NEW YORK — Lifelong New Yorker Kathryn Garcia has been put in charge of many departments across the city, including Lead prevention, interim Head of NYCHA, emergency food czar and commissioner of the Department of Sanitation.
Now, Garcia is looking to be the next mayor of New York City.
Garcia told PIX11 News her experience working in different city agencies and taking on different roles allowed her to prepare for her mayoral run.
“I have real vision about where I want to take this city,” she said.
Among her goals is to make sure the city gets out of COVID-19 robustly and assure New Yorkers they have the assistance they need.
Garcia also discussed the recent rise in crimes against Asian communities, saying “it’s gotten significantly worse.”
Garcia believed there is an underreporting of attacks, and she encouraged people to report hate crimes and said there needs to be more NYPD presence on the streets.
She also called on New Yorkers to stand with communities in need and denounce the rise in attacks.
“Leadership matters,” Garcia said.