Nicole Malliotakis, a state assemblywoman representing parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, is running for the upcoming mayoral election this November.
The Maspeth Blog met with her on Wednesday to discuss her candidacy for mayor.
Malliotakis was born in Manhattan and grew up in Staten Island. She is the daughter of Greek and Cuban immigrants, and has made history being the first Greek American woman to hold elected office.
“This election isn’t about Trump,” Malliotakis said. “This election is about traffic, transit, and trash.”
She discussed many quality of life issues affecting New Yorkers such as homelessness, crime, and immigration.
Malliotakis says she wants to address the growing homelessness crisis. If she is elected, she wants to provide vocational jobs for those living in shelters. Malliotakis also disagrees with what she called Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “lax requirements” for transitioning people sleeping on the streets and in the subways.
Malliotakis explained that aside from the homeless, 4% of the entirety of New York City has some form of a severe mental illness. In addition, sex crimes have gone up roughly 25% in the last three years. She also spoke to us about some of the city’s most frequent crimes. These include sex abuse, patronizing a child for prostitution, drunk driving, welfare, and grand larceny.
However, Malliotakis has many plans to not only tackle these issues, but to get as many of these criminals off of the streets as possible.
When talking to the Maspeth Blog about her plans for the city if she is elected, we asked, “Why you, Why should you be the people’s choice for Mayor?” She responded with, “Why me? Because I’m presenting the alternative. I’m willing to take on the status quo.”
As the daughter of immigrant parents, Malliotakis said she’s passionate about immigration issues. She said believes in the aspiration and exemplification of the American Dream.
When asked how she would fix cultural divisiveness over the issue, she said as a Republican, she’s in a better position to lobby Washington to “fix the broken immigration system.” Malliotakis said she would like to see the process streamlined so people don’t have to wait decades and pay thousands of dollars to become a citizen.
Rooted in her beliefs, Malliotakis and her principles are a package deal and will be ready for November.
By: Angelica Katcher and Jennifer Luizzi
Follow on Twitter: @NMalliotakis #NoNonsenseNicole
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