This is the second installment in our spotlight series on StreetsPAC endorsed candidates.

Constantinides, running to replace term-limited Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., is a Democratic District Leader and experienced City Council aide with a strong record of community organizing, who believes that “safe streets are the lifelines of every thriving neighborhood." He’d like to see traffic-calming measures implemented on main thoroughfares such as Astoria Boulevard and 21st Street, and wants to see the city’s nascent bike-share system expanded soon to western Queens.

Join StreetsPAC and our first round Brooklyn endorsees, Antonio Reynoso and Carlos Menchaca, for a ride between their two districts. We'll start at the dog run in Cooper Park in East Williamsburg, cycle through Bushwick, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, and Red Hook, and then finish at the top of the hill in Sunset Park. The 15 mile route runs the gamut of bicycle infrastructure from non-existent lanes we'd like to see created to hard-fought protected ones already installed like Prospect Park West. Several brief stops along the way will allow our candidates to speak directly about street safety issues they are championing in their district. A ride down Morgan Ave and into Bushwick will let Antonio speak on the need for improved truck route calming and enforcement, while the ride between Red Hook and Sunset Park allows Carlos to highlight the disconnected streetscape in his district as well as the underused public space below the BQE at Third Avenue. 

Please RSVP to [email protected] or on facebook to join us in bringing attention to the work that still needs to be done in improving Brooklyn's streets.  Refreshments will be provided at the Sunset Park finish. 

Scout the route here: StreetsPAC Brooklyn N-S Ride!

This is the first installment in our spotlight series on StreetsPAC endorsed candidates.

After a great night petitioning together in Harlem, read a writeup here, StreetsPAC spoke to Vince Morgan about the transportation issues facing the new 9th Council District and his vision for the city.

StreetsPAC started the week off with a bang greeting commuters on their way to work at the Marcy Ave subway with endorsed candidate Antonio Reynoso. We collected signatures and spoke to voters about the importance of expanding public transit.

To learn more about Antonio Reynoso's campaign, please visit: http://www.antonioreynoso2013.com/

To join StreetsPAC for future volunteer initiatives, sign up on our Get Involved page.

On Saturday, StreetsPAC volunteers joined Carlos Menchaca, the Democratic challenger to Councilmember Sara Gonzalez who arrived on his bicycle, for a potluck picnic in Sunset Park before heading out in pairs with local activists to doorknock local Democratic households for signatures. In low-turnout districts like the 38th,  these personal contacts are critical to any successful candidacy and StreetsPAC had many great conversations with residents in their homes before sharing conversation on local transportation issues over lemonade and snacks with our fellow petitioners in the shade.

StreetsPAC is happy to announce its campaign manager and intern who will be overseeing StreetsPACs endorsement process and volunteer activities for endorsed candidates. 

Louis Cholden-Brown, Campaign Manager

A lifelong New Yorker, Louis makes his home on the Upper West Side where he is honored to serve on Community Board 7 in such roles as Co-Secretary, Strategy & Budget Chair and Housing Co-Chair. He is a veteran of numerous victorious New York State electoral and issue advocacy campaigns and has served as an operational consultant to various progressive organizations including Metro New York Health Care for All and the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility.

Louis can be reached at [email protected] or (646)-220-6388

Menchaca, who spent several years working in the Brooklyn Borough President’s office, has most recently served as an aide to Council Speaker Christine Quinn. A regular bicycle commuter, Menchaca looks forward to working to extend the Brooklyn Greenway from Red Hook to Sunset Park, and to launching a community-led initiative to transform the space beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway along Brooklyn’s Third Avenue.

Reynoso, who’s been Chief of Staff to Councilmember Diana Reyna for the past four years, sees truck-route calming and enforcement as well as expanding the bike lane network for Bushwick and Ridgewood as huge opportunities to improve life in his district. Keeping trucks on redesigned, designated routes will improve street safety for local residents, while an expanded bike lane network would link residents to transit and local jobs. Reynoso has commuted by bicycle since selling his car to campaign full-time, a change that has transformed the way he looks at and experiences city streets.

Please RSVP to [email protected] to join us to help get these two transportation champions on the ballot.

On the longest day of the year, Harlem was alive with the sounds of Make Music New York, and StreetsPAC was out in force supporting Vince Morgan's bid for New York City Council.  Morgan, a challenger to long-time incumbent Inez Dickens, visited community gathering spots in his future district such as Morningside Park and Frederick Douglass Circle, to talk with constituents about safe and complete-streets issues including the introduction of traffic-calming initiatives on the notoriously dangerous Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and the extension of Select Bus Service on 125th Street.

Join StreetsPAC-endorsed candidate Vince Morgan for petitioning on Friday June 21st at 6 PM at 110th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

StreetsPAC will be out petitioning with Vince to help him appear on the ballot for the September 10th Primary. Please join us and show your commitment to electing public officials who are committed to improving the safety, mobility and livability of one of New York City’s greatest assets: our streets. 

Vince is challenging two-term incumbent Inez Dickens for this Harlem seat. Morgan is sharply critical of Dickens’s opposition to safety upgrades on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, a six-lane road that’s been one of New York City’s deadliest for pedestrians and which his children cross on their way to school. Morgan also intends to win M60 Select Bus Service for the entire stretch of 125th Street in District 9, only half of which is slated to receive the faster service.

This morning, The New York Times featured StreetsPAC's first round of endorsements in the 2013 elections that places support firmly behind two candidates running for open City Council seats, Costa Constantinides and Antonio Reynoso; two challengers to long-time Council incumbents, Carlos Menchaca and Vince Morgan; and one incumbent Councilmember seeking re-election, Melissa Mark-Viverito. Though these candidates cover a wide range of New York City, they all share a commitment to improving street safety and have made StreetsPAC's mission one of their campaign's top priorities. 

Here’s a round-up of the five City Council candidates receiving StreetsPAC’s initial endorsements: