Born at St. Vincent’s Hospital and raised near Union Square, I attended Hunter College High School and Harvard. After graduating, I moved to the West Village and have lived here ever since.
My work has led me from social impact entrepreneurship, to progressive organizing, to voting rights and democracy advocacy — expertise and passion I will bring to serving all constituents of Greenwich Village, Soho, Noho, and Tribeca.
I founded DipJar in 2011 to help low-wage service workers increase their earnings and nonprofits grow their donations. Since then, DipJar has helped generate tens of millions of dollars for service workers and vital causes.
But the 2016 election changed everything, with America’s wounds made raw for all to see.
Democracy confronted by rising fascism.
Racial segregation and subjugation, police violence, and mass incarceration.
Gaping inequality, unaffordability of housing and healthcare, and inaction on the existential threat of climate change.
Tech isn’t the solution to these problems — they require the full power of the state and of our communities. (On income inequality, I recently wrote about the need to end the tipped minimum wage in New York — to fully help the tip earners I launched DipJar to support.)
I have spent the last four years on the front lines of progressive organizing and democracy advocacy.
Like many young people with the privilege to change careers, I sought to help Democrats take back state governments and the US House, Senate, and White House:
2017: I helped to launch a PAC, Flippable, dedicated to winning back state legislatures
2018: I managed a Congressional race in upstate New York
2020: I built a state voter protection operation for Joe Biden and down-ballot Democrats
2021: I ran a new ballot cure team for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock’s Senate runoffs
At the same time, I have committed myself to realizing these same values closer to home, serving on Community Board 2 in Manhattan. (In 2019, I was elected by my fellow members to the Executive Board.)
Unfortunately, in that work, I’ve seen that too many powerful New Yorkers and politicians preach progressive values but fail to live them on our own streets.
Entrenched interests stand in the way of our community’s future:
Blocking new housing that would make our neighborhoods more affordable and integrated
Protecting parking spaces over outdoor dining, bus lanes, and bike lanes that would make the city more sustainable and equitable
Calling for more police whenever there is a perceived threat to quality of life, when redirecting funding to communities would improve the quality of all New Yorkers’ lives
While arguing that we must live our progressive values in downtown Manhattan as much as we fight for them in Washington, I have also continued to advocate for well-run, inclusive elections — all too lacking in New York. Excluding voters and undermining their confidence in the results makes every level of government less representative and accountable.
As a gay man and progressive Jew, I am committed to ensuring the flourishing of all the communities that make NY the greatest state in the union and NYC the greatest city in the world.
That’s my story — now Let’s write the next chapter, together.
I’m running for Assembly to ensure we vote our values in Albany and live them in our own backyards— to integrate our streets and schools, to build housing that will lower costs for everyone, and to reclaim space for pedestrians, mass transit, and public use that will make our streets more vibrant and our city more sustainable.