Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Interview Questionnaire

Personal Information:

Full Name Julia L. Forman

Questions and Details:

What O ce/District are you running I’m running to be the next councilmember of District 26, and
for and why? the rst woman to represent this district, because whether
acting as a board member of my local civic association, a
founding member of the Western Queens Community Land
Trust or just as a person chatting with the neighbor next to
me at a local bar, no matter who I speak to, the same issues
come up.

They are afraid of being priced out of their homes and of

being separated from our community. And time after time,
we’ve been shown how real that threat is.

Real estate developers have set their sights on making

millions off of District 26, with no regard for the schools we
send our children to, the seniors struggling to get by, or for
the negative environmental impact their development will
have on all of us.

And now Covid-19 has brought more uncertainty to our

district. I am ready to step up and be the erce ghter the
community that welcomed me back in 2014 needs. As
council member I will push for all recovery efforts to be
centered around the needs of our schools, our small
businesses, and rst and foremost, our neighbors. I’m
running to be the effective leader my district deserves and
will bring us into a future designed for us.

How long have you lived or worked in I have lived in the district since 2014, and I have been a
the District and how active are you in member of the Dutch Kills Civic Association since 2018 and
the community right now? was sworn in as a board member in December 2019. As a
newer board member of an over 40 year old organization, I
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 have taken strides to bring in a younger generation of
members and to increase outreach and engagement in our
community so that the working families of this district unite
for our best interests.

I am a founder member of the Western Queens Community

Land Trust which was started in 2019. When the land trust
incorporated earlier this year, I expanded my steering
committee role to become the first Treasurer. As an
organization not just dedicated to bringing a land trust to
our area, but in promoting community-focused, sustainable
land use decisions in general, we were proud to have been
an integral part of defeating the YourLIC proposal for
numerous new luxury towers on the Long Island City
waterfront. Earlier this summer, after months of meeting
with our elected officials, speaking out at Community Board
meetings, and doing community outreach, our message got
through to the city, and it was announced that they are no
longer partnering with developers for public land.

I am also an active member of the Astoria Mutual Aid

Network since it was formed in March 2020 and signed up
to be one of the earliest dispatchers, which are the team
members who field requests from neighbors in need, and
reach out to volunteers who provide the appropriate
assistance. Upon learning about my background in public
service and knowledge of local political and governmental
agencies and programs, the founder of AMAN contacted me
to discuss taking on the role of intergovernmental
communications liaison. In that role, I’ve focused on
reaching out to our local elected officials and acquiring both
information and resources for AMAN including PPE and
boxes of groceries that have helped us feed over 1,000
Queens households. Through my community relationships, I
was also able to connect AMAN to non-profit entities that
brought full trucks of free, fresh, and nutritious food to
Western Queens. I’m proud that my connections have been
able to serve my community not just by keeping them fed,
but doing so in a healthy and dignified way.

I was honored to have been elected as a Judicial Delegate

this past June after running with the support of New
Reformers and have utilized my experience in this position
to educate voters and community members about the lack
of transparency in our government. I am now focusing on
recruiting others to run for these volunteer positions within
the Queens Democratic Party, so that we can have a truly
open and inclusive party in our borough.

What is your current occupation? I am a licensed attorney, but am currently dedicated to this
campaign full-time.

What were your thoughts on the I protested against Amazon HQ2. I do not think that Amazon
Amazon HQ2 proposal in Long Island or any other large corporation should be offered tax and
City? monetary incentives to catalyze the gentrification in my
district or city. Corporations are welcome but they need to
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 pay their fair share of taxes so that we can fund the social
services needed to ensure every New Yorker has their basic
needs met. That said, I am strongly committed to working to
bring well-paying, union jobs to our community and will work
with companies looking to put down roots in District 26
while ensuring that the benefits of any deal will be felt by our
neighbors directly.

What is your view on the Phipps I believe that it has been critical to build more permanently
Houses rezoning proposal on Barnett affordable housing in our area for a long time, and Covid has
Avenue in Sunnyside? only increased the urgency to do so. I also believe that
everyone has the right to live in a safe, sanitary, and
comfortable home. Unfortunately Phipps has failed to meet
that criteria in its current Sunnyside development, and they
have a number of HPD violations to their name. As a city, we
must hold these developers accountable, and require any
developer given a city contract or rezoning to clear their
violations before receiving more public money or land.

A rezoning application is likely to As the treasurer and co-founder of Western Queens

move forward on the private property Community Land Trust, I believe that our communities
surrounding the Anable Basin in Long should decide how public land is used. As a council
Island City where Amazon was member, I will follow the leads and wishes of community
proposed to go. It is likely to involve land trusts like the one I am an active leader in. This land
thousands of residential units and should be used to create publicly accessible, sustainable
hundreds of thousands of square feet green space and permanently affordable housing or
commercial space.
of commercial space. Would you
approve such a development? What
would you be looking for?

Do you think the rezoning process No, I believe the ULURP process should be replaced. I
(ULURP) is working? If not, how would support creating a comprehensive city plan developed with
you change it? deep community input that speci cally designates the needs
of each community. Any future development should be done
in accordance with that plan making the process speci cally
community led as opposed to the current system that is
initiated and driven by developers.

Do you believe in member deference I believe that each council member was elected by their
when it comes to rezoning? district and thus should be expected to have the most
detailed, accurate understanding of what their community
needs. That said, the in uence of the real estate industry on
our local politics is signi cant, and the entire council needs
to scrutinize any rezoning project carefully. The council
member for the district where the rezoning would take place
should be heard, but ultimately each member should make
their decision independently.

Should the city council cut police Yes, by at least $3 billion.

funding? If so, by how much?

Do you think non-citizens (including As the wife of a non-citizen immigrant, I am very passionate
undocumented immigrants) should be about my advocacy for non-citizens to be able to vote in
able to vote in New York City local elections. Everyone who calls New York City home
elections? should be able to participate in helping to determine its

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 future.

How would you select community I am impressed with the new format of the application
board members and is the current process that includes more in depth background information
system working? questions and am glad it is fully online now (as it previously
had to be notarized which prevented many from taking part).
We need to appoint more members who are diverse in age,
background, lived experiences, and neighborhoods using a
blind review process to avoid personal relationships from
in uencing appointment decisions.

Are you an advocate for protected Yes. I believe every major road should have a protected bike
bicycle lanes in the district and, if so, lane throughout the entire city. I will also advocate for
where do you think they should go? increased nes for parking or driving in bicycle lanes,
including NYPD, as this continues to cause unnecessary
deaths of our neighbors, including delivery workers.

What is your view on the I will partner with my state representatives to ght for
transportation network in Queens? increased MTA funding which should immediately be used
What would you do to improve it? to update our outdated transit infrastructure as quickly as
possible, including ensuring every entrance to the subway is
accessible. We need to stop cutting bus stops and bus lines,
and instead make cuts to unnecessary public spending
instead to fund redesigns of our roads to create more
dedicated bus lanes, or even busways. I believe we also
need to prioritize the safety of bikers with increased
protected biking lanes across the entire city.

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