Chi Ossé might just become New York’s youngest city council member this summer. The 23-year-old activist is a proudly queer, Black, and Chinese former party promoter who was inspired by last summer’s George Floyd protests to run in the 36th district of Bed Stuy and Crown Heights, where his family has been living for three generations. (If his name sounds familiar, it’s because his late father, Reggie Ossé, was the legendary hip-hop media personality Combat Jack.)
In the wake of 2020’s political reckoning, Ossé co-founded Warriors in the Garden, an activist collective to fight police brutality and discrimination. Since then, he has been energizing local politics with a campaign centered around bringing his Brooklyn community desperately needed help by organizing local small business vendor markets, food drives, and vaccination signups. Regardless of what happens in his election on June 22, his campaign — with endorsements from names like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Broad City’s Ilana Glazer — has gotten locals newly invested in taking back their city.
This year, them. is honoring Chi as part of our annual Now List, our awards for LGBTQ+ visionaries. Here, writer and journalist Taylor Hosking speaks with Ossé about his vision for supporting the creatives of Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, navigating the campaign trail, and investing in a local Green New Deal.
I see you’ve been speaking at a lot of churches on the campaign trail, including a Roman Catholic church. What has that been like for you to find support in those spaces as a queer man?
I never grew up going to church. I was actually raised as a Nichiren Buddhist, which is a Japanese sect of Buddhism. I always heard that church people hate gays, but I try to go into everything with an open mind. In a way, I think church is drag. It’s not gay, but it’s definitely accepting of extra-ness. The churches that I’ve attended have been extremely friendly. It is 2021 in Brooklyn, so I’m definitely not the first queer person to enter those church halls, but I’ve taken great pleasure in discussing my values and the issues I want to tackle with leadership and congregation, and I think that trumps my sexual orientation.
I love how artistic your campaign materials are. How did your campaign think about its digital presence?
Within my dad’s work as a podcaster, something he did that I admired was incorporating this element of both culture and real life, plus politics. And it was very entertaining. My issue with local politics is that it’s boring on purpose. It leaves people out of the fold. Then we’re stuck with individuals governing over two hundred thousand people that only five thousand people voted for. We wanted to change that dynamic. We wanted to catch the eye with our red [posters]. We wanted to be exciting with the fashion, with the graphic design, with the people that were endorsing this campaign. I do believe in terms of branding and aesthetic, this is the most iconic local political campaign.
Period! Speaking of the arts and culture history of Bed Stuy, how are you planning on supporting creatives without facilitating gentrification?
Over 30 percent of Brooklyn’s working class are freelancers. A large portion of them are creatives residing here in the 36th district. When we talk about relief for small businesses, creatives and freelancers are often left out of that conversation because they aren’t “traditional businesses.” Yet they add so much to both the culture and the fiscal gain of New York City. As someone who used to freelance and work in nightlife, when I’m in office I’ll be continuing to push and strengthen the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which protects freelancers from wage theft and retaliation from employers who hire them. These are the kinds of small things freelancers complain about all the time that we can affect.
What would you say is your biggest hope for the future of Bed Stuy?
I think Black Lives Matter is bigger than law enforcement killing Black and Brown people. We are redlined in a district where many of our city agencies — whether it’s public education, affordable housing, health care, infrastructure — are deeply underfunded. I’m running to divest from the bloated NYPD budget and reinvest back into our communities. I believe that the future of Bed Stuy is a green future. We need to invest in a Green New Deal for New York City that provides jobs for people, that puts Black and Brown workers at the forefront, that extends our green space here in the district by four to 10 percent.
Can we get some real grass at Herbert Von King park?
Oh, my god. Absolutely. They’re changing it already. But we need more green space. We need to retrofit NYCHA developments into green public housing. I do believe the future is green. And I want to be the green council member of the thirty sixth district.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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