While the race to replace Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez has reached a local fever pitch, there’s another race happening in Greenpoint and Williamsburg, for State Assembly District 50.
First elected in 2020, incumbent assemblymember Emily Gallagher has successfully staved off challengers since. Local attorney Andrew Bodiford ran to replace her in 2024 and is running again this year. We sent both candidates a questionnaire to learn more about them and their respective campaigns.
Primary election day is June 23.
Emily Gallagher
What have been some of your proudest accomplishments on the job over the past term/couple of years?
Oh gosh, there are so many. As you can imagine, with New Yorkers in so much need it’s been a very busy couple years. Some of my proudest accomplishments include:
-Redesigning McGuinness Boulevard alongside a large and incredible community of neighborhood activists. This is something I’ve been working on since 2009 as a neighborhood safe streets activist myself, and one of my first campaign promises. We never gave up, even when behind the scenes corruption in the Adams administration told us it was impossible.
-Passing two first-in-the-Nation bills, the All Electric Buildings Act and the LLC Transparency Act. These are think big, bold ideas informed my on-the-ground neighborhood demands for a more greener, more affordable, and more just New York that prioritizes people over profit
-Passing the Stop Super Speeders legislation and the SUNNY act which will bring Balcony Solar to NY. These were a couple of my highlights in a very difficult budget year this year. It took a lot of hard work and conversation, but we were able to get these through. And they both have a direct impact on our neighbors by keeping our streets safer, and keeping money in our pockets and out of the pockets of polluters.
-Fighting for criminal justice reform and passing the Terry Cooper Autopsy Accountability Act and expanding oversight of prisons and jails with my Expanded State Commission on Corrections bill, as well as helping to preserve bail reform and discovery laws to make sure all people have access to justice no matter how much money they come in with.
-Playing a critical role in the passage of Good Cause Eviction and negotiating to make sure it covered an expanded group of market-rate tenants in our community. Housing affordability is one of the defining issues facing New York, and I was proud to help win Good Cause Eviction protections after years of organizing by tenants across the state. I fought hard during negotiations to ensure that more renters in our district would be covered. While there is still much more work to do, this was a historic step toward giving tenants more stability and security in their homes.
-Securing millions of dollars for Bushwick Inlet Park. As you know we were promised a complete Bushwick Inlet Park, and for decades that promise went unfulfilled. I worked alongside community advocates and local leaders to secure millions of dollars to move this overdue project forward. Parks are not luxuries! They are essential public infrastructure that improve health, create third spaces, and ensure that every neighborhood has access to green space.
-Fighting boldly against ICE, including getting arrested at 26 Federal Plaza. I believe elected officials have a responsibility not just to cast votes, but to stand with the communities they represent. As immigrant New Yorkers were facing unjust detention and deportation practices, I joined advocates and impacted families in acts of civil disobedience to demand dignity. That included being arrested at 26 Federal Plaza while protesting ICE’s treatment of immigrants. Defending our neighbors means showing up when it matters most, even when it comes with personal consequences.
-Being one of the first elected officials to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. I believe that leadership sometimes means speaking up before it is politically easy to do so. I was among the first elected officials to call for a ceasefire in Gaza because I believed then, as I do now, that ending the genocide and working toward just and lasting peace is critical. I heard from many constituents who wanted their representatives to lead with humanity and moral clarity, and I felt a responsibility to use my voice accordingly.
-Helping thousands of tenants stay in their homes and thousands of constituents access benefits through my office’s constituent services. Some of the work I am proudest of never makes headlines. My office has helped thousands of tenants connect with free legal services to fight unlawful evictions and remain in their homes. We’ve also help thousands of constituents navigate government bureaucracy to access the benefits and services they are entitled to, from food assistance to unemployment benefits to resolving issues with state agencies. At the end of the day, being an Assemblymember means making government work for people, and I am incredibly proud of the dedicated team that does this work every day.
-Securing new stop signs and traffic signals at dangerous intersections. Safe streets work doesn’t only happen through major legislation. It happens block by block. We work closely with community members to identify dangerous intersections and advocate for the traffic-calming measures needed to prevent injuries and save lives.
-Holding the MTA accountable and improving shuttle bus access during the G train shutdown. The G train shutdown had the potential to create enormous disruption for those of us who rely on public transit every day. So I worked with riders, advocates, and the MTA to ensure that community concerns were heard and addressed. That included pushing for clearer communication, better shuttle bus service, and improved accessibility so that people could continue getting to work, school, medical appointments, and the places they needed to be. Reliable public transit is essential, and I will always fight to make sure our transit agencies are responsive to the communities they serve.
From the McGuinness Boulevard redesign to the G train shutdown, transportation access in Greenpoint is critical. What is your vision for public transit in this district?
I believe that public transit should be a joy to ride, and that streets should be designed for the safety of its most vulnerable users. It’s important to prioritize pedestrians, so expanding places to safely cross roads and making traffic more manageable is a priority. Eventually I would like to see all door boarding on our buses, and I would like to reduce traffic to the extent that buses can be the priority user on the street so that they can move faster and arrive on time. Unfortunately given that we live in a flood zone it is a reality that the subway system does need a number of repairs, but I am proud to have advocated for and won improved conditions in our stations as well as newer subway cars. I fight for the G train’s expansion and improvement every year in our budget hearings. I was also proud to help advocate for the creation of more elevators on the L train in our corridor. As a cyclist myself, I love the ease of Citibike and our protected bike lane network – I’d love to see the city take over Citibike and make it financially affordable for everyone. I’ve also recently passed a bill that will allow for some deliveries to be made by waterway instead of truck – reducing trucks on the road is a great opportunity for safer streets and cleaner air.
The proposed Monitor Point project has emerged as a divisive issue in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. What are your thoughts on the proposed Monitor Point project, and housing issues in general?
I believe that public land should be used for public good and I have been advocating for years with the MTA that they should utilize this property either as parkland or as 100% affordable housing. It’s unacceptable for a developer to be capturing profit off of community assets, and I have been supporting Councilmember Restler in his stance to resist the current project.
We need more housing, but our community has been used as an ATM for international developers to extract wealth from our land and fundamentally change the make up of our community. It’s why I wrote the Social Housing Development Authority bill which is based on the Vienna model of housing. Through hard work and collaboration with other legislators, the first social housing pilot was secured in this year’s budget and will be built in Rosedale, NY. I have been advocating with the Mayor for District 50 to have a pilot too.
I also know that building more housing alone will not resolve the crisis as long as tenants rights are unenforced. It’s why I prioritize tenant education and housing law enforcement in my office, and I fight hard for tenants rights in Albany every year.
What endorsements do you have? (If none, what local community groups have you been involved with?)
Organizations and Unions: WFP, DSA, AFL CIO, NYSUT, Nurses Union, Tenants PAC, Streets PAC, Sunrise Movement, Brooklyn Young Dems, 1199 SEIU, Hotel Trades Council, Carpenters Union, 32 BJ, UAW, Eleanor’s Legacy, Citizen Action, NYLCV, Emgage, New York Immigration Coalition, Make the Road Action, progressive action network, met council on housing, Jim Owles club, Caring Majority
Electeds and Community Leaders: AOC, Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander, Zephyr Teachout, Bill McKibben, Steve Donziger, Julia Salazar, Kristen González, Lincoln Restler, Chi Osse, Jabari Brisport, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Alexa Aviles
Lastly, June in New York City is set to be one for the books, with the Knicks’ historic win, World Cup, and Pride Month all underway. How are you celebrating any and all of these events?
The best thing about this summer so far has been the sense of community and joy that our shared victories and celebrations have brought us.
Since I spend the better part of 6 months in Albany, it has been so fulfilling to sit on stoops and hang with neighbors and friends. I watched the Knicks at BECO, Greenpoint Comedy Club, and my dear friend’s home in Williamsburg. I plan to catch some World Cup games around town as well and celebrate Pride in Marsha P Johnson (though the Drag March is always my favorite!). Community is why we do everything we do in my office – every fight is a fight so that we can all participate fully as ourselves in all the joy that’s available. It’s what life’s about, and District 50 is hands down the best place to be for any celebration!
Andrew Bodiford
What have been some of your proudest accomplishments on the job over the past term/couple of years?
I am a lawyer and over the last years my proudest moments have been when I helped stop an eviction to keep someone in their house. I love to help people in the neighborhood especially because I believe everybody who lives here deserves to live here, not just rich people. Last month I helped out a taxi driver who had his license suspended. This was one of my proudest moments because he had a family and needed to work and we were able to get his license reinstated quickly. It made me feel a little bit emotional, admittedly, when he told me how much it meant to him to be able to return to work to help his family.
From the McGuinness Boulevard redesign to the G train shutdown, transportation access in Greenpoint is critical. What is your vision for public transit in this district?
The G train shutdowns are a huge burden for the whole neighborhood. These affect
people who need to work on weekends, businesses that rely on customers arriving on
transit, and people who get stranded right when the shutdown starts and need to get
home. With the B62 and B32 buses through Greenpoint also not running frequently and
reliably enough to create a sufficient alternative and the G replacement buses (as I have
experienced) sometimes over-crowded to the point of being unusable, we are stuck. The reality is that this mess was completely avoidable. Track work on the G could have been staggered better over time and if the L shutdown in 2019 could keep at least one track running most times during repairs the MTA could likely do the same with the G. Transit would be my other top priority in the Assembly alongside of course housing.
It is a detriment for working class people who do not drive and cannot work from home
who are, believe it or not, the majority of people to have to find costly or inconvenient
alternatives to the only train in the neighborhood. The MTA is a state run agency and the New York Assembly performs oversight over the MTA and I believe that tireless
advocacy from our representative would make a real difference. While I am a CitiBike
member, frequently bike, and support alternative transportation and better bike
infrastructure, biking is not the best alternative for everyone in the community and you
cannot be against cars and not be a zealous advocate for public transportation at the same time. I will be a vigorously zealous advocate for public transportation.
My vision is better public transportation for us all. Even when the G-train is running
normal, frequencies are not fast enough at rush hour and I think that having to wait 8 or
11 minutes for the G is unacceptable. The wait time should be 5 minutes during daytime
hours. There is also no reason the B62 and B32 buses cannot run frequently and reliably through Greenpoint. There is plenty of spare capacity for both more G trains and more buses and if required we could also have some extra services run short to Bedford-Nostrand to increase neighborhood frequencies on track the G shares with no other trains for the neighborhoods the G shares with no other trains. We also need improved ferry service, better LIRR and Metro-North that might relieve some of the housing pressure in the area from commuters who need to live somewhere they can get to Manhattan quickly from, and ultimately New York high speed rail that would connect to Upstate New York creating economic benefits throughout the state. I plan to immediately release a detailed vision for New York public transport on my website, andrewbodiford.com.
The proposed Monitor Point project has emerged as a divisive issue in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. What are your thoughts on the proposed Monitor Point project, and housing issues in general?
Monitor Point is a misuse of public land by a profit driven developer and it needs to be stopped. Full stop. The sensitive nature of Bushwick Inlet means that any use of the MTA property Gotham wants to buy needs to never affect the quality of the park or its ecology. As a representative with oversight authority over the MTA I could do more to stop it. Any construction at this site needs to be for the public interest. Councilmember Restler has been right to demand a higher threshold for affordable apartments in any development here but because of the nature of the site I would go further and say that 100% affordable apartments should be the baseline – and public money or a fully publicly managed project should if necessary make this possible. Housing is the greatest crisis we face in North Brooklyn. With prices rising astronomically since the pandemic it is an existential threat to the continued residence of many long time working class residents, young artists, and others who have made the neighborhood what it is and given the neighborhood its character we love. The paradigm of bringing big developers to the waterfront has produced towers for the rich and waves of gentrification and displacement driving up the rent around them. My housing plan is to have new construction of affordable units built by and for the public instead of the big developers to provide real affordable housing for the people, as we have seen in countless examples around the world such as Vienna, Copenhagen, or in our own history in New York. We need a land value tax that will shift the tax burden onto big developments that drive gentrification and away from small homeowners who have been burdened enough. We also need a new stabilization law that will bring in units that have left regulation over the years and create commercial stabilization for small businesses.
What endorsements do you have? (If none, what local community groups have you been involved with?)
This is a grassroots campaign and we have been focused on speaking with the people of Williamsburg and Greenpoint directly. I have been having conversations with prominent community leaders, local tenants unions, local labor organizers, citizens involved with local campaigns against Monitor Point and the Northside Business Improvement District (BID), and currently elected officials representing the neighborhood. While we do enjoy support from both local organizations and other Brooklyn Congressional and Assembly candidates, we believe that in our reality where so many endorsements are the product of returning a favor, cronyism, or blind organizational loyalty endorsements have rightfully not been our priority and that the tangible value to our campaign has been in having conversations with real voters whose endorsements are the ones we value the most and are pleased to be getting.
Lastly, June in New York City is set to be one for the books, with the Knicks’ historic win, World Cup, and Pride Month all underway. How are you celebrating any and all of these events?
We celebrated the Knicks Game 5 in Williamsburg with some friends at Flop House
Comedy on Grand St. I have no further comment. Shout out to Brooklyn born
Folarin Balogun for scoring two goals in the United States’ opening match! Congrats as
well to my wife’s team Austria for a very well played opening win against Jordan (also to
Jordan which played a very good game). I’ve been watching as many games as I can in the evenings at the bar. As for Pride I plan to celebrate later this month with my
roommate at the parade!