Harvey Epstein
Democratic, Working Families
Current Occupation
Associate Director, Urban Justice Center
Previous Occupation
Staff Attorney - Legal Aid Society; Associate Director - Housing Conservation Coordinators
Education
JD CUNY Law School; BA Ithaca College
Organizational Affiliations
Tenant Member, Rent Guidelines Board; former PTA president at Neighborhood School; former president of District 1 President's Council; former co-president of CoDA
Prior Public Experience
Helped establish a hotline that resolved tenants’ legal problems for Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village; instrumental in starting Stabilizing NYC, a coalition of community-based groups from neighborhoods across NYC that came together to fight predatory equity and tenant harassment through community-based organizing; during five-year tenure as a tenant member of the Rent Guidelines Board successfully orchestrated the first (and second) rent freeze for one-year leases in the 47-year history of the RGB; served on Community Board 3 for 14 years, serving as its board chair from 2002 to 2004, and chairing its Land Use committee for a term. During tenure, helped preserve and create affordable housing units for families and seniors.
Candidate Statement
I am running for the NYS Assembly 74th District because public policy impacts people’s lives.
I build coalitions, like the statewide legal services coalition I created. I fight for our community, like I did when MetLife sold Peter Cooper and Stuyvesant Town and tenants were being served with eviction notices—I started legal clinics and hotlines to defend those tenants. I am an effective leader, as evidenced by my organization of a coalition to get the first and second rent freeze in the 47-year history of the RGB. Moreover, I have a 5-part plan for our district which includes: fixing the MTA, expanding affordable housing, investing in public schools, expanding voting access, and enacting social justice reforms.
I do this work to improve the lives of New Yorkers. That is why I want to be your Assembly member, and I hope I can earn your support.