April pt. 3
Soft Power Vote x Emily Gallagher and .....these boys are going on the road :0
Emily Gallagher – Level Up by Soft Power Vote
Leading up to the Democratic Primary on June 24th, Soft Power Vote is partnering with Gunk on an interview series featuring NYC electeds you should know about. Up next: Assemblymember Emily Gallagher (AD 50, Greenpoint, Williamsburg).
This interview was conducted in September 2020 ahead of her first run for State Assembly, where she successfully ousted the longtime Assemblyman who had held that seat for 48 years! She was part of a progressive cohort of freshman electeds that signified New Yorkers’ growing desire for change.
While in office, she’s worked to pass two major bills including the All-Electric Buildings Act and the LLC Transparency Act, which will help tenants against random landlords who hide behind bogus LLCs. Emily has a background in the arts, nonprofits and community organizing centered around sexual assault, safe streets and environmental justice in the Greenpoint area. In this archive interview, Emily discusses her nonlinear path to politics, how being a tour guide helped her find love for NYC, her dream collaborator (it’s not who you might think!) and why voting in the Primary election is so important. Follow @SoftPowerVote for more updates on NYC elections!
NYC! There’s an election coming up. On June 24th, we’ll be voting on everything from Mayor to City Council, Comptroller, Borough President, District Attorney, y más. Don’t get left out! Make sure you’re registered. Find all the info you need about the next election at @SoftPowerVote on IG & Substack.
This is an excerpt from an interview with State Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, conducted on September 24, 2020 by Melissa Saenz Gordon for Soft Power Vote.
What do you listen to in the mornings?
I used to listen to the Brian Lehrer Show religiously, but now I usually listen to records—there's definitely a morning vibe. Trying not to go for the hard stuff until at least the early afternoon. The Roach Sisters is one of the things that we were listening to; it's like 70s and early eighties folk music.
What did you study in college? What kind of odd jobs have you had along the way?
I started studying audio production in college because I wanted to have my own record label. Then I was more invigorated by my art history and film classes, so I switched to media studies. I did work in [the] art [world], which was my original dream, but it wasn't really what I expected. I would have enjoyed being an art historian, but working in art galleries and art museums is very much about buying and selling, it’s very capitalistic, right? I had a lot of odd jobs I could take up the next hour talking about odd jobs.
I did a lot of tour guiding, which was my main career for a while. Tour guiding led me to work in history museums, which allowed me to learn about New York City more in-depth. This was one of the things that inspired me to get into politics: I learned that it's because of younger women who organized social movements that have changed America.
Was there like one story from NYC’s history that motivated you?
I have the book right over here, it’s called Common Sense and a Little Fire, and it's about teenage girls in the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. They start the first tenants’ rights movement in the city and they're one of the reasons why we ended up with rent stabilization. They end up becoming workplace organizers, some go on to work for Presidential administrations, and it's all about saying that if you feel like something is not working, you're probably right.
What sparked your interest in community organizing?
It's hard to say exactly the moment, but there were a few factors that really pushed me. I was working with [artist] Brooke [Singer] and learned about the superfund sites in the neighborhood—I didn't realize just how many there were—on the federal level and state level. I realized that if I’m going to live here, I need to know more about this. We can actually shape a community that we want to live in.
I read this story in a local paper about a very cool local activist, Craig Murphy. He was three years older than me and led a major food pantry and started something called Great Rides, which helped women walk home at night. He was killed by a truck when he was riding his bike home at night, and I was just like, that could have easily been me—I was a bike commuter and here's someone who's lived the life that I want to be my legacy. I would have loved to be his friend. We don't have all the time that we think we have and we actually only have the time that we live each day. Murphy motivated me to look up an activist group, head on my bike, and knock on the door. It was such a different experience than my professional art world jobs because when I walked in the guy didn’t look me up to see if I was cool enough to work there, he was so grateful that I was there. That person ended up being Peter, the founder of Neighbors Allied for Good Growth [Now: North Brooklyn Neighbors].
You stated that “our democracy in New York is very broken.” We also feel this. In the [2020] June Primary you defeated Joe Lentol, who was longest-serving member of the State Assembly, and who rep’d this area of Greenpoint since 1972. What do you think about this wave of young people getting elected, like yourself, and the change in NYC politics?
I was in a group chat with other women who [were] running for office, Sandy Nurse and Jessica Gonzalez Rojas, and I was like, “Oh, I guess you have to get like a suit and I have to get like you to act a certain way, and they're like, “Don't sell out, just be yourself.” That is what you're actually offering.
I had this big breakthrough at a community board meeting, when someone said to me and my friend, “You're just kids!” And my friend looked back and he said, “I am almost 40 years old.” I think that our generation is really used to being infantilized. The economy that we've grown up in, the political time that we've grown up in, and how the job market has changed, we just haven't had the same opportunities to receive power. I think that we've gotten to this breaking point where we're like, “how much more bullshit can we take?” Somebody wrote to me, because they were upset that I was running and said, “why don't you intern for Joseph Lentol?” And I thought, I'm a director at a nonprofit.
I started to realize that I don't need to have THE background, I don't need to have collected the gold coins to cash in—all I have to do is speak the truth. And I think the election of Donald Trump has really made everybody much more aware and we want people who are really going to stand up for us. In this district, the election of Julia Salazar was really inspiring to see what that class of the No IDC, the backstabbing Democrats who were swept out, and who've made so much progress in two years, bills that were sitting dusty on the shelf for decades are suddenly passed. It made us realize that if we act, it happens.
Yeah, just being a Democrat is not enough anymore. We want to know what you stand for.
Right. There's a big opportunity, because the machine in Albany was really established because people didn't pay attention to state politics. So in New York City, it's all done in the Primary, which don’t have high turnouts. So we need to get people interested in the [Primary] election, and win, because you know, I don't have an opponent in November.
What does it mean for our vote to be counted? Why is it important?
A lot of people gave up on voting and, or don't do the research and it can feel really daunting. At the end of the day, the person that is elected holds the keys to your wellbeing. Has the power to make decisions about your housing, your transportation, your healthcare education, your work, your workers' rights, your environment—all of that is up for discussion. They don't have all the experiences in the world. They need to have people who can guide them to what's wrong. Voting is a vital transformative moment.
When you think about all of the groups of people who didn't have the right to vote for so long and what that meant for their lives, [or] rape and sexual assault—marital rape wasn't considered rape and was legal for a really long time. That's a problem.
What is an issue that needs more attention from New Yorkers? How can we get more involved?
I've been really interested in digital privacy rights. The US has almost none. And I think this is another generational issue—it's really going to take like digital natives to really hold that stuff accountable. All these corporations are owning our content.
What brought you to NYC, and what is one of your favorite aspects of being a New Yorker?
My dreams of working in the art world brought me here. The other day I went on a bike ride over to the next neighborhood and I felt like I was on vacation, you know, like there's so much going on. Even during COVID, there's so many different kinds of people, different stories happening—New York is really made for people who are willing to fight and be gritty. You have to make it work here and you have to struggle and you have to survive here, and that's kind of a commitment that I love. I have a relationship with this place—it's not where I live—we're in conversation, it challenges me and then I challenge it.
Who is your dream collaborator?
I wish Gil Scott Heron was still alive. He’s such a great observer of the human experience, writing from different perspectives, and he was so empathetic when he talked about the environmental crisis and immigration in the 70s and 80s, you know, things that we're still struggling with today. He was just so sharp. Yeah, I would have loved to like, get his feedback on like what he wanted to see happen here
ˋ°•*⁀➷ GUNK CLASSIFIEDSˋ°•*⁀➷
is your band (or solo act) looking to connect with other bands or performers to put together a bill for an upcoming show? send GUNK a little intro to your music (no links sorry) including an email address for a reply and we’ll publish the listings!
—> thegunkyard@gmail.com **if you’d rather your email address not listed let us know and we can get you in touch with interested parties**
“ TM for Hire “
hey yall~ im k8, and i could be your next tour manager :) if you’re in a bind and looking for a tm, look no further —fate has brought us together. ive tm’d for multinational headlining runs for the last few years, and prioritize working with femme-forward & queer projects. when im not on the road, im studying esoteric arts, making zines, and listening anything from hardcore to ambient. favorite projects include: hole, jockstrap, the garden, the moldy peaches, soul glo, kate bush…
-> find me on insta @kyote.mp3 or email me @ ktwomey999@gmail.com & ill see you on the road beep beep :*April has been a sexy month. We are nearly out of physical GUNK copies and the last few will be available this Sunday, 4/20 at The Deli Mag Fair at Baby’s All Right. We will have volunteers tabling from 2-8pm at this event with the last of our GUNK t-shirts and copies of the final few April GUNK (available for a pay what you can donation).
Ceci and I will be on tour with our band Sister. for the next week and change and will be back to see you for next month’s fun with May GUNK. We are hoping to incorporate more anonymous show reviews into our next issue. If you’re interested, email a short 2-4 sentence review to thegunkyard@gmail.com with a username of your choosing and a review of a local show.
maybe we will return from our little DIY tour with some valuable insight about the various gas stations we encounter…..who could say…..
talk soon
xoxo
Hannah and Ceci
 | A guest post by
|