By ELEANOR TRAUBMAN | news@queensledger.com

Eleanor Traubman is the founder of My Local Heroes, which lives on both Facebook and Instagram. Now in its fifth year, MLH is a celebration of activists, artists, athletes and entrepreneurs from Brooklyn and beyond who are working to make their communities better places to live.

Launched during the pandemic, the project was featured in News12 and The Patch, and received a Covid-19 Heroes Award from the former Brooklyn Borough President.

 This article is part of a series of posts Eleanor is writing about community leaders and their take on local community involvement. This week, we’re featuring her conversation with state Senator Jessica Ramos, who is running for mayor this year.

My Local Heroes: How did you become interested in community-building and civic leadership?

Jessica Ramos: I have been interested in public service since I was a little girl, having experienced the challenges of growing up in Queens in a working class immigrant family.

There was a defining moment for me: It was when I traveled to Colombia with my dad and I saw a young boy begging for money to buy food for himself.

I asked my dad “How come I don’t have to do that?” My dad explained things about history and income inequality. That incident changed my life.

I was very influenced by my dad; I am definitely my father’s daughter. My father was always involved in building community in one way or another. He came to Queens, New York from Colombia during the crack [cocaine] epidemic. Jackson Heights was dubbed the “Coke Capital” at that time. Colombians were stereotyped as drug dealers and smugglers.

My dad became obsessed with making a good name for our community. He was a community board member. He helped start a Colombian Parade in Jackson Heights. He hosted a radio show where, amongst other things, he played Colombian music. Many incarcerated men who listened to him expressed how thankful they were for that show and the way that it connected them with their homeland.

My father went on to start a visitation program for incarcerated Colombian men who had no family to visit them in prison.

Through my dad, at an early age, I became aware of land use issues, of racism and discrimination, of the lack of opportunity for people of color.

My mom was a union member and instilled a lot of labor values in me. So between my mom and my dad, this is what I know, this has shaped who I am and how I know to be.

Once you are aware of the issues that are all around you, it becomes impossible not to speak out or to not take action.

MLH: What has been the trajectory of your involvement in civic leadership?

JR: I formally got involved in civic life when I joined a community board in my 20s. I started my career in public service 20 years ago as a staffer in the City Council. I left to work in the labor movement where I was better-compensated.

From there, I went on to become a member of a former mayoral administration. I was part of the team that delivered Universal Pre-K.

I have been in the senate for 7 years. There, I have been able to champion legislation that I never thought was possible: I helped raise the minimum to match inflation. I won a bill which provided funding to workers excluded from unemployment insurance during the pandemic. I’m very proud of my efforts to expand childcare eligibility.

MLH: What is the importance of getting involved in one’s local community?

JR: Our quality of life and freedom is under attack by the Federal Government and it is our duty to each other to ensure that our voices are being heard about the concerns that we have.

There is a quotation attributed to the writer Alice Walker: “Activism is the rent we pay for living on the planet.” At a time where so many of our neighbors are under attack, it is our duty to lead.

Our anger is righteous and it must be put into action so that we may provide for a better world for the generations to come.

MLH: What are some specific ways that people can get involved in their communities?

JR: I like to encourage New Yorkers to join their local community board, tenant or homeowner’s association, or block association. Building community also starts with saying “Hi” to your neighbors, and getting to know your neighbors so that you can build community together.