My name is Lydia Green, and I am a Democratic District Leader, progressive organizer, tenant, NYC public school graduate, and queer Jewish New Yorker. My life has been dedicated to community organizing and advocacy since childhood. When I was a junior away at college in Pennsylvania, Trump got elected. I remember being terrified about what was coming next for our country — our healthcare system, our immigrant neighbors, and our fundamental freedoms. So I fought back, working on Conor Lamb’s campaign for Congress, making hundreds of calls a day to flip a Trump plus 20 district. 

When I came back home, I got involved locally and criss-crossed the city to elect progressive champions like Jumaane Williams for NYC Public Advocate, Moumita Ahmed for City Council, Mathylde Frontus for Assembly, and Jesse Pierce for District Leader here in my home district. When Jesse stepped back two years later, I decided to throw my hat into the ring and run, and I won the way progressives have won for decades: knocking on hundreds of doors myself, and listening to voters that hadn’t felt heard in years about their hopes and dreams for our party.

I'm running for State Assembly in District 52 because Brooklyn is my home, and has been my family’s home for generations, but it has become too expensive to live here. This district contains one of the most politically and culturally active constituencies in the entire state, yet it's under threat by the same crushing weight of gentrification and unaffordability that plagues our entire city. The kids I used to babysit in a walk up apartment moved to deeper Brooklyn or Long Island. The brownstones that used to house civil servants now cost more than most New Yorkers will ever see in a lifetime. Many of the shops and restaurants that used to line the streets are shuttered, as commercial rents skyrocketed throughout the 2010s and 2020s.

This moment in our history demands more than politics as usual. It’s not enough to just claim progressivism without public agitation and action. It’s not enough to simply cosign bills and not be in the streets, marching and organizing alongside those in our community who have spent their lives fighting for change. We can’t stop fascism by being a name on a paper. We are in the midst of one of the most dramatic political transformations that the United States has ever seen and the potential to dramatically improve the lives of tens of millions of New Yorkers. I refuse to remain passive on legislation that will save lives, protect immigrants, defend workers, and make my neighbors' lives easier. I was taught from an early age that my primary obligation does not lie within myself, but within my community. I cannot help but fight for my home, and I am unbelievably grateful that thousands of members of my community have already trusted me to advocate on their behalf as District Leader. 

As an Assembly Member, I am ready to organize tirelessly to tax the rich, build affordable homes, protect us from the climate crisis, and pass every piece of progressive legislation that has languished for years in committee. We need a true activist in this seat — someone who won't have political capital as their primary concern, but the friends they grew up with who can't imagine themselves ever owning a home — who will work tirelessly to ensure that Brooklyn is affordable and equitable enough for everyone and anyone to build a life here.