Many are the issues pressing our district: People being displaced and priced out of their homes; the neglect and deterioration of NYCHA developments; poor and inadequate subway and bus service; public education; lack of services for senior citizens; crime, safety, and the closing of Rikers Island. And the list grows and clings as a burden that affects the quality of life we experience daily. The strategies, plans, and ideas for all these issues are there; but it takes more than that to deal effectively with these issues; it takes character. To amend or dissolve policies that hinder the betterment of our well-being, and to legislate policies that truly improve the quality of life for all who inhabit our district, will take a leader with character. The wrenching and straining of life on the Lower East Side and New York City got into the very pores and fiber of my character.