Abundance New York 2026 City Council Candidate Questionnaire
Carl Wilson
City Council District 3
Background
Please briefly describe your background and why you are running for this office.
I am running for City Council because the West Side of Manhattan is not just where I live. It is where I found community, purpose, and a political home grounded in the belief that working-class people of every background deserve dignity, stability, and power.
I moved to New York City as a young actor trying to build a life in a city that has always drawn working people from around the world. Like so many New Yorkers, I experienced firsthand the financial insecurity and housing pressures that define life for too many in this city. But I also found something powerful in Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, and the West Village. I found a working-class community with a long history of organizing and fighting for justice, especially within the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. This community gave me the freedom to live openly and the responsibility to give back.
After the 2016 election, I knew I could not stay on the sidelines while working people, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ communities were under attack. I co-founded the Hell’s Kitchen Democrats to build a true grassroots, progressive organization that could challenge entrenched political power and fight for tenants, workers, and neighbors who felt shut out of the political process. That work helped create lasting change on the West Side and empowered a new generation of community leadership.
As Chief of Staff to Council Member Erik Bottcher, I have helped advance major housing initiatives, environmental justice legislation, and gun safety reforms. I have worked directly with tenants fighting displacement, with advocates pushing for stronger protections, and with working families navigating systems that too often fail them.
My vision is rooted in the belief that New York City must remain a place where working people can build and keep a life. That means fighting for deeply affordable housing, protecting tenants, strengthening worker protections, investing in public services, and ensuring that economic development delivers real benefits for our communities. It also means defending immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and all marginalized communities, and building a city where everyone belongs.
How are you differentiated from your opponent(s)? What does your path to victory look like in your district?
This race will be won through an aggressive, community-centered field operation paired with disciplined communications and grassroots fundraising, powered by the deep relationships I have built over more than a decade of service on the West Side. Based on prior primary elections in District 3, we estimate a winning threshold of approximately 7,000 votes, depending on turnout.
What distinguishes me is a decade of experience both inside City Hall and on the ground in the district. As Chief of Staff to then–Council Member Erik Bottcher and as Community Board 4 Liaison under former Speaker Corey Johnson, I’ve developed a block-by-block understanding of this community. I’ve spent years navigating the mechanics of city government to deliver real results, leading on district budget priorities, advancing legislation, and solving problems for constituents. No other candidate brings the same day-to-day Council experience or is as prepared to step into this role on day one.
Our team includes experienced campaign professionals across field, communications, and compliance, along with a large and growing volunteer base. We are also supported by allied organizations including local Democratic clubs, labor partners, and progressive advocacy groups. Each component of the campaign will operate in close coordination, with clear metrics and accountability, to ensure we are maximizing voter contact, growing our coalition, and building the kind of people-powered operation necessary to win this race.
Government Delivery Reform
Streamlining City Approvals: The City Council should support efforts to reduce the time and complexity of the city's permitting and approval processes — including environmental review (CEQR), building permits, and interagency sign-offs — for housing, transit, and clean energy projects
Agree
Civil Service Reform: The City Council should support efforts to modernize New York City's hiring process — including opting into state programs like NY HELPS, funding DCAS to offer exams more frequently and score them faster, and updating job titles and classifications to reflect modern roles — in order to fill the more than 13,000 current vacancies and strengthen the city's ability to deliver services.
Agree
Capital Project Procurement Reform: New York City should streamline its capital construction delivery process by giving all builder agencies (DOT, HPD, DDC, Parks, DEP) procurement and delivery flexibilities similar to those of the NYC Construction Authority, including reforms to procurement rules, delivery methods, ULURP, and zoning.
Agree
City Digital Services: The City Council should fund and support the modernization of how New Yorkers access city services — including permitting, benefits applications, and 311 — by investing in the Office of Technology and Innovation, embedding digital service teams within agencies, and replacing paper-based processes with user-friendly digital tools.
Agree
Additional context
(No response)
Housing
Expanding Housing: Addressing the housing affordability crisis requires increasing production of all kinds of housing, including market-rate units.
Agree
Homelessness/Expedited permanent supportive housing: Addressing the homelessness crisis requires a housing-first solution such as expedited permanent supportive housing for those in need, because shelters are not a permanent solution.
Agree
Transit Oriented Development: New York City should allow for more housing to be built near existing transit stations including near commuter rail stations, even if that requires changing zoning.
Agree
Build Code Reform: New York City should embrace building code and licensing reforms (e.g., smaller elevator size requirements, modular construction, mass timber) that make it cheaper to build housing while maintaining safety.
Agree
Additional context
(No response)
Transit
Fair Fares Expansion: New York City should expand the Fair Fares program to cover all New Yorkers with household incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, ensuring that the cost of public transit is not a barrier to employment, healthcare, and education.
Agree
Streets Master Plan and Busways: The City Council should hold DOT accountable to meeting the benchmarks set in the NYC Streets Plan, including 150 miles of protected bus lanes and 250 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of 2026, and support expanding busways and bus rapid transit lines to increase bus speeds across the city.
Agree
Pedestrian-First Streets and Vision Zero: New York City should recommit to Vision Zero and dramatically expand pedestrian-only, cyclist-only, and low-traffic streets and neighborhoods across all five boroughs — including completing previously identified Greenways and building out the city's protected bike lane network.
Agree
Parking: New York City should increase the number of metered street parking spaces and use demand-based pricing to manage curbside space more efficiently and generate revenue for transit improvements.
Agree
Additional context
(No response)
Clean Energy & Climate Resilience
Solar on Public Buildings: New York City should accelerate the installation of solar panels on city-owned buildings, public schools, and NYCHA rooftops, and meet or exceed its existing targets for renewable energy generation on public property.
Agree
Coastal and Climate Resilience: The City Council should prioritize funding for coastal flood protection and stormwater infrastructure — including completing the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency projects, expanding the Bluebelt program, and investing in flood protection for vulnerable neighborhoods in all five boroughs.
Agree
Additional context
(No response)
Candidate Statement
Abundance Examples from Your Work: Please describe a specific example from your record (legislative, professional, or community work) where you championed a project or policy that is aligned with our agenda. What obstacles did you overcome, and what was the outcome?
One of the clearest examples of my commitment to an abundance agenda is my work advancing the Midtown South rezoning. This effort is poised to unlock thousands of new housing units in a part of Manhattan that has long been constrained by outdated zoning, while also creating opportunities for modern workspace and economic growth.
The process required navigating a complex set of competing priorities. I worked closely with local Business Improvement Districts, community boards, property owners, and representatives of the garment industry to ensure that growth would not come at the expense of the neighborhood’s historic identity or the small businesses and workers who rely on it. There were real concerns about displacement, affordability, and preserving industrial uses, and it was critical to engage stakeholders early and often to build trust and find common ground.
This work is a clear example that we do not have to choose between preservation and housing growth. With thoughtful planning and collaboration, we can achieve both. By bringing stakeholders to the table and focusing on a shared vision of a more dynamic, mixed-use neighborhood, we were able to advance a framework that protects what makes Midtown South unique while still delivering the housing our city desperately needs.
The outcome is a rezoning framework that will enable significant new housing production, support job creation, and help ensure Midtown South remains a vibrant, inclusive part of our city. This is how I approach governance: leaning into complexity, building coalitions, and delivering results that expand opportunity without losing the character of our neighborhoods.
Legislative Priorities: If elected to the City Council, what are your top three legislative priorities? Please be specific about the policies you would advance and what you hope to achieve.
Unlock Housing Supply at Every Level: I will advance legislation to legalize and expand shared housing options across New York City, creating a modern framework that allows more people to live affordably in high-opportunity neighborhoods. I will also champion an artist housing initiative that creates dedicated, income-restricted spaces for creatives who are essential to our city’s economy and identity. Together, these efforts are about removing outdated barriers, making better use of our existing building stock, and delivering real, scalable housing solutions.
Make It Easier to Build Good Jobs and Grow the Economy: I will support policies that raise labor standards while also making it easier to build and grow in New York City. That means expanding prevailing wage requirements, ensuring app-based and emerging sector workers are protected from exploitation, and setting clear, transparent rules around AI and workplace technologies. We should be a city where growth and worker protections go hand in hand, making it easier to create high-quality, middle-class jobs at scale.
Deliver Safe, Livable Neighborhoods That Support Growth: I will prioritize legislation that invests in the fundamentals that make density work: safe streets, accessible transit, clean public spaces, and strong tenant protections. That includes expanding community-based mental health services, holding negligent landlords accountable, and accelerating improvements to our streets and public realm. If we want to build more housing and welcome more New Yorkers, we also need to ensure our neighborhoods are safe, healthy, and built to support that growth.