and maternal well being fairness emerged as a “resonating theme.”
“I understand that Black and Brown women face disproportionate maternal health challenges, and I refused to accept that reality without a fight,“ the Council Member said. “That’s why I championed the Citywide Doula Initiative (CDI), securing $750,000 from Mayor Adams to launch the pilot in 2022, ensuring expectant mothers have access to culturally competent support.”
Louis stated she additionally spearheaded the opening of the first-ever ladies’s well being clinic in Central Brooklyn—Morris Heights Well being Middle on Flatbush Avenue—”a crucial useful resource devoted to enhancing well being outcomes for all ladies, significantly with their reproductive well being and the early phases of their maternal well being journey.
“When our ladies are beneath menace, I stand and ship,“ he stated.
Louis stated she additionally championed and secured $141 million for the first-ever recreation heart in District 45—the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Middle—a state-of-the-art facility with facilities for youth, younger adults, and seniors to take part in packages that assist them study, develop, and perform their wellness targets.
“For too lengthy, our district went with out this crucial useful resource,“ she stated. “I fought to vary that, and now our neighborhood has a world-class heart the place each technology can thrive.“
As a steadfast advocate for younger individuals, Louis stated she championed the Citywide Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative and handed Introduction 54, prioritizing monetary literacy packages that equip our younger individuals with the instruments they should construct generational wealth and obtain financial independence.
“Our youth deserve each alternative to succeed, and I’ll by no means cease combating to make sure they’ve it,“ she stated.
As she runs for my last time period within the New York Metropolis Council, Louis stated she stays “laser-focused“ on the priorities that matter most to District 45.
She stated she’s going to combat to make sure that working households can afford to reside, work, and thrive locally they name dwelling; assist minority women-owned enterprise enterprise (MWBE) contractors, native entrepreneurs, and our small enterprise homeowners “who are the backbone of our neighborhood economy”; demand that younger individuals obtain equitable entry to high quality training and the assets they should succeed; and advocate for initiatives that deal with the foundation causes of crime and guarantee assets are supplied to fight gun violence, fund psychological well being and wellness packages, and assist community-based interventions.
“This last time period is about ending robust and guaranteeing the progress we’ve made continues for generations to come back,“ Louis stated. “District 45 deserves a consultant who won’t ever again down, by no means quit, and by no means cease combating for them — and that’s precisely what I intend to do.
“I plan to continue serving District 45 with the same passion, dedication, and results-driven leadership that has defined my time in office,“ she added. “The fight continues, and I’m ready.”
Early voting, which began final weekend, runs till Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
“Irrespective of the way you vote, or who you vote for — make certain your voice is heard,“ urged State Meeting Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the Haitian-American chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Social gathering.
Along with candidates for elected workplace, six questions are on the poll this yr.
NYC Board of Elections (BOE) stated that poll proposals are “steered modifications to the state and metropolis’s governing paperwork, the State Structure and the Metropolis Constitution.
“Voters get to resolve on the modifications they need to see handed,“ it stated.
