Alexa delivers for District 38.

Since taking office in 2022, Councilmember Alexa Avilés has fought to make life better for District 38. Here’s what Alexa and her team of dedicated public servants have won for District 38 .

Legislative Accomplishments

  • Co-sponsored 813 pieces of legislation, including 217 bills that have been signed into law 

  • Served as primary sponsor for 46 pieces of legislation

  • Passed legislation to bring greater transparency to CityFHEPS, the city’s housing voucher program

  • Passed legislation to help move New Yorkers out of shelter and into permanent housing by removing barriers to eligibility for CityFHEPS

  • Passed legislation to improve street safety by redesigning the city’s truck routes for the first time in more than 40 years

  • Passed legislation to prevent idling near city parks, after constituents raised concerns about children breathing in exhaust while playing in the district’s parks

  • Passed legislation that mitigates risks of fire by providing food delivery workers with information on e-bike fire safety 

  • Passed legislation to require the city to develop a citywide industrial development strategic plan, which will help support and grow the sector, while identifying key goals such as the transition to green energy, needed capital investments, and development of our local workforce

  • Passed common-sense legislation that requires NYPD to report on all police encounters, including those that don't lead to an arrest, providing data on the reason for the stop, the person's demographic information, and whether force was used

  • Passed legislation that requires cruise ships to use of shore power at cruise terminals, limiting harmful emissions and pollution and reduce traffic in neighborhoods where cruise terminals are located like Red Hook

  • Passed legislation holding private companies accountable for their management of NYCHA, by requiring them to report their eviction rates, repair costs, and how long it takes private management to complete vital repairs. Privately managed NYCHA units are subject to less oversight than those under public control, and have higher eviction rates and slower response times to maintenance and repair requests. 

  • Passed legislation requiring tenant education and outreach on residential vacate orders due to damage caused by fires

  • Passed a resolution calling on Albany to create the New York State Working Families Tax Credit

  • Passed a resolution calling on Albany to pass the New York for All legislative package, which prohibits New York’s state and local government agencies from colluding with ICE, disclosing sensitive information, and diverting resources to separate families and incarcerate New Yorkers without due process.

Constituent Services

  • Recovered more than $200,000 for constituents who were victims of bank fraud

  • Served more than 4,000 constituents, and helped District 38 residents secure stable and safe housing, access city services, and get public benefits

  • Co-sponsored and welcomed the reunification of over 25 families with their parents — many who had not seen each other for more than 15 years — in Brooklyn Borough Hall. 

  • Helped more than 80 residents recover $250,000 in stolen Excluded Worker funds, and introduced legislation calling on the state to take action against theft of excluded worker funds

  • Established mobile office hours in Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park’s Chinatown and Red Hook to provide easy access for residents

  • Support the expansion of Mixteca, allowing them to triple their scope of services and continue helping the immigrant community in Sunset Park

  • Hosted toy give-aways with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso

  • Organized free heart health and wellness clinics with NYU Langone

  • Distributed free flood barriers with New York City Department of Environmental Protection and community groups like Parent-Child Relationship Association

  • Distributed bilingual resources about domestic violence with the Healing Center and Womankind, and partnered on domestic violence workshops and annual walks to prevent teen dating violence 

  • With New York Legal Assistance Group, provided monthly free legal consultations to hundreds of neighbors 

  • Distributed food to District 38 residents with food pantries like the Anthem Food Bank

  • Provided free healthcare with the Tzu Chi Good Health Day, with more than 20 healthcare service providers helping District 38 residents access free dental care, comprehensive ophthalmologic services, traditional Chinese medicine treatments, acupuncture, rehabilitation and physical therapy services

  • Hosted Know Your Rights trainings for neighbors in Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese

  • Distributed thousands of masks and COVID-19 rapid tests, and shared information on MPox prevention and treatment

  • Conducted several small business outreach events with the city’s Small Business Services Department

  • Hosted and partnered on several dozen community workshops on topics ranging from identity theft to tenant protections to how to apply for Council’s discretionary funding

  • Gave away 200 rain barrels in partnership with the Parent Child Relationship at a local elementary school

Public Safety

  • Joined community safety walks with District 38 residents to discuss safety concerns in the neighborhood, and discuss solutions and resources needed to help our community, in collaboration with community groups like RaisingHealth, Mixteca, and the Center for Anti-Violence Education

  • Passed the How Many Stops Act, a common-sense, good governance bill that requires the NYPD to close loopholes on reporting when the department stops and searches New Yorkers. Access to this data will help identify and remedy patterns of discrimination and abuse.

  • Closed nine illegal cannabis shops

  • Led the charge to ban solitary confinement in NYC jails, overriding the Mayor’s veto to do so

  • Pushed for previously hidden cases of alleged police abuse to come to light in public hearings

  • In the aftermath of the 36th Street subway shooting, Alexa’s office organized a community healing event, helped to raise money to support the victims, and continues to check in with residents and fight for comprehensive, culturally competent mental health services

  • Hosted several fire prevention and safety workshops for residents and children

  • Held lithium ion battery fire safety sessions, and reached out to businesses to make sure workers are trained on battery fire safety.

  • Held numerous 311 community walk-throughs, training residents on how to use 311 and report and monitor neighborhood issues. 

  • In partnership with New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), offered free OSHA 10-hour certification classes to district residents, to ensure they can obtain opportunities for decent wages and workplace safety

Sanitation

  • Allocated $250,000 for supplemental cleaning services for the community with ACE, collecting and bagging an average of 150,000 pounds of trash each year

  • Advocated for the installation of temporary bathrooms in Red Hook and repair of the Coffey Park bathrooms

  • Organized and participated in over a dozen community clean ups across the district

  • Hosted electronic recycling and paper recycling events

Housing

  • Alongside the City Council’s Progressive Caucus, Alexa secured $2 billion for affordable housing capital funding, $140 million to rehabilitate rent-stabilized housing and expand affordable homeownership opportunities via the city’s Neighborhood Pillars and Open Door programs, $400 million in funding for housing vouchers, and $200 million to strengthen NYCHA’s Vacant Unit Readiness Program and to conduct critical repairs of Section 9 housing.

  • Chaired the Public Housing Committee in New York City Council and held nine public oversight hearings on topics like the presence of arsenic in public housing, sanitation issues, and the impact of privatization within NYCHA housing

  • Brokered critical community benefits secured in the 340 10th Street rezoning, including a 100% affordable senior development, continued rent stabilization for all existing tenants, and noise and dust mitigation measures during the construction period. 

  • With resident input and in partnership with Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, developed Land Use Principles for District 38 

  • Stood up to Adams’ shelter evictions and demanded investments for immigrant communities

  • In partnership with Assemblymember Marcela Mityanes, held trainings and helped more than 20 residents testify at the Rent Guidelines Board, and held multiple community canvases on housing and worker justice issues

Education

  • Distributed thousands of free new and used books at events like our Free Book Fridays

  • Allocated $340,000 to fund the Cultural After-School Adventures program to 16 public schools, which supports arts-based programming for students during and after school

  • Secured a $4-million investment to develop a Latine Studies Curriculum Initiative

  • Expanded legal and adult education services across the city

Parks and Recreation

  • With parents, successfully advocated for the reinstatement of Sunset Park’s beloved sand pit back for children in the neighborhood

  • Held several family fitness events to promote the importance of health and fitness that included Zumba and boxing classes

  • Worked alongside community environmental advocates to address extreme heat by planting more trees for a greener, more livable New York

  • Delivered a revived and reimagined Rainbow Playground

  • Championed and passed legislation to prevent idling near city parks

Community and Cultural Programming

  • Launched Sunset Park’s first annual Parada de Las Catrinas/Day of the Dead Parade

  • Supported community and cultural events, including:

    • Three Kings Day with Volunteers of Sunset Park

    • Lunar New Year

    • Eid al-Fitr

    • Women’s History Month

    • Greenwood Cemetery Walking Tour

    • Sunset Park Fifth Avenue Street Festival

    • Family Farm Day with City Growers

    • Feria De Salud: Festival Familiar Celebrando Dia de Los Padres

    • Sunset Park Wide Open

    • Puerto Rican Day Parade

    • Mexican Independence Day

    • Red Hook Barnacle Parade

    • Red Hook Arts Festival

    • Red Hook Summer Pop Ups

  • Honored community leaders and organizations with co-named streets in the district, including:

    • Sandra Vizcaino Way (57th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues), in honor of a beloved resident and educator who was the first known NYC teacher to have died from COVID.

    • Daniel Defontes Way (Columbia and Luquer Streets), to honor the late Dan Defonte, the former proprietor of the beloved Defonte’s Sandwich Shop

    • Andy Varela Way (47th and 4th Avenue), in honor of Sunset Park community leader Andy Varela, a founding member of the Sunset Park Lions Club

    • Nancy Kearse Gooding Way (Visitation and Van Brunt), a Red Hook community leader, who dedicated her life to fight for Red Hook, including establishing community health centers, leading the Welfare Recipients Action Group, and serving as a district leader with the endorsement of Shirley Chisholm

    • Ijaira Z. Gonzalez Street (24th between 4th and 5th Ave), a beloved neighbor and proud Boricua Sunset Parker who organized community events and festivals across the district, including Carnaval Del Barrio and the 24th Street Festival

    • Dr. Antonia Pantoja Street (36th and 5th Avenue), in honor of the late Latina civil rights leader and educator who founded the ASPIRA Association in 1961

    • Joseph P. Lombardo Memorial Way (Bay Ridge Parkway and 13th Avenue), to honor Lombardo, a veteran, community leader, and member of the International Longshoremen's Association  

    • Donna Maxil Way (17th Street between 3rd and 4th Ave), paraprofessional and parent coordinator for the Department of Education

    • Don Lee Way (17th Street and 15th Ave), who fought for the Asian American Pacific Islander community in New York

    • St. Phillip’s Episcopal Way (18th Street and 11th Ave)