Rachel Storch (District 4 City Council candidate) – Meet the Candidates 2025!

The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association reached out to all the candidates running for office in 2025 that intersect our neighborhood (Mayor, Manhattan Borough President, City Council District 2, and City Council District 4, etc.) with questions sourced directly from our members via our Ask the Candidates questionnaire. See the candidate’s answers below.

How you would improve our streets and quality of life?

As a City Councilmember, I am deeply committed to addressing the daily quality of life concerns that impact East Side residents, and I will prioritize making our streets safer, more accessible, and more sustainable for all New Yorkers.

On Second and Third Avenues, I will work to transform these critical thoroughfares into safer, more efficient corridors. This means implementing hardened bus and bike lanes, widening sidewalks, and reducing traffic speeds to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders. I’ll push for enhanced traffic enforcement to crack down on reckless driving and illegal parking that currently endangers vulnerable street users.

I will demand accountability from delivery app companies and implement stricter enforcement against reckless e-bike riders. This includes developing comprehensive strategies to manage the increasing number of delivery vehicles and e-bikes that contribute to street congestion and safety risks. By working closely with transportation authorities, we can create more predictable and safer street environments.

Additionally, I’ll address other quality of life issues that impact our community. This includes implementing stricter timelines and increased penalties for property owners who leave scaffolding and sidewalk sheds up indefinitely. I’ll work to shut down illegal cannabis shops that have proliferated in our neighborhoods and ensure they do not compromise community standards.

How are you going to handle the illegal migrant situation that has escalated into NYC?

I believe the City Council has an outsized responsibility to both protect New Yorkers while also advocating for humane immigration policies. Over the past few years, New York City has dealt with an unprecedented influx of migrants, driven in no small part by exploitative Republican governors sending asylum-seekers north on buses. There’s no question that it has strained our city’s resources. While I strongly believe NYC should continue to be a safe haven for law-abiding immigrants, we must ensure we’re looking out for the needs of all New Yorkers.

Immigrants are a critical part of the economic engine of NYC. On the Council, I would advocate for expediting work permits for immigrant workers, which would allow them to become part in the economic fabric of New York City and begin building their lives here. This approach benefits everyone by allowing newcomers to become self-sufficient, pay taxes, and contribute to our economy.

How can housing become more affordable and not just for low income candidates?

Making housing more affordable for all New Yorkers will be one of my top priorities on the City Council. Our district has a proud legacy of innovative affordable housing solutions through developments like Stuyvesant Town, Peter Cooper Village, and Waterside Plaza. With Manhattan median rents exceeding $4,000, we risk becoming a city accessible only to the very wealthy. This threatens the vibrant mix of people that makes New York special.

Despite earning what should be good, middle-class wages, many workers are increasingly priced out of Manhattan and many parts of the outer boroughs. This forces them into long commutes that impact their quality of life and our city’s sustainability. Workforce housing programs are vital to maintaining New York’s economic vitality and social fabric. These programs would include mixed-income developments that include units specifically targeted at middle-income households and public-private partnerships that create below-market housing for moderate-income workers.

I will advocate for transforming Midtown Manhattan, where office vacancy rates exceed 20%. We need to go beyond Mayor Adams’ Midtown South Mixed Use plan by increasing allowable density and implementing mandatory inclusionary housing requirements. Strategic upzoning around transit hubs would allow significantly more density where infrastructure can support it. I’ll push for reforms to streamline the ULURP process, expand as-of-right development, and create greater flexibility for converting commercial spaces to residential use.

Protecting and preserving Mitchell-Lama housing is crucial as these developments have provided stable, affordable homes for middle-income New Yorkers for generations. I’ll support innovative ownership models like community land trusts to ensure long-term affordability while creating pathways to homeownership. Through mixed-income development on NYCHA land, we could generate revenue to preserve existing units while creating new mixed-income homes without displacing residents. My focus will be on ensuring that New York remains accessible not just to those who qualify for low-income subsidies, but to the teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers who form the backbone of our communities.

How would you address homelessness and mental illness in NYC?

I will take a comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness in NYC by tackling its root causes. Having seen firsthand the effective model at Project Renewal during my site visit, I strongly support organizations that provide comprehensive, long-term solutions for families experiencing homelessness. Their successful approach combines stable housing with essential wraparound services including healthcare, mental health treatment, job training, and family-centered casework. This holistic model ensures children remain in stable school environments while families receive the support needed to achieve lasting stability.

As a Council Member, I will fight to secure and expand city, state, and federal funding for such comprehensive programs while advocating for more affordable housing and rental assistance programs to help vulnerable New Yorkers achieve housing stability. The city simply does not have enough beds to care for those who need long-term care, and we are still suffering the consequences of deinstitutionalization policies dating back to the 1970s.

Mental illness requires significant investment in accessible services across all neighborhoods. I will work to increase funding for community-based providers, mobile clinics, and the integration of mental health services with primary care. We must also expand capacity for long-term domiciliary care for those who need it. As a former legal aid attorney and legislator, I worked closely with organizations like NAMI to advocate for those suffering from mental illness, and I will continue this important work on the Council.

I believe we need stronger coordination between police, social services, and community organizations to create comprehensive safety solutions. This approach serves both as a moral obligation to help people in crisis and as a critical public safety measure. Additionally, I will work to increase funding for school-based mental health services, bring more counselors and social workers into schools, and develop programs that provide trauma-informed care for students who have experienced significant disruption and stress.

How would you support the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association?

As your City Council representative, I am deeply committed to being an accessible and responsive government official who prioritizes community input and collaboration. Neighborhood associations like the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association are the lifeblood of our local democratic process, providing critical insights, thoughtful perspectives, and grassroots understanding of our community’s unique needs and challenges.

I would work tirelessly to support everything that is special about Murray Hill, including local landmarks and historic buildings, neighborhood restaurants and shops, educational and medical facilities, and Grand Central Station. I would prioritize supporting our community business owners by working to reduce red tape and to enhance business visibility and engagement within the community. I would also work closely with the neighborhood precinct to ensure that police patrols are in the spots where needed. And I would strongly support any greening projects to preserve and beautify the neighborhood.

I believe that meaningful governance goes far beyond making decisions in a vacuum. Instead, I will actively seek out and value the input of neighborhood associations, ensuring they have a genuine seat at the table during decision-making processes. This means holding regular community meetings and Town Halls on timely issues, being consistently available to association members, and creating multiple channels for communication and feedback.

Transparency will be a cornerstone of my approach. I commit to providing clear, timely, and comprehensive information about city initiatives, proposed developments, and policy considerations that impact our neighborhood. Neighborhood associations like yours play a crucial role in distilling complex information and facilitating informed community dialogue, and I will support and amplify those efforts.

Bio

I am a fourth generation New Yorker and am raising my four children in New York City because I believe this is the greatest city in the world. I began my career as a legal aid attorney, helping low-income members of my community access healthcare and other social services. I then went to work for Senator Jean Carnahan as her Deputy Chief of Staff, where I was in charge of a broad policy portfolio that included Education, Public Safety, and Immigration. Inspired by my work for Senator Carnahan, I won election to the Missouri State Legislature where I became a Deputy Whip of the Democratic Caucus and served on the Budget Committee, Ways and Means, and Appropriations for Economic Development.

After spending three terms in the Missouri State Legislature, I moved back to New York City to start a family with my husband. I have been raising my four children on the Upper East Side for the past fifteen years. For more than 5 years, I have served as Chief Operating Officer at Fifth Avenue Synagogue, a historic and significant non-profit on the Upper East Side, and prior to that, worked at the 92nd Street Y, a world-class cultural and community center that has served New Yorkers of all ages, races, and faiths for more than 150 years.

Today, I am running for the City Council because I believe that I have the experience necessary to make New York City a more affordable, safer, and cleaner place for everyone.

https://www.rachelstorch.nyc/