BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Picture it: January 1, 2021. As New York City’s first COVID-era election cycle unfolds, online forums replace brick and mortar gatherings as the candidate vetting venue of choice. The format proves popular, with tenant organizations and block associations holding their own candidate forums alongside more traditional presenters such as political clubs. Flash forward one year and NYC has a new mayor, comptroller, Manhattan District Attorney, and District 3 City Councilmember—all charged with setting a course to guide the city through the post-pandemic era many thought we’d be in by now.

But as the Omicron variant demonstrated, life is full of game-changing twists—such as the one that came via a December 13, 2021 press release noting New York State Assemblymember Richard Gottfried will not seek reelection. The 2022 ballot was suddenly the first one in over five decades without Gottfried as a choice for the NYC Assembly District 75 seat. Those who would succeed him were quick to react, with several announcing their intent in little more than 24 hours after Gottfried’s announcement. The current crop of candidates is comprised of five-year Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) member Chris LeBron, current CB4 member and former CB4 Chair Lowell Kern, Manhattan Community Board 5 (CB5) member Layla Law-Gisiko, former leader of the Reimagine New York Commission’s support for workforce and small businessess Harrison Marks, Penn South Co-Op President Ambur Nicosia, and community organizer Tony Simone. (Campaigns have been suspended by former NYC Council staffer Louis Holden-Brown and Carl Wilson, formally NYC Council Speaker/District 3 rep Corey Johnson’s liaison to CB4.)

Two political clubs have already presented online opportunities to learn about the candidates. First up was Jan. 27’s Zoom-held forum sponsored by the Hell’s Kitchen Democrats (HKDems), available to view by clicking here. A Feb. 2 forum held by the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club can be viewed by clicking here. Chelsea Community News began our own coverage by sending an identical Q&A form to all candidates—which brings us to the below exchange with Harrison Marks.

Scott Stiffler, for Chelsea Community News (CCNews): Why do you want the job, and what tone will you set to align yourself with, and/or set yourself apart, from your predecessor?

Harrison Marks (Harrison): I started my career working in the Obama administration, where I saw what it was like to be part of a team looking for new ways to make government work for people. Then, after COVID hit, I stepped up to run the Reimagine New York Commission’s efforts to support our state’s workforce and small businesses in the wake of the pandemic.

I’ve spent countless hours focused on COVID’s impact and how we can best move forward. Even still, I felt differently when I began walking around Chelsea with my baby in a stroller. After my son Henry was born this past summer, the vacant storefronts seemed to multiply, the trash seemed to collect, and the streets seemed to empty out. And I saw how the urgent calls from my neighbors for help and change often went unanswered.

At the same time as we face enormous challenges, my work on the Reimagine New York Commission showed me that we also have an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine a brighter future. And in the midst of these challenges and opportunities, I realized I could, and needed to, do more to help solve problems in this community—and that’s why I want to support the community as our representative in the Assembly.

Assemblymember Gottfried started his public service career as a student in law school, and has had an enormous impact on our state and neighborhood. As a relatively recent law school graduate myself, I hope to continue his legacy—collaborating with others, getting into the weeds on policy issues, really listening to the community, and working to create real change for people living in this district.

CCNews: What currently enacted Assembly legislation can be strengthened or used in a different manner to further benefit the people you’re running to represent?

Harrison: The biggest challenge facing our neighborhood is affordability and housing. We must prioritize affordable housing for working people with low and moderate incomes. Given the significance of our affordable housing crisis, the first piece of Assembly legislation that I would seek to strengthen is the Housing Our Neighbors with Dignity Act. We should quickly provide further financing for this program that authorizes the State to buy distressed commercial properties and repurpose them for residential use—the rent bills aren’t waiting, so neither can the Assembly.

CCNews: During last year’s primary races, we asked candidates what they’d do in January 2022, to create a strong “post-pandemic” NYC. Our assessment was too optimistic. How do you regard the pandemic as it currently stands, what is required before we can declare ourselves in a “post-pandemic” period, and what should we be doing now, at the state level, to facilitate that?

Harrison: As long as thousands of New Yorkers remain hospitalized from COVID-19 or its variants, the state must continue to focus on solving a public health crisis. We need to make sure that testing is accessible and equitable across the city, and we must continue to encourage and enable people to get vaccinated and boosted.

While I believe that the public health crisis will become less acute over time, it’s increasingly clear that there isn’t going to be one discrete moment when the pandemic ends. At some point, we as a society will need to make a decision as to when we move beyond this pandemic era; the state—under the guidance of public health experts—needs to play a strong role in facilitating that decision. The costs of allowing the pandemic era to linger on indefinitely—especially to our children and working parents—are too high.

Finally, I believe it is critical that the state—right now—begins work to facilitate a post-pandemic period that is different from what “normal” was in 2019. “Normal” involved astronomical rents, unacceptable inequalities, and opportunities that were far too limited. Due to the pandemic, many of the old equilibriums are currently up-in-the-air, and the state should be playing a role in determining how things settle going forward to even the playing field for people in our community.

CCNews: The time machine has been invented. Once you’ve played the stock market, it’s time to visit your younger self. What, if any, actions do you tell yourself to take or avoid—and what concert ticket do you buy?

Harrison: Starting with the easy question first, I would absolutely go to an early Taylor Swift concert during my youth. If the time machine could become a bit more powerful, there’s no concert I’d rather see than The Beatles playing Revolver circa 1966.

On the tougher part of this question: There’s far more to life than politics, but I wish I could go back to 2015 and tell myself and others to take the threat posed by Donald Trump more seriously.

CCNews: The current Assemblymember is often seen alongside the Manhattan Borough President, our District 3 Councilmember, State Senator Brad Hoylman, and Congressmember Jerrold Nadler at press conferences or as a signee to action-oriented letters (often generated by Community Board 4). How will you work local elected officials and stakeholders to advance matters of mutual importance?

Harrison: The West Side of Manhattan is lucky to have some incredible leaders with whom I would be excited to work closely to advance our neighborhood’s priorities. My philosophy as an innovative problem-solver always begins with listening. I seek to build a deep understanding of the perspectives of others, and then work within systems to get things done. In the private sector, my job involves managing complex sets of stakeholders to solve multifaceted problems, and I’ve been successful in helping to transform large organizations only by forming collaborative relationships with others.

There’s a lot that I hope to achieve for our community in the Assembly—from providing greater support to working families, to expanding access to high-quality careers, to rethinking how we use our city’s real estate, to pushing our government into the digital age. I know that I’ll only be able to achieve any of those things by working in partnership with my colleagues across Manhattan.

CCNews: Conflict and Compromise: What do these words mean to you, in terms of their role in being an effective Assemblymember?

Harrison: As a lawyer, I believe that the conflict presented by two opposing sides making arguments can often reveal the truth. Likewise, in the legislative process, advocacy—at times rising to the level of conflict—is often required in order to determine the best path forward to satisfy the needs of multiple stakeholders. In other words, honest advocacy and conflict can ultimately enable compromise. And my goal will always be to solve problems, however that can best be achieved.

CCNews: Favorite Golden Girl, and why: Blanche, Dorothy, Sophia, or Rose?

Harrison: Here’s an important fact about me: I will always be honest. Here’s a related fact about me: I’ve never seen The Golden Girls. I do love Betty White, though!

CCNews: You took the time to answer our questions—even that last one, which, frankly, was a little gimmicky. So in the interest of fairness, we end by turning the tables: What one question do you want people to ask themselves when casting their vote in your race?

Harrison: I hope that as our neighbors go to the polls, one of the questions that they consider is, “Where do I want to see our neighborhood going in the future, and which candidate has the detailed plan and collaborative approach to help us get there?”

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