The Heartbreaking Moment That Pushes Me to Keep Fighting in Politics
Letitia James cries a lot on the job.
As New York City’s public advocate, the second highest-ranking elected official in the city, she’s a watchdog for residents, making sure they have access to all city services. James spends her days visiting apartments, schools, and offices around the city every day to get a sense of what life is really like for New Yorkers. Hearing their stories often brings her to tears, but ultimately, she says, that’s a good thing. “First you get emotional. Then you get angry. And then you get motivated.”
Motivated to push for reform, she helped secure free lunch for students at all public schools and got the city to make it illegal for employers to ask prospective employees about their salary history, which she says perpetuates the gender pay gap. She’s also the first woman of color to hold citywide elected office in New York.
Here, James speaks about one of her most life-changing moments on the job.
In the office of public advocate, each year we issue the worst landlords watch list. Clara Wainwright’s building was on the list in 2016. She was a little old 72-year-old woman who had a salty mouth. And that’s why I loved her.
She had a leak in her apartment. Rather than fix the problem, her landlord gutted the bathroom, bolted it shut, and forced her to use a bathroom in a vacant unit on another floor. Her apartment was infested with rodents, including really big rats. There were leaks in her ceiling and she had structural problems. She had some unsafe floors.
I distinctly remember walking into her humble apartment, and there was dust all over the place. I remember sitting down, and she had to dust off the couch and dust off the table. And she kept apologizing. She told me that normally she keeps a very neat home. I told her that there was nothing to apologize for, that she was not responsible for the conditions here.
She deserved better. She was gracious, despite having holes in her walls. In some cases, she didn’t have any floor—you could see right through to the floor below her. Despite having dust all over the place, she was just this proud woman. This was her home. And all she wanted to do was have a habitable apartment that was up to code and that was safe and sound. She was entitled to that by law. But that’s not what she was getting.
I’ve got a moral center. I come from humble beginnings myself. I’ve known struggle. I just try to fight for the underdog and try to fight for those who are locked out of the sunshine of opportunity.
I cry a lot. And tears are good. Oftentimes it’s just because I can relate to these people. And because I see their humanity.
She and the other tenants in her building sued the landlord. [The lawsuit is ongoing.] After hearing her story, we were able to get her temporary housing. She wanted to stay in her temporary housing, and we were able to change her permanent residency to the new building. We are continuing to work with the landlord and city agencies to get [her old building] corrected.
[When I visited her,] she said she would love to invite me back for Thanksgiving dinner. And I said, “Ms. Wainwright, something tells me you can really cook.” And she said, “Oh, yeah, I’m gonna invite you back to my new apartment, and we’re gonna have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.”
Some people you’ll just never forget. She couldn’t cook in her kitchen. There was dust all over the place. On her plates, on her stove, on her utensils. But she was a very gracious woman. Very humble. Very proud. And I am going to go back for Thanksgiving one day.
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