Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso endorsed New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander on Thursday as his top pick in the June primary election.
At a press conference at City Hall Park, the beep praised Lander’s progressive positions on issues like affordable housing and police reform and ability to bring “meaningful” change to New Yorkers.
Reynoso pointed to their close working relationship while they served on the City Council, where he said Lander empowered younger elected officials to take “big, bold” steps. They collaborated on a slew of issues, advocating for comprehensive city planning to improve land-use decisions, and in 2019, Lander supported Reynoso’s push to pass Local Law 199, designed to overhaul the commercial waste industry by establishing new safety standards for workers and reducing emissions from waste hauling vehicles.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
“Every issue that we’ve worked on together, whether it’s affordable housing, police reform, transportation, Brad has been by my side,” Reynoso said.
Reynoso, the son of Dominican immigrants, will also be hitting the campaign trail for Lander, talking to Latino voters across the five boroughs about Lander’s track record of supporting the Latino community while making sure that the same leaders that “sold” them Eric Adams, didn’t “sell” them Andrew Cuomo as mayor.
“It’s about time we look to a new way that we finally have effective leadership that has already done the work for decades, not mired in corruption,” Reynoso proclaimed. “That’s the type of leadership that we’re going to have with Brad Lander when he becomes the next mayor of the City of New York.”
Lander, who endorsed Reynoso for Borough President and in both city council races, said he was honored to receive the endorsement from someone who wasn’t afraid to stand up to “bullies,” whether it was Andrew Cuomo, Donald Trump, or the late Vito Lopez, the disgraced Brooklyn politician, who ran against Reynoso for city council in 2013.
“When I’m mayor, I am going to push forward with that model of courage, of integrity, and of actually making government work and deliver,” said Lander, who said he plans to work closely with borough presidents and the City Council on issues like affordable housing and transportation and end corruption at City Hall.
“We need a mayor with honesty and integrity, with a proven track record of leadership and the executive experience, the bold vision, the partnerships, and alliance to deliver the safer, more affordable and better-run city that all Brooklynites, that all Latinos, that all New Yorkers deserve,” Lander said.
The comptroller is one of nine Democrats running in the June primary — including former governor Andrew Cuomo, state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Sitting mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent, and won’t face the Democratic challengers until the general election in November.
Lander and Reynoso, who were two of the co-sponsors of New York City’s sanctuary law, called out Adams’ executive order to allow federal immigration agents to set up an office on Rikers Island. On Monday, a judge temporarily halted the order ahead of an April 25 hearing in a lawsuit challenging the plan.
Lander and Reynoso said the mayor’s executive order violated the sanctuary law, and disregarded due process.
“The [executive order] violates the law, but it certainly violates the spirit of the law,” Lander said. “They are showing they don’t respect the process. The President is saying he doesn’t respect due process. We know everything we need to know that this is a bad idea.”
Reynoso added that due process was a bipartisan issue.
“I think across the board, the conversation about due process everyone can agree is important and a tenant of our Constitution and who we are as a nation,” he said.
The Democratic primary is scheduled for June 24, and since the election is ranked-choice, voters will be able to choose up to five candidates in order of preference.
