Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Zakiyah Ansari

Zakiyah Ansari

  • Key to Victory, Black Voters Appear Solidly Behind Cuomo Over Nixon

    Cuomo Brooklyn church

    Gov. Cuomo at God's Battalion Church in Brooklyn (both photos via Governor's Office)


    On a recent morning at Sylvia's, the historic soul food restaurant in Harlem, caterer Lindsey Williams was weighing his upcoming vote in New York's gubernatorial primary election.

    "I listened to Cynthia Nixon, and I liked what she was saying," said Williams, the 52 year-old grandson of Sylvia's founder Sylvia Woods.

    Ultimately, however, Governor Andrew Cuomo had his vote, Williams said, citing his admiration for the governor's father, late Governor Mario Cuomo,

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  • Nixon Candidacy Spotlights Education Advocacy Group

    Cynthia Nixon AQE

    Cynthia Nixon, right, with Assemblymember Felix Ortiz in 2014 (photo: Ortiz's office)


    When actor and activist Cynthia Nixon held her first news conference as a gubernatorial candidate, at a Pentecostal church in Brownsville, Brooklyn, she was introduced by Zakiyah Ansari, an education activist and longtime ally.

    In New York’s advocacy ecosystem, Ansari and her organization, the Alliance for Quality Education, have long held prominence in outspoken fashion. The group, a nonprofit advocacy organization formed in 2001 and historically funded by

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