Sarah Blas' Platform

All Staten Islanders deserve elected officials who are not afraid to address the needs of both homeowners and renters:

• Homeowners strain to balance the cost of repairs and predatory mortgage loans. 
• Renters struggle to save for a first home while paying increasing prices. 

We need to focus on the root causes of our housing crisis:

• Sky-high taxes that push our seniors out of their homes. 
• Developers who profit from the housing crisis while communities bear the consequences.
• Frivolous ticketing practices that target elderly and disabled homeowners.
• Housing policies that are designed to harm hard-working families.
• Housing improvements that are blocked by inefficient and contradictory governments.

Here are solutions that Staten Islanders, like you, told me will help. I am ready to take your ideas to City Hall:

Expansion 

• Open government incentives and discounts for repairs that lower the city’s overall costs for health and housing security: mold, leaks, insulation, weather proofing, pests.
• Delete outdated policies that fine and unfairly hurt the most vulnerable: renters in the housing search; new homeowners, seniors and the disabled.  
• Provide seniors with personalized constituent services to assure we are not failing anyone entitled to tax benefits and other services upon turning 65.  
• Increase the number of personnel in Staten Island’s permits office to expedite new and renovated constructions, reduce resident costs and open appropriate construction faster. 
• Increase education and incentives for homeowners to plant native plants.

Protection

• Cut off predatory lenders/investors through new legislation. 
• Increase constituent services in-district so people get questions answered and their local government is responsive. I will push for more constituent support and boost Council Member responsiveness.
• Increase access to new apartments by introducing legislation that will align income requirements (AMI) with the average income of residents of the North Shore. The AMI calculation is presently skewed against us by averaging higher incomes citywide. 

Small businesses are the heart of any thriving economy. Chambers of Commerce and BID’s with the highest levels of funding are only as effective as their community engagement. My candidacy will add a much-needed connection between small business owners, BID’s, and Chambers of Commerce. 

It is more important than ever to:

• Provide support to emerging businesses and robust protections for existing ones.
• Increase local patronage and awareness to boost local revenue through Council-sponsored newsletters, forums, fairs and markets.

Expansion

• Expand small business incubators, which includes access to capital, and streamline license and tax filing processes.
• Expand union and apprenticeship pipelines – increase partners with schools and unions to create direct pathways for youth to enter skilled trades. 

Protection

• Safeguard long-standing businesses against disruptive real estate trends that threaten Staten Island’s commercial heritage.
• Ensure small businesses can weather any storm—literally and economically—by emergency planning, rapid response funding, and recovery programs to stop financial hardships before they begin.

When we combine the power of community organizing with public-facing testimony and a responsive City Council representative, we can put funding in the right places and improve the quality of living for all of those on the North Shore. 

In order to do this, we must:

Expansion

• Bring back the Participatory Budgeting Program so that residents can vote for projects they value most.

Creation

• Fight for additional funding and staff to service call centers for city agencies including the Human Resources Administration (HRA) and Department of Buildings (DOB).
• Continue the fight for Staten Island’s first public hospital.
• Lead the fight for Staten Island’s first comprehensive long-term residential facility for children with severe mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders.

Protection

• Ensure that non-profit organizations and community collectives have both the funding and professional development needed to fulfill their missions. This can be accomplished by being a true partner for these Community Based Organizations as they work with City, State and Federal agencies. In addition, we must support their funding efforts from public and private sources.
• Demand government accountability and transparency through annual reports and open source data platforms accessible on the City Council Website. 

True public safety means building stronger relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve, as well as working proactively to address the root causes of crime.

Here are some of my key goals in making communities on the North Shore feel safer each and every day:

Expansion

• Fight for bolstered funding towards NCO’s (community officers) and incorporate them into additional programming and education at public schools and community forums.
• Fight for affordability and enhance quality of life through economic mobility opportunities and by building healthier communities. 
• Advance funding for health-based crime prevention strategies like behavioral crisis response teams & cure violence programs.
• Fully fund juvenile-based programs designed for Staten Island youth by Staten Island youth and mentors.

Protection

• Fight for the dignity and respect of every NYPD officer, their families, as well as those they swear to protect and serve.
• Regularly meet with relevant stakeholders from the NYPD and community groups to address current inadequacies and identify gaps in resources.

Success begins in the earliest stages of life, and Staten Island must prioritize a whole-child approach in order to provide security from birth to adulthood. This includes not only protecting our children, but supporting the people and systems that they rely on for essential development.

Expansion

• Expand public school services by fully funding public schools from early intervention to college readiness programs.
• Expand door-to-door transportation for children with disabled parents and caregivers.

Creation

• Create awareness campaigns in conjunction with city agencies for North Shore families to access existing government support systems.

Protection

• Liaise with city agencies and local non-profits to eliminate environmental toxins in homes and schools, reducing health-related absenteeism and learning barriers.
• Ensure families are equipped with emergency preparedness tools to mitigate financial instability.

I will continue the fight for waterfront resilience in the City Council by… 

• Ensuring homes are storm-resilient.
• Preserving wetlands and green spaces as natural storm buffers.
• Protecting our natural spaces against predatory development.

A vision for land use here on Staten Island in our district means three primary things. 

First, waterfront accessibility for every individual, regardless of their zip code. Next, prioritization of our woodlands, parks and open spaces. Last, protect our natural spaces over the profit in predatory development.

Creation

• Create additional job opportunities in clean energy. 
• Create a pathway to more waterfront careers. 

Expansion 

• Expand waterfront curriculum and field experiences for D75 schools. 
• Expand water testing programs.

Protection

• Protect our waterfront from developers. 

I will use the power of the City Council to improve the quality of life for every constituent in my district. As opposed to only fixing what is broken, I also seek to build and create new channels of community, ingenuity, arts and culture. 

I will do this through:

• Supporting the arts through discretionary funds.
• Prepping organizations to receive funding through coordination with my City Council office.
• Working with non-profits and organizations in the North Shore to build and expand current cultural offerings.
• Breathing new life into the constituent services offered to the constituents of the North Shore, giving everyone a voice and a reliable local elected official.