Queens Library Guild Local 1321 Endorses Jimmy Van Bramer for BP

QUEENS, NY (04/08/2021) (readMedia)-- Today, Queens Library Guild Local 1321, part of DC37, endorsed Jimmy Van Bramer for Queens Borough President and his people-powered campaigns to uplift Queens' working families.

Van Bramer is the only candidate for Queens Borough President to reject real estate money, uplift small businesses, and put communities at the center of the land use process. Before being elected to the New York City Council, Van Bramer worked as an organizer for the Queens Public Library system for eleven years.

"At the March 2021 General Membership meeting, the members of Local 1321, Queens Library Guild, endorsed Jimmy Van Bramer for Queens Borough President. As a previous employee of Queens Public Library, for nearly eleven years, and eleven years as a City Council member of Council District 26 in Queens, Jimmy has consistently advocated for New York City's libraries. Jimmy tirelessly fights for the diverse employees and customers of Queens Library. With his advocacy, Queens has one of the best library systems in the world. As Borough President, we know that he will bring that same commitment and dedication to each and every citizen of our great borough of Queens," said John Hyslop, President of the Queens Library Guild Local 1321.

"Having the endorsement of Queens Library Guild Local 1321 is particularly special to me because I was a Queens Library organizer for over a decade," said Jimmy Van Bramer. "Library workers are frontline workers who provide a vital service for seniors, parents and their children, and immigrants striving for language access. Local 1321 knows my commitment to creating a Queens that works for all, and that includes advocating for library and community services."

Van Bramer is a life-long progressive activist who's been fighting machine politics for over two decades. He is the son of union workers and a lifelong Queens resident. Before being elected to the City Council, he organized for LGBTQ rights, public financing of elections, and for the Queens Public Library.

Background on Van Bramer

Jimmy Van Bramer, born and raised in Astoria, Queens, is the Deputy Leader of the New York City Council. He was first elected to the New York City Council on November 3, 2009, and re-elected in both 2013 and 2017. Van Bramer is a founding member of the progressive caucus of the New York City Council.

He works tirelessly to fight for working people, equality for all, and the importance of improving quality of life in our community- values instilled by his parents. His father, William Van Bramer, was a lifelong member of Printers' and Pressman's Union Local 2, and his mother Elizabeth Van Bramer helped support the family - even through bouts of homelessness and food insecurity - by working as a meat wrapper and cashier at local supermarkets, and was a member of Local 1893 of the International Brotherhood of Painters.

His first foray into organizing was when he was a St. John's University student in 1993, leading a queer group of students who fought to be officially recognized by the largest catholic university in the country. Later, he organized for Ed Sedarbaum's 1998 State Senate race, gravitating towards the nascent movement to elect queer people in Queens and starting his personal decades long fight with the Queens County Democratic Party machine.

In 1998, he was an organizer with Citizen Action of New York to create what-is-now today's current New York City campaign finance system with matching funds. At the same time, he led civil disobedience actions with Irish LGBTQ folks trying to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day parades, which previously banned openly queer groups from marching.

In 2001, he stepped forward as the insurgent candidate against the Queens machine for City Council, coming in second. In the ensuing years, he worked as an organizer for the Queens Public Library and joined the board of the Queens Council on the Arts. In 2009, Van Bramer won his City Council election against Queens County machine pick Deirdre Feerick. He similarly bucked the machine to back Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker.

He was a leader in the opposition to $3 billion of tax subsidies for Amazon HQ2 and was the first Queens elected official to endorse Tiffany Cabán for Queens District Attorney.

He currently lives in Sunnyside Gardens with his husband Dan Hendrick. Jimmy married Dan on July 28, 2012, becoming the first openly-gay elected official to get married in the borough of Queens.