Primary Day is June 23 and there’s a ton on the ballot, including our US Rep seat, state senate and assembly seat and state comptroller. Follow along to see mini profiles of each of the candidates. This is Ryder Kessler for Assembly District 66; his TCQ&A, the politics version, is below. Deborah Glick held the seat for the past 36 years.

When I first met Ryder Kessler four years ago — he ran in 2022 for Glick’s seat — he was six years into what I called a political awakening. He had left a tech job, pivoted away from a PhD in American and English literature (he was all but dissertation at Columbia), and focused in on what he saw was a city crisis: affordability.

He handed over the reins of his tech company, DipJar, to a partner after the 2016 election, “amidst threats to our federal democracy.” Next he helped launch a PAC called Flippable; managed a campaign upstate; and worked to build a program for Democrats in Maine. In 2019, he joined Community Board 2.

And in 2024 he co-founded Abundance New York, a non-profit that pushes for more housing, an end to homelessness, improvements to public transit and public spaces, more renewable energy and resilience infrastructure, and across all those issues, more efficient government.

Kessler was raised in Chelsea (he’s 40), went to Friends Seminary, then Hunter College High School and Harvard for undergrad. He is Jewish and gay, important in his mind since Deborah Glick was the first openly gay member of the Assembly.

“What motivates me as a gay man is we have to lobby for the most underrepresented among us,” Kessler said.

He was even more motivated after the second Trump election. He started doing voter protection work, and oversaw the northeast for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the 2022 midterms.

Abundance New York was born partly from that work. He knew Democrats needed to do better.

“There’s an embrace of populism because there’s a sense that Democrats cannot deliver,” Kessler said. “What is missing from New York that we cannot get things done? Why isn’t New York solving these problems when there seem to be straight-forward solutions to bringing down rents and making government more efficient and improving New Yorkers’ commutes?”

Abundance isn’t a political club or party — he calls it a political home for people (they have 5000 members) who knew things aren’t working but don’t know where to go. The organization hosts candidate forums, panels, voter guides and other forms of civic participation. It was his full-time job; he took sabbaticals to work for the 2024 election in Michigan as a volunteer and to run for this office.

He’s still on CB2 where he works on street homelessness through the Human Services Committee and last year started a Hands Off NYC chapter for rapid response to ICE actions.

He did this Q&A in 2022 of course, and notes that some things have changed since then — “The issues I ran on last time are much more present. There’s even more awareness that rents are rising seven times faster than wages” — and some remain the same. “I continue to believe that New York State can be doing much more — and the Assembly can be doing much more — to lower New Yorkers’ costs and strengthen democracy and restore our promise as a haven for folks who are different.”

The TCQ&A:

How long have you lived in the district?
I was born at St. Vincent’s, then grew up right near Union Square. I’ve been in the West Village since right after college—going on twenty years.

Married? Partnered?
Single (and looking)

Kids? Pets?
None. But I’m a proud uncle to a 12-year-old nephew and 9- and 7-year-old nieces who live on the Upper West Side—I’m hugely motivated by making sure they can inherit a New York that’s affordable and where their fundamental rights are protected.

Where do you live?
West 11th Street between Bleecker and West 4th

What do you do for a living? Or, what did you do before you decided to run for this office?
Most recently I was Executive Director of the Abundance New York Fund, where we educate and engage New Yorkers about local government.

[I asked for a clarification on that: Abundance New York is a fiscally sponsored 501(c)(4) project of Goodnation Action; Abundance New York Fund is a 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored project of Goodnation Foundation. The 501(c)(4) project conducts policy, advocacy and political organizing work, while the 501(c)(3) project supports educational and research work. The organization is funded by major philanthropies like Coefficient Giving and the Leadership Now Project, family offices and individual donors.]

I transitioned full-time into working on making the city and state better — with lower costs, better quality of life, and a government that really works — after nearly a decade working on Democratic campaigns across the country. I found it increasingly difficult to tell Americans to vote for Democrats because we’ll solve your problems when I would then return home and see rents skyrocketing, disorder on the streets, and existential threats like climate change and authoritarianism unaddressed.

What are the first three issues you will tackle if you win the election?
First is lowering costs, particularly housing costs. When my parents moved to the Village in 1980, my dad was a cabbie, my mom was an artist, and the city was affordable for a young family — now average rents in Manhattan are over $5,700/month. We must fight for lower rents, more affordable housing, and stronger tenant protections — as well as universal healthcare and childcare — so the neighborhoods I played in as a kid don’t end up as a playground for the super-rich.

Second is democracy. It is deeply concerning to me that my nieces have fewer rights than their grandmother did, and that ICE is ravaging our communities — especially in the neighborhood where my drag queen great-uncle frequented the Stonewall Inn before the riots. We must stand up to authoritarianism, defending the freedoms of all marginalized communities, and get ICE out of New York.

Third is street safety. New Yorkers deserve to go to school and work without dodging speeding cars or bikes, tripping over trash, waiting endlessly for a bus, or suffering the ravages of climate change.

Who is the first person you will hire?
Every day when I knock doors I hear from voters about constituent challenges they have that aren’t being addressed: suspiciously high ConEd bills, a garage whose exiting cars often turn the wrong way down a one-way street, a bar that’s making too much noise too late into the night, a housing lottery whose results they’re still waiting for, and more. I will hire a constituent service director first to tackle these problems — and deliver results.

What are the three most important issues for New Yorkers right now?
(1) Skyrocketing housing costs and resulting displacement and homelessness.
(2) Attacks from Trump and the federal government that are especially impacting our most vulnerable communities.
(3) Streets that are unsafe and unsustainable, with small businesses shuttering.

Why are you running for office? What do you hope to change, or do better?
I’m running so that my nieces and nephew can afford to live here when they grow up — and to fight so that they don’t have fewer fundamental rights than their grandparents did. Our values aren’t just about the signs we post in our windows or the slogans we shout on the street: we must fundamentally make New York affordable if we are going to keep the promise of our freedoms. Declaring that we are a haven for abortion seekers, queer Americans in need of gender affirming care, and immigrants seeking a better life is insufficient if it’s too expensive to be here. I’m running to ensure our district leads, our neighborhoods do their fair share, and that we provide more than enough of what all working families in New York need to thrive.

Most-frequented restaurants:
For dinner, Tartine and Mémé
For lunch, Cappone’s, Sanpanino, and Café Panino Mucho Gusto
For brunch, Fairfax and Café Cluny
For dessert, Veniero’s — I go there every weekend to get a pound of fudge-topped cookies that I then eat throughout the week.

For special occasions I go to Cecchi’s. Great steak but even better chocolate cake.

Sweet-tooth satisfaction: Li-Lac Chocolates — our campaign office is always very-well stocked with dark chocolate nonpareils. (And Veniero’s: see above!)

What’s your drink order?
Always a Manhattan (with rye—and a cherry, no twist. Should be needless to say but sometimes isn’t!)

I usually order in from Uncle Ted’s, and I always order the chicken with broccoli and an egg roll.

The last non-essential item I bought:
A ticket to the Jellice Ball on Broadway. After seeing it and shouting my voice hoarse, it doesn’t feel non-essential anymore. It’s the best time I’ve had at the theater in years, and it’s queer joy at its best.

I’m so glad City Hall is in the district, because without it I’d have to schlep way further to protest insufficient funding for the Parks Department, the need to crack down on dangerous driving, and for improved approaches to issues from street vending to street homelessness.

How I stay fit:
Lately I haven’t had time for the gym, but thankfully the six-story walkups throughout the district are giving me a great workout during canvassing. But they also make it clear that we need to provide more housing options — especially for seniors who want to age in the communities they helped build!

Where I get beautiful:
Martial Vivot on Hudson — my very longtime barber, Clark, moved back to Utah, but James has been delivering high-quality haircuts in his place for years now.

What’s the district’s best-kept secret?
Everyone knows about the Stonewall Inn, but not enough younger queer folks frequent Julius’ on West 10th and Waverly, likely the oldest operating gay bar in New York — and home to the legendary sip-in in 1966 that helped launch the full movement for queer liberation.

Rainy-day activity: Heading to the Angelika for a cozy movie—the emptier the theater, the better.

I take out-of-towners to Marie’s Crisis

Pet peeve:
At some point, folks forgot that we’re supposed to take our backpacks off in the subway to make more room for others. I took the 6 to school every day starting in seventh grade, so it’s muscle memory for me; I wish it was for others, too!

A doctor I’d recommend:
Climate change has made my allergies far worse, so I highly recommend allergy shots to those suffering every spring — and Dr. Soombal Zahid at NYU is a great allergist.

My most memorable celebrity sighting:
I recently knocked on the door of one of my favorite comedians and podcasters, Cat Cohen — one of the only times I’ve truly been starstruck. My post-election gift to myself is seeing her upcoming show, Broad Strokes, at the Lucille Lortel.

Tribeca could use more contextual apartment buildings and fewer skinny glass towers.

If I could change one thing about the district:
Right now, we’re losing affordable homes to combinations of small apartment buildings and townhouses into single-family mansions for billionaires — many of whom don’t even move in. When I think about preserving the neighborhood, I think about these losses: the facades may look the same, but we’re losing the diversity of the New Yorkers behind them.

A business I’d like to have here: Ess-a-Bagel makes the best bagels in the city, but sadly there’s no district 66 location—yet. *NB: there is one in District 65!

A business I miss: Extra Virgin had my favorite neighborhood dinner dish, the mushroom crusted virgin chicken. I miss my friends who worked there, and I miss that meal.

Proof that change is good:
Washington Square used to be a parking lot! We can choose how we shape our neighborhoods—and we can put residents and small businesses first.

A new building I admire: I’m very excited about 388 Hudson, which will deliver almost 300 affordable homes to the district. I’m proud to be the candidate in the race who supported the ballot propositions to speed affordable housing construction in New York, so that we can get more of these kinds of affordable homes built more quickly.

A new building I don’t: I don’t admire the tower rising at 262 Fifth Avenue, obscuring the Empire State Building views I grew up with. I am a big believer in the addition of new homes to address the historically low vacancy rate and skyrocketing rents, but towers like this are a reflection of a broken zoning system that prevents us from getting the contextual, more affordable homes we need.

Best reason to go above 14th Street: Hanging out with my nephew and nieces; or seeing a show on Broadway, City Center, or the Met Opera.

What’s your favorite park in the city?
Washington Square Park is my favorite park in the world.

If I couldn’t live here, I’d live in….
To quote Holly Whyte when asked about his three favorite cities: “New York, New York, New York.” (Also the name of an excellent 2021 Thomas Dyja book covering the city’s recent history.)

I wish you had asked me about:
My non-political, non-professional passion: Gilbert & Sullivan operetta! I perform with the Blue Hill Troupe, a 102-year-old community theater troupe. (Of course, New York politics is a small world — I often perform alongside Assembly Member Micah Lasher’s sister, Renee)