Chi Ossé likes to say that before the pandemic and his move into politics, he worked nights. The year was 2020, he was 23 years old and wanted to have a good time. He lived in Brooklyn with his mother and hosted parties in New York to make ends meet. However Covid-19 epidemic he put an end to the music, cost Ossé his job, and confined him to his home.

And then, while the entire country was spending days glued to screens, Derek Chauvin, a white police officer from Minneapolis, strangled George FloydA black man in front of a cell phone camera. The images spread around the world and caused a nationwide uproar. “Obviously it wasn’t the first time I’d seen something like this as a Black person in this country, but I think it was hard to go back because of the isolation. I decided to take to the streets. I felt like I had nothing to lose,” recalls Ossé, with his faded haircut, pierced ears and clean-shaven face, on a sunny October morning in Brooklyn four years later.

It was May 29th. Like Ossé, thousands of people took to the streets. the demonstrations were hugeThe police response is disproportionate. “I decided to show what was happening on the field. What was shown on CNN and even Fox News was a different story than what I saw. This was a non-violent protest against police brutality, and the police reacted with brutality. “I saw people being arrested left and right, cars on fire, pepper spray being sprayed on me.”

Ossé recorded the protests and shared videos of them on Instagram. Although his social media presence was modest at the time, people increasingly began to follow him as they searched for information. After two weeks of unrest, Ossé, disappointed in the response of elected officials, decided to take action by running for office as a Democrat in his district. He won the election in 2021 despite all the odds. He was 24 years old and became the youngest council member in New York history.

In New York, each council member represents a district of the city. Ossé was drafted by Bedford-Stuyvesant and his hometown of Crown Heights. No one expected him to win: he was too young, unknown to voters, and did not have the necessary political support. He couldn’t quite believe it either.

The slogan of those days became a nationwide slogan: “Defund the police.” Ossé recalls: “New York City has a budget of over $110 billion, of which $11 billion goes to our police department (the official budget is $5.8 billion, but when other expenses like pensions are included it is $11 billion). We were pushing to reallocate these funds to education, healthcare, parks, infrastructure, and mental health. “When I saw that the council member in my district was not doing what we asked him to do, I decided to run.”

“A terrible housing crisis”

Ossé is located on Atlantic Avenue, the street that marks the border between Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, two iconic neighborhoods of Brooklyn’s African-American community. Here, the train roars past on elevated steel rails above the road, while cars cruise along the busy street below. The sidewalks are narrow, filled with abandoned warehouses, industrial buildings and vacant lots. Ossé plans to revitalize the area. He will build houses on one of these deserted plots of land currently used as a parking lot. “New York is going through a phase terrible housing crisishe explains. The housing vacancy rate in the city reached 1.4 percent, the lowest since 1968 and the lowest since 1968. according to official data.

defense of right affordable and decent housing has become Chi Ossé’s new focus, now 26, as he directs corporate policy. New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world and finding a home is an almost impossible task. Ossé’s big proposal, which he hopes will be his first major political success, is a bill to reform the commission fee that renters in the city must pay real estate agents when moving into a new residence. This fee, usually between 10% and 15% of the annual rent, is often requested even if the apartment is secured without the help of an intermediary. In a city where the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,900, broker fees pose a serious financial burden.

After months of negotiations, the City Council passed the bill on Wednesday by a vote of 42 to 8. The law requires that the person who hires the real estate agent (usually the property owner) must bear the commission. It now needs to be signed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Although Adams and Ossé belong to the same party, they are political rivals. Ossé publicly criticized the leadership of Adams, a former police officer Indicted on corruption charges in September. If Adams vetoes the bill, it will return to the Council, which can override the veto with a two-thirds majority. If the mayor takes no action, the bill will automatically become law after 30 days. Given the formidable influence of the real estate lobby in the United States, this reform is the most appropriate step for now; Removing the broker fee is completely out of reach politically.

Brooklyn and social media

Ossé has one of those legendary family histories that people in Brooklyn love. His grandfather, Teddy Vann, was a respected music producer who grew up in the neighborhood, won a Grammy, and worked with Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke, and Bob Dylan. Her father, Reginald Ossé, who died in 2017, was an iconic face. hip hop scene. The artist known as Combar Jack was known as both a communicator and an advocate for artists. Her mother, Akim Vann, owns a bakery in Prospect Heights. A family with a deep heritage. “We are fourth-generation Brooklynites,” he says proudly.

The tour continues in Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood known for its classic brownstone homes where locals sit and watch the world go by. Traditionally African-American Bed-Stuy, Spike Lee Do the Right Thing (1989), Where Radio Raheem shouts Fight the Power By Public Enemy. But today, it is facing rapid gentrification, making life increasingly difficult for longtime residents. There was an influx of white residents fleeing the high prices of Manhattan and the more popular areas of Brooklyn.

Ossé speaks directly to his working-class neighbors through an innovative social media strategy that departs from typical political tactics. Her Instagram looks more like an influencer’s account than a city council member’s; features short, energetic videos highlighting news and issues relevant to their constituents.

One example stands out: Every year in New York, a public meeting is held for residents to decide how much rent should increase. Ossé says traditionally only 10 to 20 people attend, and “half of those people are property owners who say we have to raise the rent.”

“Last year, the board of guidelines was proposing to raise rent by 8% to 16% for one- or two-year leases, which would be devastating for many New Yorkers. We got more than 1,000 people to come to the hearing through a video that went viral on social media, urging them to use their voices. At the end of the vote, rent increases for one- to two-year leases were 1 percent to 2 percent, instead of 8 percent to 16 percent.

Ossé says half of a public representative’s job is to pass laws and measures that will improve the lives of their neighbors. The other half is to inform. “I think this is where the government is lacking. You can pass 100 bills, but what good is it if people don’t know how to access those resources or even know about those bills? Social media has allowed me to get my vision and work out there and has also given people the help they need. Most people don’t even know what a city council member is. This presence on social media allowed them to reach our office, know who we are, and learn about the different programs we offer. “This is a tool to get the word out.” Citizens are already calling their elected representatives all over the city, demanding they vote in favor of legislation that redistributes broker pay.

During his three years in government, Ossé learned that politics can be brutal and that institutions do not always aim for the public good. “I voted against two budgets that increased police funding. So I made less money for my district. I was the head of the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission, and they took that position from me. It was a rude awakening. When you stand up for what you believe in, political implications and consequences emerge.

Despite these difficulties, Ossé successfully passed the law. Drugs that reverse overdose present in bars and nightclubs – a legacy of his years immersed in nightlife culture. He also tackled the city’s persistent rat problem, a serious public health problem in the city.

As a politician shaped by the Black Lives Matter protests and rooted in the progressive street movement, navigating corporate policy sometimes meant confronting contradictions. There is an old adage that the left, when in power, compromises its principles and softens.

“I was elected at the age of 23 and I am now 26 years old. I’ve matured a bit in how I operate within the government system, but I think politics is a chess game, and as a leftist my goal is to improve problems. public safety for housing. I want to achieve victories for my voters and working class people. I think I’ve become more strategic about how to secure those wins and how to actually help people. “My strategy has changed, but I don’t think I’ve softened in any way.”

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