Ripple effects from recent elections are being felt in Chelsea and its nearby nabes, turning winter’s normal dormancy into a whirlwind of online forums, in-person petitioning, and endorsement announcements—all part of the process culminating in April 28’s Special Election for City Council District 3.

That seat was vacated last week, when Erick Bottcher handily won his bid to become the NYS Senator representing District 47. (Bottcher succeeds longtime office holder Brad Hoylman-Sigal, now in his second month as Manhattan Borough President.)

That leaves one more political puzzle piece in play—with a field of familiar locals seeking to represent the Hudson Square, West Village, Chelsea, Hudson Yards, Meatpacking District, Garment District, Times Square, and Hell’s Kitchen areas that comprise Council District 3.

Chelsea Community News recently sent each candidate the same set of questions, yielding detailed and revealing Q&As from: 

—Council District 3 Candidate Lindsey Boylan

—Council District 3 Candidate Layla Law-Gisiko

—Council District 3 Candidate Carl Wilson

And, directly below, Council District 3 Candidate Leslie Boghosian Murphy

Scott Stiffer, for Chelsea Community News (CCNews): What makes you uniquely qualified to be the NYC Council District 3 rep, and why are you a candidate?

Leslie Boghosain Murphy (Leslie): In my role as Community Board 4 Chair, and having served on the Board for the past six years, I am in daily contact and conversation with our local elected officials, City agencies, and community members, addressing District issues across the board. In this capacity, I have been running meetings, contributing to legislation, negotiating terms,  building coalitions, and addressing constituent needs.

I am also on each committee and at the table for all the big projects in our district: Port Authority Bus Terminal, NYCHA Fulton-Chelsea Elliott Redevelopment, Gateway, the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, and, most recently, the Penn Station Redevelopment. I am in all these rooms now, advocating for the best interests of our District. The only thing that will  change when I become Council Member will be my ability to impact these projects from a direct legislative and budgetary role instead of from a volunteer, advisory position.

CCNews: If elected, you’ll be in office very shortly thereafter. How will you arrive ready to effectively serve, in terms of top local priorities and relationships with other Council Members?

Leslie: The transition will be seamless. There is no other candidate in this race already positioned to hit the ground running on these issues. Serving on several [Community Board 4] boards in leadership positions has allowed me to work with many different elected officials and agencies throughout the city. As Community Board 4 Chair, I have a deep knowledge of the hyperlocal issues and projects we are currently dealing with, and have the relationships to advance progress on  those issues in a way others cannot.

CCNews: Talk about how you’ll use the District Office to serve constituents. Do you currently have a Chief of Staff and a Community Liaison in mind? If so, who? If not, when?

Leslie: As well-positioned as I am to tackle the big issues, I believe my greatest strength is Constituent Services. Sure, it is a learned skill to listen, synthesize information, and  troubleshoot problems in a responsive and timely manner (*parent skills activated*), but the  truth is, I love this part of the job! When someone takes the time to express a concern or point out a problem, that means it is important to them, which means it is important to me. Knowing the residents and business owners, understanding priorities, getting a chance to  have a coffee or a discussion–that’s the best part of the position for me.

I think it may be premature to have assignments in mind, but I can say confidently I will staff the office with those who share that philosophy. One of the most important qualities of a  good representative is the ability to listen and the ability to respond. Members of the district can feel confident I will be there for them on day one.

CCNews: Does your campaign have a website and/or social media presence? How can a person join your email subscriber list?

Leslie: So glad you asked!

My website: lesliefornyc.com

My Instagram: lkbmurphy

Facebook: Leslie Boghosian Murphy

The campaign email for the mailing list: manager@lesliefornyc.com

To contact me directly: Leslie@lesliefornyc.com

CCNews: Did you vote in the State Senate District 47 Special Election?

Leslie: Of course! I never miss a chance to exercise my right to vote (and I love the pens).

CCNews: Do you tend to be an Early Voting or an Election Day participant, and why?

Leslie: I am an Election Day voter all the way. It is marked in my calendar like a holiday. I get this  sense that I am an important part of something bigger and communal voting on Election Day. Through thunderstorms, snowstorms, or heat waves, I will be there.

CCNews: Talk about the endorsements you’ve received and how they reflect on your stated goals as a candidate. Conversely, how do endorsements given to other candidates in the race reflect on them as well as yourself?

Leslie: This is the element of the campaign I am most proud of–the overwhelming community support and endorsements. This support illustrates one of the main tenants of our campaign: Community First.

Many times, political endorsements are transactional, that’s just politics. We see it in every  race and we’ve already seen it in this race.

All of my endorsers support this campaign because they believe in the message and believe  I am truly the best person for the job. Every. Single. One. There are no favors; there are no  back door deals. In addition to over the 200 Day 1 supporters, many community leaders back my campaign because they believe in our path forward.

CCNews: CCNews: If elected, do you intend to serve out the full term? How do you feel about the fact that the Special Election you’re running for was compelled by Erik Bottcher’s ascension to another elected position?

Leslie: Not many things are absolute but one thing I can say for certain, this is not a springboard position for me. I fully intend, if elected, to assume the position of Council Member in earnest and serve the full term to the best of my ability. In no way does it bother me that this is a Special Election to fill a vacancy. Political positions, like any other, are affected by timing and opportunity. I don’t believe anyone’s  ambitions or goals should be thwarted. In fact, I am grateful that we have good people willing to stand up and take on larger roles in representational government.

My role on Community Board 4 is a volunteer position–no pay, no insurance, very similar to many other community members who devote spare time to the betterment of the  neighborhood. It is also advisory. While we tackle many issues across the district, our recommendations strive to be a representative voice of the community, but in no way binding.

Asking, “Why would one want to run for elected office if they are on the Community  Board?” is like asking someone who volunteers in the classroom why they’d want to be a teacher. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

CCNews: If elected to this and all other terms qualified for, your time in the position would coincide with the next several years worth of changes coming to the two NYCHA properties in Chelsea. What is your position in demolition/construction vs. renovation and public/private partnership matters? What level of influence do you have in those matters, and how will you use that influence?

Leslie: Describing this project as complex is an understatement. The NYCHA FEC Redevelopment is extremely  nuanced with many, many layers. This project should not be about demo or no demo, which has monopolized the narrative. It should be about the plans injecting private ownership and oversight of a public entity. This model encourages public housing to be controlled by outside, for-profit interests–a very slippery slope.

Over two years ago, I advocated for the FEC RFP process to be reopened. The long-term working group composed of NYCAH residents, Community Board 4 leadership, City agencies, elected officials, and local  stakeholders worked painstakingly and deliberately hard on elements to be included in a redevelopment plan. We should all be worried that this plan, translated into the RFP [Request for Proposal], was abandoned so quickly after being awarded and yet was still allowed to move forward. If our RFP process is not a true one, what stops any  developer or organization from dishonest or ingenious bids or proposals moving forward? I believe this will have immense deleterious effects on the City and District budget moving forward if allowed to  continue.

NYCHA is a bad landlord. And the residents of Fulton and Chelsea Elliott Housing (FEC) deserve to live in safe working and health conditions. We are in a reality where the federal government has drastically cut, and is drastically cutting, funds for Section 8 (along with other permanent housing programs). Housing experts warn these cuts could put over 170,000 people at risk of homelessness across the country. NYCHA–which was operating shoddily before these cuts–is now seeing deeper holes in their budgets and is looking to the private sector to revitalize the FEC developments. I am not against public-private partnerships in theory, but these collaborations must contain added levels of oversight to secure and  protect the public interest.

Any district elected should plan to provide intense and scrutinizing inspection, at every step, as this project carries on.

CCNews: As a Council Member, how will you navigate matters that might be beneficial to the City as a whole vs. what’s best for Council District 3?

Leslie: This is a great question. Being an elected official should be a constant internal inquiry of, “How can I best represent the people in the District?” How a certain project or piece of legislation directly impacts our neighborhoods should always be top of mind–and it would be the Council Member’s responsibility to bring the greatest number of resources to District 3. For example, during COVID, schools split classes with half of the children in person and half at  home to adhere to social distancing guidelines. This left one group of kids without instruction at any given time, a parent’s nightmare. I called all the city’s colleges and universities to see if we could get their early education students to teach our district’s kids  virtually. This solved many problems: 1) Kids at home would now partake in a virtual  learning curriculum. 2) College students would receive credits and experience at a time when there were no other options and 3) It was at no cost to the City. Our Title 1 schools  (PS111, PS33, PS51) benefitted, as my first priority was to our local families. But one can’t operate in a vacuum and it’s a balancing act when it comes to certain issues. I do believe these conflicts do not present themselves often. Usually, policy that is good for the City is good for our district.

CCNews: How will you use your position as a Council Member to influence the annual City Budget process?

Leslie: As former Chair of the Budget Task Force of CB4, I put together the Statement of District Needs and am therefore extremely familiar with priorities for our district and what is important to residents. That process of listening to constituents will determine where the budget should be allocated. The budget is a reflection of our values and the needs of the community. Needs, focus, and values change over time, even from year to year. So I would begin by rebalancing the district budget to the needs of 2026. As I have expressed many  times, projects are not ballooning our budget, the procurement process is. I will partner with our state representatives to update the laws to unburden this process and move to improve  efficiency, government effectiveness, and fighting waste wherever possible. Once the budget priorities are set, I will be accountable to them and listen to the community, as these priorities requests are fluid.

Three specific areas I am interested in exploring is:

(1) The NYC Department of Education’s budget included one of the most egregious examples  of mismanagement and overspending. Over $1.35 billion is spent annually on private schools, tuition, and services for students with disabilities who cannot be adequately served within the  public school system. I support education department initiatives to expand preschool special education seats and specialized programs for students with dyslexia and autism. Addressing these learning challenges early will result in great cost-savings later on, and provide students with appropriate educational instruction when they need it. This also perpetuates the income educational gap. Those families with more resources understand avenues presented to them in receiving these funds and placements; lower income families, for the most part, do not.

(2) It is not a secret that private entities run some of the City’s largest homeless shelter programs. It is also not unknown that there have been examples of inflated salaries, nepotism, and gross mismanagement of monies among top executives for these programs. This is not the case across the board–there are very good providers doing good work. But it is our job to make sure taxpayer money is going to the good ones and not others.

(3) One specific project I plan to advocate for in the budget is for City funding to match State-promised funding for the development of Pier 76. We worked very hard to get the NYPD tow pound out of there–to give the riverfront back to the public, and reclaim our open space. The next step is development. Fighting for money in order for the project to move forward will give our District new green, open space, and a wonderful neighborhood amenity.

CCNews: This is not your first Q&A with Chelsea Community News. Are there statements in this Q&A that have changed over time or remain particularly relevant for the office you’re currently seeking?

Leslie: Priorities and issues are ever-evolving but I think my approach has been consistent over the  years. But I do miss the Golden Girls question. 

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