PROSPECT HEIGHTS, NY — After just over a year in office, Brooklyn City Council member Crystal Hudson reflected on and celebrated her office’s wins Tuesday, including protections for aging residents and tenants.

Hudson delivered her “State of the District” address Tuesday evening at Medgar Evers College, a “gem of an institution” just a few blocks away from where she held her inaugural ceremony just over a year ago, Hudson said. Hudson represents Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and part of Bed Stuy.

Hudson was joined by a number of community groups and performers, including a dance group from the Grace Agard Harewood Neighborhood Senior Center and jazz ensemble from the Brooklyn Music School.

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In Tuesday’s address and multiple reflective interviews, Hudson primarily focused on three key topics: housing, Brooklyn’s aging population and her vision for Black residents.

“In our diverse district … she has a vision that feels like a comprehensive whole,” a longtime Prospect Heights resident said of Hudson’s state of the district address. “It really struck me, especially in a district I have seen at war with itself over the years.”

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Housing

Tenant’s rights and housing took center stage in Hudson’s address Tuesday — and it’s an issue that hits home for Hudson and her staff, she said. Over the last 30 years, policymakers have taken unkind stances toward vulnerable tenants and moderate and low income housing owners, Hudson said.

In her first year on council, Hudson and her team have helped residents obtain legal representation, find apartments, navigate the affordable housing lottery system and face predatory landlords, she said.

“Hearing about and seeing some of the conditions that people live in, with leaks and with mold and they’ve got babies and rodents,” Hudson told Brooklyn Paper in a recent interview. “Then noticing that negligent landlords are literally doing nothing about it. It’s hard, but we try to push.”

Hudson also lobbied for good-cause eviction legislation and worked to educate local tenants on their rights, especially with private equity firms buying up local property, she said in a video message posted to Twitter Tuesday.

‘New York Is Getting Older’

City Council in February approved a fourth bill in Hudson’s “Age in Place NYC” legislative package to protect New York City’s aging population — which Hudson says is growing exponentially in New York City. Hudson serves as chair of the Aging Committee.

The most recent legislation requires that all city-subsidized housing meet accessibility standards to ensure people of any age or physical ability have livable housing options, according to a news release from Hudson’s office.

Other bills passed by city council include educational campaigns for older New Yorkers to know their rights, increased linguistic and cultural programming and expanded access to free attorneys for people over the age of 60 facing evictions, according to Brooklyn Paper.

A Black Agenda For New York City

Hudson’s district has lost 20 percent of its Black population over the last 10 years, she said Tuesday. She referenced a recent New York Times report that noted the housing shortage and increased cost of living as key reasons.

“Black people have really created our district. I would say the culture there that’s so rich was established in [large] part due to Black and brown families that have been there for a very very long time. And we want to make sure those folks don’t feel like they need to get out because they simply can’t afford to stay there,” Hudson said in a recent interview with Spectrum News.

Hudson’s agenda for Black New Yorkers aims to improve the lives of Black New Yorkers through increased housing, addressing health disparities, education reform and demilitarizing and defunding law enforcement in favor of community-based solutions to violent crime.

Background

Hudson was elected in 2021, entering her tenure during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of “racial reckoning,” and an economic recession, she said.

She noted some other key accomplishments for her district over the last year including the installation of 50 new trash cans, delivering thousands of COVID tests and PPE to community organizations, donation drives for asylum seekers, protecting abortion access, organizing block parties and community events and

“The last year has shown me directly where government fails, and it has also shown me that in this historic council especially, there is a will to finally deliver in those in our communities that have been overlooked and overshadowed,” Hudson said.


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