Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Juan Ardila

Juan Ardila

  • Creating True Public Safety in New York, Our Most Important Job

    Juan Ardila, the author, on the subway


    Keeping everyone safe is the most important function of government. As a leader, I take that responsibility very seriously. The recent subway shooting in Brooklyn is devastating. As has been the dramatic rise in hate crimes and increase in gun violence during the pandemic. These events and trends cause anxiety across communities. Every New Yorker must feel safe in their homes, on our streets, and in our subways. 

    Public safety requires competence and effectiveness. Yes, we need to

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  • In Queens, Council Member Who Unseated Incumbent Tries to Hold Off Primary Challenge from the Left

    Robert Holden Queens

    Council Member Robert Holden (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    City Council Member Bob Holden, a first-term Democrat from Queens, is known for being one of the Council’s more moderate-to-conservative members, having won his seat running on the Republican ballot line in 2017 after losing the Democratic primary to the incumbent at the time. Especially in a legislative body that includes just three Republicans in 51 seats, Holden regularly takes among the more right-leaning positions on a number of issues, particularly policing, whether in his district or on a

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  • Expanding Educational Opportunities for Our Youngest Learners

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    Kids at school (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Economic and racial inequities have been a plague in New York City’s education system for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the situation for our most vulnerable students. Faced with the reckoning of remote learning, we’ve been bombarded with stories of how our public schools lack the resources to adequately equip students with the technology they need to stay afloat, while something as simple as providing wi-fi to every child has only been met with excuses. Yet often

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  • Progressive Challenger Launches City Council Campaign to Unseat Conservative Democrat in Queens

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    Juan Ardila (photo: campaign website)


    First-term City Council Member Bob Holden, a conservative Democrat from Queens known for controversial statements and criticism of the de Blasio administration, is facing a 2021 challenge from Juan Ardila, a first-generation immigrant and Maspeth native who says Holden is failing the 30th Council District.

    Ardila, the son of a Honduran-Cuban mother and Colombian father, says he is running to fight for working class families in a district plagued by rising costs of living, lack of mass transit, limited employment opportunities,

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