As your candidate for New York State Assembly District 52-serving the hardworking families, small business owners, renters, and communities of Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, and beyond-I am committed to policies that put New Yorkers first in our economy, security, and food supply.
Brooklyn relies on a steady, affordable flow of fresh food to our markets, restaurants, and dinner tables. Much of that comes from New York State farms-dairy, produce, orchards, and specialty crops across the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, and upstate regions. These farms are vital to keeping grocery costs manageable for Brooklyn families and supporting local food systems that reduce dependence on distant imports. But unfair foreign competition and unchecked foreign ownership threaten our agricultural economy: state-controlled entities can undercut American farmers with subsidized production, while foreign purchases of prime farmland risk converting productive fields into non-agricultural uses or speculative holdings.
We must act responsibly to safeguard our economic future, protect critical resources like farmland, and ensure New York continues to produce food for Brooklyn tables-without isolating ourselves or harming beneficial global relationships that support our diverse communities.
When elected, I will introduce and support legislation to:
These steps are about fairness, security, opportunity, and food security-not blanket restrictions. They ensure our state's resources support American workers, ethical competition, strong local economies, and a reliable supply of food grown right here in New York.
- Prohibit state pension funds, public investments, and economic development dollars from flowing into companies directly controlled by foreign governments that do not respect free-market principles or U.S. labor and environmental standards-ensuring our retirement savings and taxpayer money support American jobs, ethical practices, and domestic agriculture.
- Require preference for U.S.-based vendors, manufacturers, and farmers in state contracts for goods, services, food procurement, and infrastructure projects-bringing more opportunities back to New York workers, small businesses, and family farms that supply Brooklyn.
- Strengthen oversight and restrictions on foreign ownership of strategic New York farmland, particularly when purchases could remove land from agricultural production or pose economic/security risks-while allowing transparent, job-creating investment that follows clear rules and benefits local communities.
- Promote policies that rebuild resilient domestic supply chains for essential goods-including food, medical supplies, and manufacturing inputs-helping protect against disruptions that drive up grocery prices for Brooklyn families and small businesses.
- Support measures to preserve and protect working farmland across New York State so it continues to produce fresh, affordable food for the tables of Brooklyn and every community-through incentives for family farmers, stronger protections against conversion to non-farm uses, and programs that keep agriculture viable in the face of unfair global competition.
Together, let's build an economy and food system that works for Brooklyn families-creating jobs, keeping costs down, protecting our farmland, and securing our future.
Join me in advocating for these practical protections in Albany. Contact me today to share your thoughts on jobs, trade, food prices, or keeping New York farms strong for Brooklyn. Our neighborhoods deserve policies that put New Yorkers-and our dinner tables-first.