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In 16 years, Edward Sanchez wants you to vote for him for mayor. For now, he has to finish high school.

A grueling year and a half of remote learning has indelibly marked the 17-year-old senior: He temporarily became the family breadwinner 鈥� like several of his friends in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn 鈥� when his parents lost their jobs and didn鈥檛 qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

For months, Sanchez struggled with a schedule that could break an adult, working a 40-hour week at McDonald鈥檚 while taking classes full time.

This past year helped cement in him what he hopes will be priorities for New York City鈥檚 next leaders.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to put kids back into school, [and then] what will they have? Will their sports be back? Will the clubs that they love and enjoy be back?鈥� Sanchez asked. 鈥淲ill there be easier access [to] food for the students?鈥�

Many of his fellow young New Yorkers feel the same way.

A released June 6 by the nonprofit Citizens鈥� Committee for Children asked 1,400 New Yorkers ages 14 to 24, starting in February, about their thoughts on politics and agenda for the next mayor and other elected officials.

Those results, along with additional interviews of young people by THE CITY, show the biggest areas of focus are on improving schools, paying more attention to student wellness and healing the planet.

Nearly 90% of respondents felt that elected officials must move the needle on climate change, while just over 80% said that public schools need more resources.

Mental Health Is Top of Mind

The CCC survey found that young people are seeking help at schools: Some 35% of respondents聽said they wanted or needed mental health resources, with youth from The Bronx (50%) and Manhattan (44%) reporting the highest rates.

Citywide, only 42% of those who said they needed help found it, according to the researchers.

鈥淚 think what really was sobering from the youth survey is the concerns around behavioral health needs, and acknowledging they had behavioral health needs and lacked access to supports to address them,鈥� said Jennifer March, executive director of the Citizens Committee for Children, which enlisted about 200 young people to work on the survey.

Milena Veliz, 18, of Woodside, is ready to cast her vote for 鈥渟omeone who will really think about the hardships youth are facing and how they could actually resolve those issues.鈥�

鈥淏eing stuck on Zoom all day鈥�really brings down your mental health and brings a lot of stress,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of resources for me to talk to someone about it.鈥�

New Voters, Newly Engaged

From the pandemic to social-justice protests and police violence, 鈥渢he combination of everything that happened over the last year, really has focused the thinking about local politics,鈥� said Olivia Brady, the youth engagement coordinator for NYC Votes, the city Campaign Finance Board鈥檚 get-out-the-vote initiative.

鈥淎 lot of young people are thinking about their lived experiences in the city, their experiences with the education system, with the pandemic, with policing, and they鈥檙e really understanding the way that all of our local elected officials impact their day-to-day quality of life,鈥� she added.

Election officials are hoping to mobilize that heightened political engagement. NYC Votes is pushing for almost double the turnout of registered voters 18 to 29, from to 25% this year.

Tuli Hannan, 19, will be one of many new mayoral voters.

She is outspoken about her own struggle to access mental health services, frustration with safety agents and lack of resources in her public high school. Still, Hannan said the energy boost she got organizing and leading Black Lives Matter protests last summer drives her hope for change.

The Queens teen keeps a list of the mayoral candidates beside her in her Sunnyside bedroom. She hasn鈥檛 settled on who she鈥檒l vote for, but she said she wants a mayor who is 鈥渞eally a New Yorker鈥� and knows the city like she does.

鈥淲e need someone that can invest their time in the youth and in New York City residents and people my age,鈥� Hannan explained. 鈥淸To] be able to open their minds to our thoughts and our perspectives of the world because 鈥� we have a lot to say.鈥�

Taking a World View

Almost 87% of the CCC鈥檚 respondents agreed with the statement 鈥済overnment must take more serious action against climate change.鈥� Interviews and written survey responses showed young people believe that the time to act is running out.

鈥淚 want to see a candidate in office that鈥檚 going to鈥� actually take steps in New York to work against the impending, essentially, doom that young people are going to have to face as we grow up,鈥� said Kenisha Mahajan, 15, who lives in Middle Village.

Like Hannan and Veliz, 18-year-old Griffin Must, a senior at Beacon High School in Manhattan, will also be voting for the first time.

He considers this election to be especially important because it will determine, as he put it, 鈥淗ow are we going to, not only bounce back from [coronavirus], but also then improve?鈥�

Walking through his Upper West Side neighborhood, Must said he鈥檚 struck by the empty storefronts and wants a mayor to prioritize promoting local businesses. And as he looks ahead to attending college at William and Mary in Virginia in a few months, he also looks back on his own top-notch public school education with an eye to increasing access for others.

Like nearly 82% of the survey respondents, Must says public schools need more resources. He wants city leaders to explore 鈥済etting rid of the specialized [admissions] tests, or at least finding a way to be able to diversify specialized high schools,鈥� and making sure the next mayor develops a good relationship with the chancellor.

One thing that not all respondents agree on, however, is school policing. Nearly 45% of young people surveyed said that school police officers make them feel safer, while 30% said the opposite.

Hannan said that her relationships with school safety officers were good when she attended well-funded elementary and middle schools. In high school, her perspective changed drastically: 鈥淚t鈥檚 like we鈥檙e treated like animals.鈥�

She believes schools should staff up with guidance counselors and social workers, instead of cops.

鈥淚t gets really brutal sometimes,鈥� said Hannan. 鈥淎nd it affects your mental health, your mental state, how you feel, how you鈥檙e seen in society.鈥�

Time to Listen Up

March, of the Citizens鈥� Committee, said the priorities of youth represent a clear call to action for city leaders.

鈥淯ltimately, the success of their future will be the success of our city,鈥� March added.

While the survey found that only 35% of the young New Yorkers felt they have no say in government, 40% believed that they do. The remaining were largely undecided.

Enough seem to understand that whether or not they鈥檙e part of the electorate, they鈥檙e part of their elected officials鈥� constituency and are poised to make their voices loud and clear.

Students involved with civic engagement group Y Vote have created to help their peers distinguish among the candidates and navigate the races.

In Our Hands, a coalition of more than a dozen local youth activist groups, released a with top priorities that more than 20 candidates have signed onto so far.

The group is set to soon聽 hold a mock election, where young would-be voters can cast ballots that will mirror the official one 鈥� with ranked choice voting and all.

Pharell Kendall, who at 17 is too young to vote in the June 22 citywide primary, said that for years kids have had to 鈥渏ust deal with it鈥� when it came to city policies that affected their lives. He thinks that鈥檚 changing.

After working for over a year on the CCC youth survey, Kendall hopes to hold candidates鈥� at an upcoming youth mayoral forum on June 9. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear how many candidates would participate.

鈥淗opefully,鈥� said the Harlem teen, 鈥渟omeone will hear me, what I have to say, and will make a change about it.鈥�

Sanchez is biding his time while he prepares to take matters into his own hands:

鈥淚f I have to do it myself, I鈥檒l do it myself. And that means running for mayor,鈥� he said 鈥� noting he鈥檇 wait until at least the 2037 race.

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

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