Surrounded by freshly baked pastries, delicious steaming hot coffee and the community of the 13th District in New York City, Democratic Representative Adriano Espaillat passionately spoke about his hopes for this upcoming midterm election.
“I’ve been a strong believer for a long time – even on our worst days – that we [the Democratic Party] will keep the majority in the house,” said Adriano Espaillat as community members applauded around him.
Representative Espaillat is a democratic politician who was elected to Congress for the 13th District in 2016. He is currently serving his second term, which is set to end on January 3rd, 2023.
Today, he is holding a ‘Coffee with the Congressman’ event at Common Good Harlem to campaign for his re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Espaillat advanced from the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022 and is running against Odell Patterson, an Independent write-in, for the general election.
The 13th Congressional District of New York City represents Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Manhattan Valley, Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill, Norwood, University Heights, Kings Bridge, Kings Bridge Heights and Bedford Park.
This district is one of the largest in New York City and represents the majority of minority communities in the area. Parts of the 13th District like East Harlem and Morningside Heights are often referred to as Spanish Harlem aka ‘El Barrio’ or ‘Little Santiago Domingo’ because of their high population density of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans.
With hurricane Fiona striking Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Representative Espaillat was quick to respond to how his community would assist their loved ones that may have been affected.
On September 9th, Espaillat joined several other congressmen and women in writing a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting $50 million to be distributed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Emergency Food Shelter Program (EFSP) for humanitarian assistance to migrants who may be fleeing the damage incurred by the natural disaster.
The requested funding won’t just go to migrants seeking asylum from natural disasters, but to those who are seeking asylum from intense political regimes like in Venezuela.
In the last few months, states like Massachusetts and New York have seen an influx of migrants being bused from southern states like Texas and Florida. Many of them are not being told where they are going, and are being promised jobs that may or may not actually be there for them by the time they arrive.
“Since mid-April, the governors of Texas and Arizona have exploited and harmed approximately 10,000 vulnerable people fleeing desperate and dangerous situations in their home countries for political gain by busing them to D.C., New York City and Chicago,” said the congressmen and women in their letter to the House Appropriations Committee.
The EFSP provides federal funding for food, shelter and other necessities to those in need. According to the letter sent to the House of Appropriations Committee, during the Fiscal Year of 2022, Congress provided $150 million to EFSP for humanitarian assistance for migrants.
The issue? As of July 21, 2022, only about $85 million of that funding remained available.
“The busing of migrants to D.C., New York City and Chicago and resettlement in cities like Boston has increased funding requests across the Northeast and Midwest,” The letter continued. “ This funding would ensure that the EFSP can continue to provide humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of all migrants.”
Representative Espaillat, who was once an undocumented immigrant himself, has gained the reputation of an avid immigration supporter within his community. He opens the floor to questions from his constituents and community players at any chance he can get when the subject arises.
“I’ve been in this community for 30 years and I’m really glad you came today,” said Lolita Devine, a Harlem resident.
“My question for you is about the new housing act you just proposed to pass. Why weren’t the Caribbean Islands mentioned in your proposal for assistance when they are also being affected and makeup members of our community?” Devine asked Representative Espaillat.
Espaillat nodded his head as Devine expressed her genuine concern for a large, diverse community.
Representative Espaillat went on to explain that neither Puerto Rico nor the Dominican Republic were explicitly named in the letter to the House Appropriations Committee.
“All it does [the proposed housing act] is create flexible criteria for you to access the emergency funding that is there. The goal is for anybody within a federal U.S. territory to be able to access the emergency funding,” said Espaillat.
With the current influx of asylum seekers to northern states and New York City, in particular, many community members of the 13th congressional district are worried about the Democratic Party losing its position.
“Let’s talk midterms!” Someone from the small, crowded coffee shop yelled.
As previously mentioned, Representative Espaillat is a firm believer that the democrats will hold the majority in this midterm election.
“And I’ll tell you what,” said Espaillat. “He may not be the sassiest guy in town, but just take a look at what the President has done.”
While some community members chuckled, many of them nodded their heads in agreement with the representative.
“He put more resources out there than Franklin Roosevelt did during the Great Depression,” Espaillat continued. “He put more money into infrastructure than President Eisenhower did for the highway system. He passed gun control laws and invested heavily in environmental justice for neighborhoods like ours. And of course, we can’t forget his eradication of student loan debt.”
While Espaillat is hopeful that the Democrats will hold their own this midterm election, he still has a plan for the community in the event that the Democrats don’t continue to hold the majority.
“We are facing a lot of crises right now,” said Espaillat. “We have environmental injustice, gun violence, the opioid crisis, and homelessness crisis – and I mean it can really be bad out there. And it’s all connected you know, and it’s intertwined with poor mental health. I feel very strongly that we won’t be able to address any of these major issues unless we all come together.”