Osina is focused on unity, affordability |

Pesach Osina has spent years navigating government, and now he wants to bring his experience to Albany — and he’s pitching himself as a practical voice focused on making sure South Queens communities stop feeling overlooked.

“Our utility bills are going up, our insurance rates are going up,” Osina said Monday during an interview with the Chronicle. “While everything’s going up, our paychecks and everything is staying the same.”

Osina, a Rockaway resident and father of six, is running for the Democratic nomination in Assembly District 23 with the endorsement of the incumbent, Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach). He will face off against Howard Beach attorney and advocate Mike Scala at the polls.

Osina enters the race after years working behind the scenes in government, including in the district for former Assemblymember Phil Goldfeder, for former Comptroller Scott Stringer and for the past several years as lead senior liaison for the City Council Speaker’s Office.

“I would say the past four or five years were really instrumental in getting me to where I am now,” Osina said. “As the previous speaker [Adrienne Adams] says, our job is really to be the adult in the room, to work with all sides, no matter which party they are, no matter what their policies are. Our role is to bring the members into the room, bring the advocates into the room, and to uplift their voices.”

Osina, who describes himself as politically moderate, credited Adams with shaping his approach to leadership.

“She really taught me how to lead as a human and how to lead as an adult,” he said. “To lead not to be petty, but to lead to bring people together.”

At one point, Osina said, he was tasked with helping oversee City Council districts without elected representatives, functioning in what he described as an “acting council member” role.

“It really taught me leadership — working with staff, ensuring that constituent services are getting done,” he said.

Addressing hate crimes and strengthening relationships among the district’s many communities are some of Osina’s top priorities. He serves on the city’s Commission on Racial Equity, and has focused on civil rights issues and combating hate crimes.

Osina has worked with communities of different backgrounds and faiths to improve outreach and education efforts, he said, adding that hate prevention starts with exposing young people to different cultures and communities before divisions take root.

“We need cross-cultural collaboration,” Osina said. “We need to bring our youth to the African Burial Ground, we need to bring them to the Jewish Heritage Museum. We need to bring them to a mosque.”

Saying that many hate crimes go unreported because victims often do not know how to navigate the reporting process, Osina suggested funding community-based organizations that can help residents report incidents and access resources.

Though his roots are in the Rockaways, Osina said he has spent years working throughout Queens and believes communities farther north in the district — especially South Ozone Park — have not received enough attention.

“I think that overall, with redistricting, that section of the district has been extremely overlooked,” Osina said. “Each pocket of the community has different issues.”

He described AD 23 as “the stepchild of Queens” when it comes to resources and government attention.

“This district is extremely diverse,” he said. “I think what’s important now is to be that person who’s able to uplift the voices and able to collaborate, work with every elected official and every state and city agency to really bring resources back to the district,” he said.

Osina is focused on affordability concerns, especially the rising cost of insurance. He pointed specifically to auto insurance premiums, saying they are crushing middle-class families.

“I have two cars, four drivers,” he said. “My insurance premiums are double the amount that I’m paying for my cars each month.”

Osina suggested Albany should examine the way auto body shops bill insurance companies, arguing there are often massive differences between insurance claim prices and out-of-pocket costs.

“If you’re putting in a claim, you should be able to use your insurance without worrying about that insurance going up,” he said.

On taxes, Osina drew a firm line against raising rates on middle-class residents.

“I don’t think that there should be any new taxes on the middle class,” he said. “Hard stop on that.”

On the topic of the abandoned rail line that runs through parts of the district, Osina said he supports QueensLink, the proposal to reactivate the Rockaway Beach Long Island Rail Road Branch.

“I do think that the rail line, or QueensLink, as it’s called now, is something imperative,” he said, adding that the project would better connect residents throughout Queens while reducing congestion on major roadways.

On climate resiliency, Osina said communities along the water remain vulnerable years after Superstorm Sandy, and he argued infrastructure upgrades have not kept pace with the reality on the ground. He committed to working with federal partners on those issues.

“Our sewer grates … are now falling apart,” he said. “We need to figure out real infrastructure that would actually alleviate some of the problems.”

As June approaches, Osina said he is focused on presenting himself honestly to voters, noting that authenticity matters more than political posturing.

“My focus from the beginning has always been to be authentic,” he said.

He recalled recently spending almost an hour speaking with a woman while canvassing after she told him she had given up on voting because she was struggling to pay rent after losing her job as a home health aide.

“Today we have a few home aide companies and HR departments calling her up to get her back on her feet,” he said. “So it’s not only about campaigning. It’s about, at the same time, doing the people’s work.”

Primary Day is June 23.