WORD FROM THE CURB: housing and cost of living are top issues for Sunset Park locals in this NYC mayoral election

WNYC News

While this is a local election, in a place as big as New York City, with 8.5 million people, more than 200 languages spoken, and income disparity and density that sees billionaires living down the street from public housing, there are many, many competing interests here that New York City’s mayor needs to balance. And what better way to get a sense of what New Yorkers want out of their next mayor, and what they identify as the key issues this election cycle than going out to the neighborhoods of New York.

For this edition of Word from the Curb we're at Judy’s – a bar/cafe here on one of the neighborhood’s main commercial drags. And we chose Southwest Brooklyn because so many of the issues that are at the forefront citywide this election cycle are happening right here. You want to talk about affordability? NYU’s Furman Center says more than a quarter of the local Community Board’s residents are rent-burdened. Want to talk about crime and subway safety? We’ll check in with residents three years after a rush hour subway shooting horrified the neighborhood. Want to talk about how we utilize public space in this crazy, crowded city? The neighborhood’s namesake park has been the scene of long-running tension between vendors and the NYPD and Parks Department in recent years. So there is a lot to unpack here.

WNYC producers Elizabeth Shwe and Jodi Malarbe recently talked with Sunset Park locals about what matters to them this mayoral election year.

Here’s what some of them had to say: