Policy | Khari Edwards 2025

Initiatives for All Communities

To truly elevate the holistic well-being of our communities—addressing physical, mental, social, and economic health—it's crucial to understand how deeply these elements are interconnected. By prioritizing investments in education and job training, we can enhance public safety and drive economic empowerment. Creating well-paying local jobs will tackle the pressing issue of housing affordability, directly bolstering our community's economic stability. Additionally, investing in health initiatives not only combats food insecurity but also supports mental health services, paving the way for a more productive and thriving local economy.

Currently, our neighborhoods face a stark disparity in the distribution of resources, funding, and empathy. It is imperative that every area, from Brownsville to Park Slope and from East New York to Williamsburg, receives equal attention and investment. We are dedicated to ensuring that the concerns of residents in Flatbush are addressed with the same urgency and commitment as those in Cobble Hill. This commitment to equity and inclusion will help foster a community where every voice is heard and valued.

Healthcare & Hospitals

Provide $500K annually to safety net hospitals for capital upgrades and new equipment out of a $500M annual budget the Borough President can deploy.
Establish a Healthcare Equity Task Force, which will meet bi-monthly to address disparities in healthcare, care access issues and outcomes, best practices, and funding. The task force will work on initiatives to promote health equity, reduce barriers to care, and ensure that all Brooklyn residents receive quality healthcare services.
Provide annual funding for capital improvements and equipment to HH hospitals and safety net hospitals to ensure that there is continued improvement in infrastructure.
Convene a health task force of local CBO, healthcare institutions, and advocates to address issues, concerns, and best practices. This task force will meet quarterly.
Bring back the "take your spouse to the doctor" campaign, but reimagine it as "take your loved one to the doctor" to make sure that we are a encouraging a healthier community.
Financially support health fairs produced by hospitals and educational institutions.
Support a "pray for good health" campaign by partnering with local health institutions to provide healthcare screening for houses of worship, conducting blood pressure and non-invasive screenings.

Mental Health

Individuals suffering from mental health need compassion and attention. Although we talk so much about mental health, it is one of the least financially reimbursed health services. In order to address mental health we need to push the Governor to change the reimbursement rates and entice businesses to offer mental health services for free or low cost to employee lifestyles, as they do with gym memberships.
While at Brookdale Hospital, I worked with our psychology department and the medical residents to do clinical hours in partnership with schools that were not community schools and needed mental health support. I will create those partnerships for students and their families.
Support non-community schools with weekly visits from psychology and psychiatry hospital residents and social worker fellows to provide mental health support for students and family members as part of their community service hours.
Work with the City DOH and local hospitals to financially support mobile crisis vans to increase the current volume of care.
Fund cure violence and violence interruption groups, giving them funding for a clinical social worker or psychologist.

Public Safety

What does true public safety look like? While good and bad exist in every society, when communities lack resources, jobs, healthcare, and educational opportunities, we diminish hope. We need to address public safety by creating more opportunities for success.
One of my first legislative plans is to implement mandatory implicit bias training for new police recruits with a refresher course every five years. Existing officers will attend a paid retreat with this same training. We've placed officers in unfamiliar communities and asked them to police with compassion. We can do better.
Introduce a bill through the city council that will require police academy cadets to complete implicit bias training as part of their requirements for graduation. The bill will also require current patrol and highway patrol to take this course as well, with a 5 year refresher course.
Pay for situational awareness and emergency management training conducted and hosted by Borough for Seniors and houses of worship.
Create safe zone ambassador businesses and areas with extra camera surveillance to harbor and protect potential victims of crimes.

Gun Violence

Gun violence often results from a lack of community investment. When we engage our community, especially young people, respect for human life increases. We can end senseless killings by fostering hope from an early age and providing alternatives to violence, but it requires attention and investment.
Invest annually in cure violence groups from the office of the Borough President to ensure the work is continued at the grassroots level with credible messengers.
Implement "Something To Do" program in schools and provide safe, free space for non-profits to keep children occupied after school, lessening the influence of gang recruitment.
Partner with businesses to create internships and job shadowing opportunities to serve as pipelines to employment for high school aged students.
Fund programs like the Flatbush leadership academy, KAVI, and Community Alternatives to give opportunities and secondary chances to break cycles of violence.
Partner with organizations like the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Community Alternatives, and CACCI to create entrepreneurship opportunities and business building for youth putting their minds to business.
At Brookdale Hospital, I created the "It Starts Here" program to combat the rising violence in East Brooklyn, where we were losing our children at an alarming rate. The program continues to operate successfully at Brookdale. As BP, I will work to expand this initiative to other hospitals throughout Brooklyn and NYC.
Create of safety zones and cease fire districts throughout the Borough with law enforcement, local businesses, community organizations, and churches partnering to lead the way in helping to encourage peaceful dialogue.

Education

Use the BP's capital budget to improve school infrastructure, like broadband, auditoriums, air conditioning, gymnasiums, and more.
Use a portion of the BP's budget to partner with the DOE to keep schools open after hours, allowing local non-profits to utilize the space for free programming, turning schools into community centers.
Use Borough Hall or local community offices as support depots for teachers to assist with supply shortages of students.
Fund non-profits that support children who desire to attend college.
How can I breathe without air: Partner with local philanthropy to bring back the fresh air fund, taking children who are financially struggling out of the inner city to camps and nature experiences.
In the past two years, the biggest single enrollment change has been an influx of tens of thousands of migrant students in need of English language services. English learners now comprise 16.3% of the school system, up from 13.3% in the 2019-20 school year. Schools are scrambling to hire more bilingual staff and English as a New Language teachers, we should work to bridge this budget and talent gap.

Housing Affordability & Homeownership

As Borough President, we can help shape what real affordability is by using the office to move away from right exclusionary development, by putting more power back into the hands of community boards, and by adding more members to the planning commission appointed by the Borough Presidents.
Any development using city money, we will work in partnership with city council members and community boards to set reasonable AMI’s for development.
Homeownership is the cornerstone for generational wealth, however with the rise in displacement of elderly homeowners because of illegal deed theft, predatory investment groups, and the loss of appropriate tax assessment by the city, more people are losing their homes than ever before.
Re-establish an appropriate number of tax assessors, which will bring more city jobs back into the fold and close the loop on communities of color paying more in property tax than vacant buildings in NYC.

Climate Resilience & Green Spaces

Provide NYCHA developments, senior developments, and affordable housing complexes with composting stations and teach residents how to separate compost to lessen waste.
Work with the community boards to complete a study of low lying, flood prone communities, like Canarsie, Bergen Beach, and homeowners in the South end of Brooklyn to explore rezoning to allow elevation of homes and below street level driveways. Many homes that were flooded during superstorm Sandy would benefit.
Implement street recycle trash cans and hold a contest for designs for the cans to be an artistic representation of the Borough.
Use Borough Hall as a hub for energy efficient questions and workshops for electrical stoves, solar panels, and energy efficient appliances.
Host flower exchange events and farmers markets throughout the year.
Train trestles and highway overpasses are peeling with lead paint and corroding. We will invest capital money to secure funding to have many of them painted.
Work with the federal department of transportation and Mayor to improve BQE expressways and recommend a tree planting initiative to use vegetation to reduce carbon monoxide through tree absorption.
Implement a pilot program for community dumpsters, which will allow residents to dump garbage into local dumpsters instead of leaving them on the curb or in smaller trash cans.

Food Insecurity

Partner with local community fridge programs and increase the number throughout Brooklyn, placing them near community board offices.
Use the BP's capital budget to fund transportation for organizations like the Campaign Against Hunger, Fort Greene food and JCRC, utilizing local farms like Kingsborough and local community gardens.
Build composting stations outside of NYCHA buildings to create sustainable soil to produce more nutrient rich foods.

Jobs, Wages, & Labor

Brooklyn boasts a talented workforce of union workers, entrepreneurs, private industry pros, and artists. We must ensure space for all income levels and expertise, providing available jobs for those in need and securing employment for those currently working.
I have seen firsthand the need for organized and labor unions. The protective rights and advocacy for workers rights are the hallmark of labor. As Borough President my office will have bi-monthly meetings with labor leaders to ensure the office stays abreast of important issues.

Seniors

Our seniors are the backbone of our community. Brooklyn needs a BP committed to funding their healthcare, protecting homes from third-party transfers and high property taxes, investing in food insecurity programs, and ensuring safety from crime and abuse.
My mother was a victim of senior abuse and killed in her home by someone she trusted. I will do everything in my power to never let that happen to anyone again.

Community Boards

Reinstate the position of Director or Liaison to community boards. This position's sole responsibility will be to ensure that community boards by-laws, voting issues, and applications for membership will be attended to by the BP's office.
Conduct bi-monthly Chair and District Manager meetings to fully support the needs, issues, and concerns of the board.
Quarterly, the Chair and District Manager meetings will be attended by agency liaisons from the city.
Use the BP's discretionary budget to fund Community Board days, block parties, or concerts as community engagement support.
As BP, I will personally attend community board meetings every other month as schedule permits.
Support mothers or caretaking members of the community who do not have child care by providing a stipend for child care on meeting nights.