Candidate Name: Kathryn Garcia

Office Campaigning for: Mayor

PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR POSITION ON THE ROLE OF PUBLIC GREEN SPACES WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.

Government is about improving the condition of people's lives, and as Mayor that’s what I'm going to deliver. I believe that government should be invisible if it works well--that we should get out of your way and do our jobs humbly, with no ego, and no expectation of praise for a job well done.

We cannot thrive without easy access to our green spaces. The pandemic showed us that our green spaces are absolutely essential to our mental and physical health. As the next Mayor, I will be laser focused on a recovery that is grounded in equity and provides the necessary support to day to day quality of life investments—clean parks and green spaces, safe transit, reliable childcare, access to fresh healthy foods— that allow all New Yorkers to thrive.

We will celebrate and protect our green spaces. We will dramatically expand our green infrastructure to absorb stormwater and cool our neighborhoods, with a focus on neighborhoods with the fewest parks and street trees.

In addition, I will expand community composting in green spaces throughout the 5 boroughs. Our food scraps and yard waste are a valuable source of energy and nutrients for our soils, and we need to make it easy for all New Yorkers to do the right thing. As mayor, I will reinstate curbside composting and will also open compost facilities in all five boroughs to dramatically expand our ability to process our food and yard waste in NYC and reap the benefits for our soil, our parks and our communities.

PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR POSITION ON HOW THE CITY PRIORITIZES PUBLIC OPEN GREEN SPACE AND HOW COMMUNITY GARDENS ARE OFTEN PITTED AGAINST THE NEED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

Green spaces are essential to our physical and mental well being. As such, we can’t pit them against other essential needs, such as housing. I don’t believe in this kind of scarcity approach with anything in government. It is a false choice. When I was Sanitation Commissioner, DSNY fought to protect our compost sites and advocate for more community composting. Community gathering places are a vital piece of the fabric of NYC. We must strive towards “and” not “or” with essential services--and we have learned how essential gardens are throughout the pandemic.

HAVE YOU EVER VISITED ELIZABETH STREET GARDEN? IF SO, PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE.

I don’t believe I have visited the Garden, but I would love to do so. One of my favorite parts of being Sanitation Commissioner was working with small parks on composting and community outreach, so I have spent a lot of time in community gardens.

WHAT IS YOUR POSITION ON THE ALTERNATIVE SITE SOLUTION THAT WOULD USE 388 HUDSON — A GRAVEL- FILLED, CITY-OWNED LOT — TO PROVIDE UP TO 5X THE AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ADDITIONAL PUBLIC OPEN SPACE WHILE SAVING ELIZABETH STREET GARDEN?

We must explore adaptive reuse of commercial buildings to create affordable housing. Specifically, I support conversion of vacant commercial buildings into affordable housing and as Mayor I would incentivize this approach working closely with the private sector. I also believe the City must evaluate converting vacant city-owned buildings or lots into affordable housing and to provide other badly needed services, but we need to be mindful of critical water infrastructure that makes it difficult to build housing on certain lots.

ESG currently has a pending lawsuit to save the garden led by attorney Norman Siegel. If the issue is not resolved before the change in administration, once in office, how would you work with ESG to protect and preserve Elizabeth Street Garden?

As Mayor I would deliver on the needed affordable housing by taking immediate action to incentivize conversion of vacant commercial buildings--so that we can protect and preserve Elizabeth Street Garden. We can find an alternative here that will satisfy both housing advocates and green space advocates.

IF ELECTED, WOULD YOU SUPPORT ESG'S PLAN TO SAVE THE GARDEN AS A CONSERVATION LAND TRUST? PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO REVIEW ESG'S FUTURE PLANS FOR SAVING THE GARDEN AS A CONSERVATION LAND TRUST, NYC PARK, OR GREENTHUMB GARDEN HERE: HTTPS://WWW.ELIZABETHSTREETGARDEN.COM/FUTURE

Yes

IF YOU ANSWERED "NO" TO THE ABOVE QUESTION, PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY.

N/A

IF ELECTED, WOULD YOU COMMIT TO SAVING ELIZABETH STREET GARDEN IN PERPETUITY?

Yes

IF YOU ANSWERED "NO" TO THE ABOVE QUESTION, PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY.

N/A