OuR Platform
Advancing the Affordability Agenda
Affordability is the defining issue facing New York. The people who keep this city running—the teachers, social workers, nurses, firefighters, public defenders—must be able to afford to live in it. 50 percent of working-age New Yorkers struggle to afford basic needs, including housing, food, and transportation. Households in all five boroughs now need at least $100,000 annually just to cover essentials.
As your Assemblymember, Eli will be a champion for working New Yorkers in Albany, fighting to advance a bold affordability agenda that delivers real relief to families, seniors, and young people.
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New Yorkers annually spend $14 billion collectively on childcare, with the average New Yorker spending over $22,000/year per child. Eli will be a relentless advocate for Universal Childcare. You can read more about his childcare platform and his plan for schools here.
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Healthcare is a human right, and healthcare costs are a major source of financial insecurity. Eli will champion the New York Health Act, which would create a system of universal healthcare in New York. You can read his full healthcare platform here.
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New York renters spend 50 percent of their median monthly household income on housing-related costs, which is the highest in the nation. New Yorkers are overburdened by housing costs, making it difficult to meet basic needs like food and healthcare. Eli will fight to ensure that housing is a human right and that everyone can live in safe, dignified housing. You can read his full housing platform here.
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Lowering Grocery Costs: Consolidation and price discrimination in the grocery supply chain drive up food costs. As grocery prices continue to rise, families are being forced to make impossible choices. Eli will champion the Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness Act, which prevents price gouging and discriminatory pricing practices for smaller grocers, aimed at allowing independent grocery stores to offer lower prices.
Transit Affordability: Eli supports expanding eligibility for the Fair Fares program and automatically enrolling people who are already eligible through programs like SNAP. Eli will also work to increase public outreach about Fair Fares, as many low-income New Yorkers are not aware that the program even exists.
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Eli will support the Invest in Our New York package, which will raise taxes on corporations and the wealthiest 1% in order to pay for the affordability agenda.
Campaign Finance Reform
Outside money in local campaigns poses a profound problem for our democracy. In this Assembly race alone, two Super PACs have spent money to smear both Eli and his opponent. Eli has unequivocally denounced this spending, and as an Assemblymember, will fight for reforms that get “dark money” out of politics. While Citizens United poses a barrier to corporate spending in elections, there are creative measures that New York can take to limit its influence.
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In Nebraska, political contributions are banned for businesses and corporations. Eli will fight for similar measures in New York that remove and prohibit political activity by corporations.
New York City imposes lower contribution limits for registered lobbyists and individuals doing business with the City. Eli supports implementing this at the state level.
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Over the last few years, New York City has implemented disclosure requirements aimed at increasing transparency about the corporations and wealthy individuals who spend their resources flooding our mailboxes and airwaves to influence the outcome of elections. Eli will champion similar measures at the state level, for example, requiring Independent Expenditures (Super PACs) to disclose their top three donors on ads.
Eli will advocate for legislation requiring the disclosure of a contributor’s employer in campaign finance reports.
Combating Hate
Our diversity is our strength. But the underpinnings of our multiracial, multicultural, multifaith democracy are under attack. Our community is a proud home to Jewish New Yorkers like myself, Muslims, Latinos, Black people, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of every race and background.
Today, incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, transphobia, and the use of hateful rhetoric of all types are increasing, and continue to be fueled by a national political climate that normalizes and emboldens hate. The White House brazenly flaunts open ties with neo-Nazis and incites violence. In NYC, between 2019 and 2023, hate crime incidents grew by almost 60 percent.
As your Assemblyman, Eli will fight to ensure that everyone, regardless of religion, race, immigration status, gender identity, or who they love, can live openly and safely in our community. We must reject the cynical politics of division and fear, and instead be guided by love, care for our neighbors, and a deep belief in people and the collective power of our solidarity.
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Eli supports expanding anti-bias and culturally responsive curricula in classrooms, centering the voices of marginalized student groups, fostering critical thinking skills, teaching diverse histories, and empowering students to advocate for social justice. One of the most critical steps towards dismantling antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, and other tools of division is building and encouraging mutual understanding, empathy, and community. Schools are a powerful place for these values to be taught and practiced.
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Eli’s office will maintain a robust constituent services team, ready to support victims of hate-based violence and prejudice. In over a decade as a public defender, Eli has protected people facing threats to their civil liberties, immigration status, and safety. He is uniquely qualified to handle constituent cases and connect individuals to legal resources, advocacy organizations, and counseling services, ensuring they receive the support they need.
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Eli will be a champion for the Mayor’s Department of Community Safety, which proposes an increase in funding for hate crime prevention programs by 800 percent.
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Eli will work to foster dialogue among interfaith groups, centering the voices of a diverse coalition of faith leaders, advocates, and community members. He will actively seek their input in his advocacy and legislative work. Eli will also identify culturally inclusive resources and proactive responses to acts of hate, rooted in education, mutual respect, and empathy.
Community Safety & Justice
For his entire career, Eli has worked on the front lines of our justice system as a public defender and policy advocate, fighting for people and communities. Being a public defender means showing up for people, even when the odds are against them. Eli has stood beside thousands of New Yorkers at some of the most difficult moments of their lives, defending their rights and ensuring they are treated with dignity.
Having represented people in criminal court for more than a decade, Eli has seen firsthand the deep inequities baked into our system—and the human cost of policies that rely too heavily on incarceration. Study after study shows that incarceration is one of the most expensive and least effective responses to crime. True safety is created by investing in stability; in housing, education, healthcare, and good jobs.
Building a system of community safety rooted in care rather than punishment is both a moral challenge and a practical one. We can build safer communities while advancing justice, but only if we commit to policies rooted in care, accountability, and shared responsibility for one another.
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Youth Justice Innovation Fund: Since Raise the Age went into effect in 2019, there has been a significant decline in youth arrests across the state, despite New York’s failure to adequately fund its implementation. Eli supports establishing the Youth Justice Innovation Fund, which would ensure that $50M of the $250M appropriated every year for Raise the Age goes directly to community-based youth services providers.
#Right2RemainSilent: Eli will champion the #Right2RemainSilent Act, which would ensure that children can consult with a lawyer before being interrogated by the police. Young people are particularly vulnerable to coercive interrogation techniques and are 3 times more likely to falsely confess than adults.
Youth Justice & Opportunities Act: Eli supports this legislation that would expand the protections of Youthful Offender status and create similar protections for youth ages 19 through 25 to reflect our evolving understanding of brain science and the maturation of adolescents' brains. This policy would provide pathways for young adults to participate in programs and services instead of criminal sanctions and incarceration.
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Housing as Public Safety: Housing instability has a direct link to violence. A recent study from the University of Chicago found that every 1 percent increase in eviction rate in a census tract was associated with 2.66 additional shootings. Eli believes housing creates stability and will be a champion of combating homelessness and protecting tenants. You can read his full housing platform here.
Mental Healthcare: For years, Eli has been a champion of the Treatment Court Expansion Act, which would expand access to mental health and substance use treatment as an alternative to incarceration. You can read his full plan to increase funding and access to mental healthcare here.
Gun Violence Prevention: Eli will fight for stricter regulations on gun manufacturers and other restrictions to limit their accessibility.
Lighting: Eli will work to ensure that public spaces, such as parks and transit hubs, are adequately lit.
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Communities Not Cages: Eli was a founding member and architect of the Communities Not Cages campaign aimed at changing New York’s draconian sentencing laws and ending mass incarceration. The package would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, allow people to apply for a resentencing hearing after they have served 10 years or half of their sentence, and strengthen “good time” and “merit time” laws to increase opportunities for early release from prison for, among other things, engaging in educational and vocational programs.
Parole Reform: Eli will champion Elder Parole and Fair & Timely parole reform legislation to make our parole system fairer and to ensure that elderly people who have served excessive sentences have a chance to return to the community.
Improving Prison Conditions: Eli will fight to ensure that human rights are respected in prisons, whether that means formally abolishing forced labor in prisons and establishing an hourly wage for incarcerated workers, or ensuring humane and restorative visitation policies.
Reentry and Reintegration: People returning to their communities after years of social and economic exclusion need support. Eli will champion policies that support formerly incarcerated individuals’ reintegration into society, whether through job programs or other supports.
Supporting Parents and Children Through Family Court Reform: Eli will lead efforts to support families and parents who are struggling. This includes informed consent of pregnant individuals and Family Miranda Rights. Families must be provided opportunities to thrive, not punishment and separation.
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Eli will be a leader in preventing hate violence and expanding resources for those working to combat it. You can read Eli’s full platform on Combating Hate here.
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Eli will be a strong supporter of the Mayor’s proposal to create a Department of Community Safety. He will fight for Albany to provide the necessary investment and resources. We must stop relying on law enforcement as default mental health first-responders. This department will take a public health approach to safety, hoping to prevent violence before it happens.
Defending New York & Our Immigrant Communities
We are at a crucial juncture in the history of our nation. Our democracy is facing unprecedented challenges. The threats from the federal government are real and formidable. As President Trump increasingly undermines constitutional protections, targets immigrant communities, and attacks the institutions that undergird our democracy and keep people safe, New York must be forceful and unapologetic in its defense of basic democratic values and human decency.
In the 25 years since its creation, ICE has become a violent, abusive, rogue agency. ICE must be abolished. In the meantime, New York must stand strong against ICE and Border Patrol “missions” that terrorize communities and tear families apart.
Eli knows that the 1st Amendment right to free speech and the 4th Amendment right to be free of unreasonable and warrantless searches and seizures are not self-enforcing. They require constant vigilance, especially now.
This is a moment that demands experienced defenders.
For more than a decade, Eli has been standing up to bullies and abuses of power as a public defender in Bronx Criminal Court. Eli has represented clients who are facing deportation, stood up to ICE at 26 Federal Plaza, and defended constitutional rights when they were under threat. Eli is deeply familiar with how federal overreach plays out in people’s lives—and how to fight back.
Just as importantly, Eli is part of New York’s vast public-interest legal community—networks of attorneys and advocates who show up when things get hard. As an Assemblymember, Eli will help marshal these resources, ensure communities know their rights, and make critical information accessible when it matters most.
Now is not the time to play games. New York must be a strong line of defense. As Assemblymember for the 69th District, Eli will take concrete action to protect our neighbors and our democracy. Eli is uniquely prepared for what this moment requires.
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New York for All: Eli will champion this legislation that cements New York’s status as a sanctuary state. We will not allow its resources to be commandeered in the attacks on immigrant New Yorkers from the federal government, which will only get more aggressive and brazen in the months and years to come.
Right to Counsel: Eli supports codifying a statewide right to counsel in immigration proceedings in New York State. As a public defender, Eli has seen how having appointed counsel has a profound impact on immigration cases. He will champion the Campaign for Access, Representation, and Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families, which has called for funding immigration legal services, and passing the Access to Representation Act and the Building Up Immigrant Legal Defense (BUILD) Act.
Dignity Not Detention: Eli supports this legislation, which prohibits New York from entering into contracts with ICE to build and operate immigration detention centers and requires the termination of existing ones.
Ending Abusive Practices: Eli will support the Mandating End of Lawless Tactics (MELT) Act, which prohibits immigration authorities from wearing masks or disguises. Eli will also continue to advance Assemblymember Lasher’s legislation to allow New Yorkers to sue federal officers who violate constitutional rights.
Protecting Children and Schools: Eli will ensure that non-citizens have full access to public education and make New York a national leader in protecting the right to equal access to education. Eli also supports prohibiting immigration enforcement on school grounds without a judicial warrant.
Clemency and Pardons: Many longtime New Yorkers face deportation due to old criminal convictions. Eli will push for greater transparency and fairness in the clemency and pardon process.
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Defending State Resources: Eli will champion the Reciprocal Enforcement of Claims on Unpaid or Reduced State Entitlements (RECOURSE) Act, introduced by Assemblymember Lasher, to allow New York to withhold payments to the federal government if they unlawfully block funds owed to the state.
Protecting the Rights of All People: Eli will ensure that, in the face of federal threats, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and more are protected in New York. He will fight for the New York Civil Rights Act, to ensure a legal right of action if one’s rights are violated.
Protecting Essential Benefits: Eli will fight against federal threats to SNAP, healthcare funding, vaccine safety, and other programs that keep New Yorkers safe and healthy. For example, Eli will champion the SNAP for All Act to ensure those excluded from SNAP due to citizenship status receive the food benefits they need. As federal support erodes, New York’s budget must prioritize healthcare, public health, housing stability, and basic services that save lives and protect dignity.
Ensuring New York Receives Fair and Equal Representation: After New York lost a congressional seat in the 2020 census, after coming up 89 people short, Eli will ensure that the 2030 census is accurate and inclusive. Eli will support community-based organizations that conduct census count outreach and will fight for a dedicated Office of Census Counts. Eli also supports efforts to allow New York to redraw our congressional districts mid-decade if another state does the same.
Education & Schools
Eli is a product of public schools and is committed to making sure our schools are worthy of our children. High-quality, accessible education is an equalizer, and our public schools are key to ensuring every New Yorker has what they need to thrive.
New York City schools are inadequately and unfairly funded, leaving them without the resources and supports they need to fulfill their promise to students and families. Too often, New York City students face barriers to educational growth and success based on class, race, disability, language access, immigration status, and involvement in the child welfare, juvenile, or criminal legal systems. Eli will fight to keep our public schools public and accountable to the community. He will also ensure that our teachers are fairly compensated and have the resources they need to support every child holistically.
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Fixing the Foundation Aid Formula: The Foundation Aid Formula is how the State Department of Education distributes its funding to schools. However, it relies on old data that fails to reflect real costs, student needs, and regional differences. Eli supports modernizing the formula to accurately reflect the challenges schools across the state are facing.
Opposing Unchecked Charter School Growth: Eli will ensure that state aid for privately run charter schools is not expanded.
Community Schools: Eli will champion the expansion of community schools, especially those that provide wrap-around services for students and their families.
Access to Education: Eli will support legislation to guarantee access to free public education for all students, regardless of immigration status.
Green Schools: Eli will ensure that school construction prioritizes environmental standards. You can read his full platform to fight climate change here.
A Curriculum for All: Eli supports expanding anti-hate and culturally responsive curricula that ensure that diverse histories and cultures are taught in classrooms. You can read his full plan for Combating Hate here.
Mayoral Control: Eli believes we should shift away from top-down mandates and instead center increased input from families, students, teachers, and the community.
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A Fair Contract for Teachers: Eli supports the collective bargaining rights of teachers and will fight to ensure they receive fair pay, pension, and benefits, and an adequate amount of parental and family leave. This includes promoting the Fix Tier 6 campaign.
Addressing Chronic Absenteeism: Teachers cannot do their jobs if students are not in the classroom. Reducing absenteeism requires tackling child poverty, improving housing stability, and expanding access to mental health and wrap-around services.
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New Deal for Higher Education: Eli will champion the New Deal for CUNY. He will fight to make CUNY tuition free, increase baseline operating aid for SUNY, CUNY, and community colleges, and expand their student supports like mental health counseling, food access, and academic advising.
Protecting Academic Workers: Eli supports the right of academic workers to organize and bargain collectively, to ensure they receive fair wages and benefits.
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Universal Childcare: New Yorkers annually spend $14 billion collectively on childcare, with the average New Yorker spending over $22,000/year per child. Eli will champion the Universal Child Care Act to ensure that every family has access to early childcare.
Invest in the Childcare Workforce: Eli supports further investment in the childcare workforce, including an increase in funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).
Fighting for the West Side
Eli loves the West Side because it represents a true cross-section of the city. People from all walks of life come here and form a shared sense of community, whether through block associations, political clubs, or local institutions. It is also one of the most democratically engaged neighborhoods in the entire country. It allows this community to be a real bulwark of progressive values against the Trump administration.
Eli’s goal is to keep the West Side livable, vibrant, and accessible for everyone who calls it home. That means confronting the scourge of empty storefronts, removing the scaffolding that litters our sidewalks, and making us all feel safe and welcome on our streets.
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Local businesses are the heart of our community. Yet too many are being pushed out by rising rents. According to the West Side Rag, there are 58 empty storefronts on Broadway between 80th and 110th Street, a clear sign of a broken commercial rent system.
Empty Storefronts: Aspects of the law incentivize landlords to keep commercial storefronts empty in certain cases. Eli will fight to rebalance the scales by removing these incentives, imposing a vacancy tax, and eliminating tax exemptions for storefronts that remain unoccupied for long periods of time.
Direct Support: Eli will protect small businesses from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices and will fight for cutting fines and fees, streamlining permitting, and increasing funding for small business support. He will champion the New York City Small Business Rent Stabilization Act to create a commercial rent guidelines board to stabilize rent.
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Our community loves our parks. However, Parks are suffering from chronic underfunding and massive capital repair backlog. Eli will be a champion for supporting our parks.
Funding Our Parks: Eli will fight for increased investment from the state into New York City’s parks. Between 2017 and 2022, New York City parks-related projects received $8.3 million from the Regional Economic Development Council. In comparison, Long Island’s parks and open spaces received $10.6 million during the same time period.
Parks Construction Authority: Eli supports exploring the establishment of a NYC Parks Construction Authority. The creation of this authority would reduce red tape, allocating funding for maintenance and operating costs.
Supporting Nonprofits and Volunteers: Many dedicated nonprofit and volunteer organizations are eager to support our parks. Eli will partner with them, ensure they receive the necessary resources, and join their volunteer efforts.
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Scaffolding has become one of the most common quality-of-life complaints in our district.
Incentives: Eli will continue Assemblymember Lasher’s efforts to incentivize buildings to remove scaffolding as quickly as possible.
Penalties and Right of Action: Eli supports establishing penalties and a right of action when landlords illegally maintain scaffolding.
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Columbia University is a neighborhood institution, and it brings real benefits to the community. But it must also be a friendly neighbor.
Since October 2023, Columbia’s 36-acre campus has been closed to the public, depriving families, children, and neighbors of vital open space. At the same time, Columbia saves approximately $182 million annually in tax breaks, which is a tax break that is larger than the combined tax deals for Citi Field and Madison Square Garden.
Leveraging Tax Breaks: Eli supports efforts to leverage state tax benefits to bring Columbia to the table and ensure meaningful engagement with the surrounding community. This includes opening the gates to its campus.
Community Benefits: Columbia must adhere to the West Harlem Community Benefits Agreement, and Eli will be a strong enforcer of it. Eli will also push for Columbia to meaningfully contribute to the community, including measures to improve infrastructure, accessibility, and affordability, like the elevator at the 125th Street subway station.
Keeping Students Safe from ICE: Recent events have led the community to question why it is easier for federal authorities to access Columbia than neighborhood members. Columbia must not cooperate with ICE or DHS, and all their security guards and staff must be fully trained on correct procedure if these agents appear.
Housing: Columbia is the largest private landowner in NYC, and continues to expand. Eli will fight for Columbia to preserve rent-regulated apartments that it owns for non-affiliated community members and require units in new housing developments to be affordable to low- and moderate-income families.
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The proliferation of e-bikes on our streets have increased convenience and given local businesses a lifeline, while at the same time made our streets and sidewalks feel chaotic and less safe. When done right, they are safer and more climate-friendly than cars. However, it is clear that our community believes them to be dangerous. A recent survey from Assemblymember Micah Lasher found that 33% of constituent complaints were related to e-bikes.
We need smarter regulation that improves safety without discouraging biking or criminalizing workers.
Hold Delivery Apps Accountable: Eli supports measures to require delivery apps to provide safety gear and training to delivery workers. Eli supports regulating app algorithms that pressure workers to speed or accept unsafe deliveries, and enforcing punishments on the apps for safety violations.
End Sale of Dangerous E-Bikes: Eli supports increasing enforcement against the sale of illegal and out-of-class e-bikes and mopeds. Eli also supports efforts to reclassify Class 3 e-bikes as mopeds.
Build Safer Infrastructure: Eli will advocate for the expansion of infrastructure that makes biking safer. Protected bike lanes will help keep cyclists off sidewalks. Measures like bike-specific signals and universal daylighting will improve overall safety.
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HealthCare
73% of New Yorkers consider the cost of healthcare a top concern. Over 1 million New Yorkers remain uninsured, and hundreds of thousands more are underinsured and delay or avoid care due to costs. Eli knows that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. He is committed to expanding coverage, making healthcare more affordable, and protecting patients’ rights. Eli will also ensure that everyone has access to quality mental healthcare and will protect reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.
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Universal Healthcare: Eli will champion the New York Health Act to establish a universal single-payer system. Doing so would cover all New Yorkers and expand coverage to include dental, mental health, reproductive care, and more. This would also allow patients to choose their providers without restrictive networks and would reduce costs for families and businesses.
Coverage for All: Eli supports legislation that would expand the Essential Plan to income-eligible New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status.
Restoring Article 6 Funding: Through Article 6 of the Public Health Law, local health departments receive state reimbursement for core public health services. However, in 2019, Governor Cuomo cut the reimbursement rate only for New York City, leading to $90 million annually being lost for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Eli will fight to restore New York City’s funding.
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Equal Care for All: Eli will fight to ensure equal care regardless of ability to pay. He will also champion efforts that require hospitals to provide stabilizing care to all patients experiencing medical emergencies and support legislation that outpatient healthcare services do not cost more at hospitals than clinics.
Protecting Privacy: Eli will work to restrict the misuse of personal health data and grant individuals control over sensitive information in their electronic health records.
Ending Medical Debt: Eli will advocate for policies that look to end medical debt, such as prohibiting state-operated hospitals from suing patients for medical debt.
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Community-Based Mental Health Care: 34 percent of New Yorkers with a diagnosed mental illness reported having an unmet need for mental health treatment. Eli will fight for investment and expansion in community-based mental health care programs, such as Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), Forensic Assertive Community Treatments (FACT), Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT) and Sheltered Partnered Assertive Community Treatment (SPACT).
Invest in Mental Healthcare: In the midst of federal cuts, the state must ensure that mental health services receive the funding they need. Eli will be a staunch advocate for further investments in mental healthcare.
Constituent Services: Eli’s office will have a robust constituent services team that will provide and inform New Yorkers of the mental health resources available to them.
Treating Substance Abuse: Eli supports authorizing and expanding Overdose Prevention Centers statewide and other outreach services. Access to naloxone, drug checking, and medication-assisted treatment must also be increased.
Family-Based Therapy: Family-based therapy programs have proven to reduce violence. Eli will strongly advocate for their expansion.
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Protecting Abortion Access: Eli will work to guarantee public funding for abortion care for all New Yorkers, regardless of income or immigration status. He will also fight to require all insurers in New York to cover abortion care and to support patients traveling from states with abortion bans, such as advocating for stronger shield laws.
Expanding Reproductive Programs: Eli will champion efforts to expand abortion provider training, along with doula and midwife programs. This includes pushing to allow Certified Professional Midwives to practice and be reimbursed by health insurance.
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Guaranteed Coverage: Eli will champion legislation to guarantee Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care.
Protecting Individuals: Eli will be a strong fighter for policies that prevent discrimination by insurers and providers and protect sensitive health data, especially those that prevent cooperation with federal efforts to criminalize care.
Mental Health: Eli will work to expand mental health services and crisis response programs, especially for the LGBTQ+ community.
Housing
Housing is a fundamental human right. But for too many, New York City’s housing is becoming unaffordable. Housing costs are rising more than in other major cities, and in February 2025, Manhattan’s median rent was at a record high. Working families are spending an outsized percentage of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. Middle-class and working families are leaving New York City at an alarming rate as the city becomes more unaffordable for all but the ultra-wealthy. The housing crisis, however, is not new. For years, we have seen luxury units sit empty as rents rise and small businesses and local institutions are squeezed out. At the same time, a critical shortage of available units continues to push the cost of housing further out of reach for working families and longtime residents.
With nearly 92,000 New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, New York State has the highest rate of homelessness in the country. In New York City, the overwhelming majority of individuals in shelters are families with children. We need a housing plan that works for everyone—renters and owners alike—and gives every family the ability to live and thrive in our community. And we need comprehensive solutions to chronic homelessness in New York that center on compassion and integrated mental health support rather than law enforcement.
As a renter and a legal services attorney who has represented individuals facing eviction, Eli is knowledgeable about the housing landscape. He will be able to easily connect constituents with the necessary resources and services.
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Statewide Right to Counsel: Eli will champion a statewide right to counsel in eviction proceedings. 84% of tenants who had counsel were not evicted, and Eli has seen firsthand how having a lawyer in housing court changes the balance of power.
Supporting NYCHA: It is incredibly important for the State to further invest in NYCHA for repairs and maintenance in light of the federal government’s attack on the social safety net. Many NYCHA buildings are already experiencing inhumane conditions, and we cannot allow them to fall further into disrepair. Tenants need to have a direct say in the future of their buildings–privatization should not be imposed upon communities.
SCRIE and DRIE: The Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) must ensure that people who benefit from these programs do not have to spend more than ⅓ of their household income on rent. Eli also supports efforts to increase the maximum income threshold to $75,000/year and to adjust it to inflation in the coming years.
Strengthening Eviction Protections: New York State must enact the strongest possible version of Good Cause Eviction. Loopholes like the LLC Loophole or exclusions for small buildings must be closed.
Expanding Rental Assistance and Vouchers: The Housing Access Voucher Program should be fully established statewide. Existing voucher programs, such as the Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (FHEPS), must be updated to reflect the rising cost-of-living in this city, especially for families with children and people with disabilities.
Transparency and Accountability: Eli supports creating a statewide rental registry in an effort to empower tenants and improve enforcement of landlord violations. In addition, Eli will be a leader in ensuring that housing code is enforced, fines are collected, and that fines for hazardous violations are substantially increased.
Rent Stabilization: Eli supports allowing municipalities to declare housing emergencies and adopt rent protections.
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase: Eli will champion efforts to give tenants the right of first refusal when their building is sold.
Lifting Up Our LGBTQ+ Elders: LGBTQ+ elders in our community face particular housing challenges as they get older as a result of experiencing decades of legal discrimination. Our LGBTQ+ elders need stable housing and related support that is not only affordable, but inclusive and culturally-competent. Eli will support organizations like SAGE that support LGBTQ+ elders.
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Supporting NYC’s Shelters: New York State must increase its contribution to New York City’s shelter system. In 2007, the State contributed 47% to the shelter system, but in Fiscal Year 2024, it only contributed 6%.
A Holistic View: Solutions to End Homelessness Program (STEHP), the New York State Supportive Housing Program (NYSSHP), and other programs that intervene at the earliest opportunity during a person’s homelessness must be strengthened.
Landlord Education: Eli supports initiatives to educate landlords about housing vouchers, making clear that holders are not dangerous
Supportive and Licensed Housing: Eli will push to expand and adequately fund supportive and licensed housing so that everyone can have a roof over their heads and can receive the treatment and support they need. This includes allowing mental health courts to direct people into these units.
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New York State Social Housing Development Authority (SHDA): Eli will support efforts to create the SHDA, which would allow for the State to efficiently build, acquire, and renovate permanently affordable housing for public and community ownership. More than 25% of homes owned by the SHDA would be affordable to very-low and no-income households.
Build More Housing: New York needs more affordable housing to respond to our years-long housing crisis. Encouraging the development of more affordable housing, however, does not mean giving real estate developers a blank check or ignoring community input. Eli will work to provide affordable housing incentives that are responsive to community concerns and hold developers accountable for creating homes that are actually affordable for working families.
Faith-Based Affordable Housing: Eli supports initiatives that allow faith-based institutions to build housing on their land with affordability mandates.
Infrastructure & Environmental Justice
Respect and appreciation for the natural world are in Eli’s DNA: His father, Brad Northrup, was a conservationist and worked for the Nature Conservancy for almost 40 years. He cared deeply about the environment and service to others, values he instilled onto Eli from a young age. The causes Eli’s father fought for his entire life—environmental conservation, combating climate change, and ensuring that our neighborhoods, buildings, parks, and other public spaces and shared resources are protected and preserved—are close to his heart and will be a priority as a member of the Assembly.
In 2019, New York passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the most ambitious climate law in the country. It mandated an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and at least 35% of climate and energy investments to benefit environmental justice communities. New York must meet these obligations.
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Defending the CLCPA: Eli will strongly oppose any efforts to weaken, delay, or roll back the CLCPA, including regulating the Department of Environmental Conservation to ensure compliance with statutory targets.
Supporting the Environmental Protection Fund: Eli will fight for increased investment into the Environmental Protection Fund, especially for bolstering the workforce of environmental agencies.
Green Schools: Eli will champion efforts to make our schools green, whether it means transitioning to renewable energy sources, building rooftop solar, or removing asphalt schoolyards. Eli will also fight to lift state spending limits for green initiatives in school construction.
Data Centers Moratorium: Eli supports legislation that would issue a moratorium on new data centers in New York. Data centers further exacerbate the climate crisis with their high usage of energy and water.
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Transitioning to Renewable Energy: Eli will fight to enhance our energy infrastructure to meet the state’s renewable energy goals, including increasing the state’s offshore wind production and supporting the expansion and strengthening of New York’s energy transmission grid.
NY HEAT Act: Eli will champion the New York Home Energy Affordable Transition (HEAT) Act, which looks to make energy more affordable while advancing the transition to renewable energy.
Cap and Invest: Eli supports adopting a statewide cap and invest program to generate funding for the transition away from fossil fuels.
Encouraging Solar: Solar power should not be a luxury good. Eli will fight to expand public financing, technical support programs, and New York State’s Residential Solar Tax Credit. He will support legislation that accelerates rooftop and community solar, and explore the viability of portable and plug-in solar and other efforts to make solar more affordable and accessible.
Opposing New Fossil Fuels: Eli will fight against new fossil fuel infrastructure of any kind and will work to disprove misinformation from the fossil fuel industry.
Opposing Nuclear Expansion: Nuclear energy has proved to be too slow to deploy, too expensive, and too dangerous, as it produces toxic radioactive waste. Climate investments should prioritize truly renewable technologies.
Public Utilities: Eli will fight to crack down on Con Edison’s repeated rate hikes. He will also support efforts to create a pilot public utilities authority in the Hudson Valley.
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Parks and public spaces are essential for climate resilience. Eli supports making public spaces more resilient to climate threats by investing in shade structures, plants, and modern infrastructure like stormwater management. You can read Eli’s full parks platform here.
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MTA Investment and Accountability: Eli will work to ensure that the State uses its oversight powers in a more effective manner, while looking to improve safety infrastructure, deliver accessible transit, and provide more frequent service.
Accessibility: Eli will ensure that the MTA adheres to the mandate that 95% of non-compliant stations are made accessible by 2055. He will also support programs that make navigating the subway more accessible for blind and deaf people and non-English speakers.
Congestion Pricing: Eli will be a staunch defender of New York City’s congestion pricing program. Studies have already shown that the program is successfully decreasing traffic congestion and raising money to be invested in the MTA.
Fast and Free Buses: Eli will be an ally and partner in Albany for the City’s push to implement fast and free buses. This includes supporting the construction of more protected bus lanes, implementing all-door boarding, and installing shelters and countdown clocks at every stop.
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Universal Daylighting: Eli will champion the implementation of universal daylighting, which is the removal of visual obstructions around intersections. Currently, New York City is exempt from a state law that mandates daylighting. Eli will support legislation to change that.
Protected Bus and Bike Lanes: Eli will be a strong advocate for more protected bus and bike lanes in the city. Protected bike lanes have shown to provide a 34% risk reduction.
Protecting Workers
The rising cost of living has left too many working people one unexpected expense away from a crisis. Working families make New York run—and building an economy that truly works for them means ensuring workplace dignity, fair pay, and real economic security. That includes strong worker protections, meaningful enforcement of labor laws, and respect for the role that organized labor plays in giving workers a voice. Our goal should be an economy and workforce that allows people to live in the city they love—and not just get by, but thrive.
Eli is a former member of UAW ALAA 2325, and was part of the Bronx Defenders’ effort to unionize in 2020. He has seen firsthand the power of unions and the necessity of organizing, but knows the challenges that come along with it. Eli will be a champion for unions in Albany.
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$30/hour by 2030: Eli will fight for a minimum wage of $30/hour by 2030. MIT’s Living Wage Calculator shows that a living wage for any individual in Manhattan is at least $38/hour.
Ending Tipped Minimum Wage: Eli will champion the One Fair Wage bill to phase out the tipped minimum wage, moving towards a single, fair wage for all workers.
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Increasing TDI Benefits: Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) benefits have been frozen at $170/week since 1989. Eli will support efforts to increase TDI to more accurately reflect present costs.
The Unemployment Bridge Program: Eli will champion legislation that provides wage replacement for workers excluded from traditional unemployment benefits, such as freelancers or formerly incarcerated workers.
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Eli will champion the Empowering People in Rights Enforcement Worker Protection (EMPIRE) Act, which will allow private individuals to bring whistleblower lawsuits against employers for violations of labor law on behalf of the State.
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Protecting Union Organizing: Eli will publicly support union organizing drives, contract campaigns, and strikes. He will actively oppose efforts to restrict collective bargaining rights, union dues collection, or automatic dues deduction and will champion efforts to prohibit state and local funds from being used to oppose organizing drives.
Requiring Neutrality: Eli supports efforts to require state and local contractors to remain neutral during union organizing and to respect free and fair elections.
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Regulating AI: Eli will work to ensure that the deployment of Artificial Intelligence does not drive job degradation or displacement, and will encourage the negotiation of AI use with unions. He will also support creative workers and will hold companies accountable for their software’s output.
Preventing Discrimination: Eli will explore methods to ensure that algorithmic hiring and management systems do not perpetuate discrimination.
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Eli will fight for strong labor standards for delivery workers to ensure that they don’t take unsafe risks. Delivery apps should be prohibited from banning or suspending workers without cause, and Eli will fight for clear geographic and time-based delivery standards. You can read Eli’s full plan on making e-bikes safe here.