Issue Position: Serving a Diverse and Fast-Paced District

Issue Position

Issue Position: Serving a Diverse and Fast-Paced District

Although he is today a legislator with nationwide impact, Congressman Nadler is first and foremost a representative for New Yorkers. As a longtime community activist and a New Yorker to the core, the best interest of Congressman Nadler's district and City is the touchstone for his everyday service. Even when he is in Washington, New York comes first. From reclaiming Governor's Island for New York City, to securing crucial federal funding for the High Line park project, to adjusting federal income tax brackets to reflect the higher cost of living in New York, Congressman Nadler is able to use his position in Congress to improve life in the City. The New York Times ranks Nadler "among the city's smartest and hardest-working House members."

There are two pillars of Congressman Nadler's strategy for delivering resources for the district: an intimate knowledge of every neighborhood and community feature, and tireless advocacy at all levels of government. Nadler has been able to furnish critical funding for a wide variety of community projects and priorities. In Brooklyn, for example, the Congressman has been instrumental in shore restoration efforts, securing funding for Maimonides Medical Center and Coney Island Hospital, and making neighborhoods more livable—even securing free cellular phones for the Shomrim, Boro Park's neighborhood anti-crime unit. In Manhattan, he has brought home considerable funding for the foundation and development of Hudson River Park, for programs at major cultural institutions, such as Lincoln Center and the Museum of Natural History, and for New York's world-renowned institutions of higher learning.

Being an effective voice for the community isn't, however, just about moving projects forward; programs that would do harm require a strong voice in opposition. When the City wanted to reopen the Southwest Brooklyn Incinerator, the Congressman was a leading voice in preventing an environmental and health crisis in Bensonhurst. And when Donald Trump tried to tear down part of the newly renovated West Side Highway to enhance the views of the Hudson River for a new luxury building project, Nadler organized the effort to stop him. "I don't believe that New Yorkers work hard and pay taxes so they can line Mr. Trump's pockets," Nadler said of the move, which would have cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The needs of everyday New Yorkers are paramount in the Congressman's eyes. When residents of the Haber House apartment complex complained of frequent crime against tenants, Nadler secured money from Congress to install security cameras. When commuters wanted to make foot traffic through Penn Station more efficient, he worked with station authorities to change the direction of key escalators. Throughout the district and the City, Nadler has used his transportation expertise to solve local traffic and transit problems, working to relieve congestion, improve bus and ferry routes, and to modernize access to the subway. Affordable housing, like adequate transportation, is a basic need in any community—and a priority for Nadler. He has fought in Congress and at home to preserve the City's essential stock of Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 apartments.

Congressman Nadler's constituent services program allows residents of the Eighth District to seek help from the Congressman's office in navigating the often-complex world of government services. Every day, Nadler's constituent services staff help residents meet their basic needs, finding them access to healthcare, and acting as a liaison with government agencies, and in many cases helping with citizenship requests. The district includes one of the nation's largest communities of new immigrants—especially from the former Soviet Union—and Congressman Nadler and his staff have made it a priority to address their needs.

Congressman Nadler also represents one of the largest and most diverse Jewish communities in any congressional district, nationwide. A former member of the National Governing Council of the American Jewish Congress and currently a member of the New York Board of the Anti-Defamation League, Nadler has worked throughout his career to support American Jewish community concerns and a safe, prosperous, and peaceful Israel. He has consistently stood behind Middle East peace efforts. Nadler is also a former member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, has authored a bill granting federal tax exemptions on settlements received by Holocaust survivors, and has been a principal supporter of federal hate crimes legislation.

Congressman Nadler has also worked extensively on Black-Jewish relations, and was a recent recipient of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding's Racial Harmony Award.

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