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Lilah Mejia is a Puerto Rican community organizer, emergency management professional, and lifelong Lower East Side resident born and raised in the Jacob Riis Houses. Known for her deep community roots, hands-on leadership, and unwavering commitment to working families, Lilah has dedicated her life to building systems of care, safety, and opportunity for the communities that raised her.
Lilah currently serves as the Director of Outreach for NYDIS’ Elements House Clubhouse, where she helps bring the international clubhouse model to the Lower East Side, creating a healing, community-centered space for individuals navigating mental health challenges. She previously served as Director of Outreach for the NYC Commission to Strengthen Local Democracy, where she led boroughwide engagement efforts focused on civic participation, budget transparency, and community voice in government decision-making.
Her leadership in education advocacy has had a lasting impact across District 1 schools. As former President of Community Education Council District 1 (CEC1), Lilah worked alongside school leadership and the district superintendent to organize resources for newly arrived migrant families, ensuring students and parents had access to food, Community resources, school supplies, and essential services. For the past five years, she has partnered with district leadership to coordinate annual school-based turkey distributions serving hundreds of families, helped organize “Santaland” holiday initiatives in public schools, and recently collaborated with the superintendent to establish food pantries across District 1 schools, strengthening the role of schools as community hubs that support the whole family.
Lilah has spent her career addressing the issues that most directly impact working-class neighborhoods: food insecurity, housing stability, disaster recovery, and community wellness. She is the founder of Bout My Community, a grassroots initiative rooted in mutual aid and neighborhood-driven solutions. She also co-founded the Community Fridge Program in District 1, partnering with GOLES to place refrigerators inside public schools so that children and families have consistent access to healthy food. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she secured emergency funding and coordinated large-scale food distributions that provided meals to thousands of Lower East Side and Bronx residents.
Her commitment to community resilience extends to environmental justice and climate protection. Lilah played a key advocacy role in securing $350 million for the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (ESCR), helping protect NYCHA residents and low-income neighborhoods from future flooding and extreme weather events. She has long fought to ensure that frontline communities are not left behind in infrastructure planning and climate investments.
Lilah’s leadership has also been shaped by disaster response and recovery work. After Hurricane Maria, she was hired to support recovery efforts for New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), where she worked alongside displaced Puerto Rican families navigating housing instability, federal recovery systems, and access to critical resources. Her work made her a trusted advocate for survivors seeking equitable recovery support.
A cultural organizer at heart, Lilah also leads the annual Lower East Side Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival, celebrating the neighborhood’s heritage while bringing together youth, elders, artists, community organizations, and local leaders.
Lilah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and recently completed graduate studies in Emergency Management, strengthening her expertise in disaster preparedness, risk management, and community resilience planning.
Above all, Lilah is a mother of six, a proud Nuyorican, and a neighbor who understands firsthand the challenges families face from rising costs and housing instability to under resourced schools and climate threats. She is running for the New York State Assembly because she believes our communities deserve leadership that listens, shows up, and delivers real results. Lilah Mejia is committed to building a safer, healthier, and more equitable future for the residents of the 65th Assembly District.
Housing is the number one issue facing our community. Lifelong residents, seniors, working families, and NYCHA tenants are being pushed out of the neighborhoods they helped build.
I will fight to:
Housing Stability & Anti-Displacement
Housing is the most urgent issue facing Assembly District 65. I have spent decades organizing alongside tenants in NYCHA, Mitchell-Lama, HDFC cooperatives, rent-stabilized buildings, and small tenements, fighting displacement and holding landlords accountable. Too many working families, seniors, and longtime residents are being priced out of the very neighborhoods they built. As Assemblymember, I will fight to preserve and expand affordable housing, strengthen tenant protections, fund public housing, and reform systems like Housing Court so families feel supported rather than pushed out. Housing stability is the foundation for healthy families, strong schools, and safe communities.
As a public school parent and former CEC1 President, I know strong public schools keep communities stable.
I will work to:
Public Education & Youth Opportunity
Public schools are the heart of our communities, and as a mother of six and former CEC1 President, I understand firsthand the challenges families face navigating an under-resourced system. In Assembly District 65, too many students are still struggling with low reading proficiency, and families often lack access to the academic supports their children need to succeed. I have worked alongside parents, educators, and school leadership to organize resources for migrant families, expand food access through school pantries, and protect public school space from charter expansion that would have displaced neighborhood students. As Assemblymember, I will advocate for expanded literacy and after-school learning programs, stronger early reading interventions, and clearer support systems to help families navigate IEP services and special education processes. Parents should not have to fight alone to secure services for their children. I will work to ensure schools are equipped with the resources, transparency, and support needed so every child, regardless of background or ability, has the opportunity to thrive.
The Lower East Side has already lived through climate disaster. Resilience is not optional; it is survival.
I will fight to:
Climate Resilience & Community Preparedness
The Lower East Side knows firsthand that climate change is not a future threat it is a lived reality. From Hurricane Sandy to ongoing flooding and extreme heat, our waterfront and public housing communities remain on the frontlines of climate disaster. Through my leadership with LES Ready and my work in disaster recovery with NYDIS, I helped organize residents, faith institutions, and community organizations to strengthen emergency preparedness and support flood protection efforts, including engagement around the East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project. Building on this work, I will soon receive my Master’s degree in Emergency Management, combining lived experience with professional training in disaster response and resilience planning. As Assemblymember, I will fight to fully implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, invest in resilient infrastructure, protect NYCHA and low-lying neighborhoods, and ensure frontline communities receive the funding and resources needed to prepare for and recover from disasters. Climate resilience must center community voice, public safety, and long-term neighborhood stability so residents are protected before, during, and after crises.
Mental health care must be accessible, community-based, and rooted in dignity.
I will advocate for:
Mental Health & Community Care
Mental health care must be accessible, community-based, and rooted in dignity. Through my work as Outreach & Engagement Manager at NYDIS’ Elements House Clubhouse, I work daily alongside individuals navigating mental health challenges, social isolation, and recovery. I have seen firsthand how too many New Yorkers fall through the cracks when care is unavailable, unaffordable, or criminalized instead of treated as a health issue. As Assemblymember, I will advocate for expanded community mental health services, peer-led crisis response through full implementation of Daniel’s Law, and sustained investment in clubhouse and recovery-centered models that help individuals rebuild stability and purpose. Mental health support must exist in our schools, housing systems, and communities ensuring people receive care before crises occur. Strong mental health infrastructure not only improves individual wellbeing but strengthens families and community safety overall.
Accessibility is a civil right, not an accommodation.
I will work to:
Disability Access & Inclusion
Accessibility is not a privilege it is a civil right. Too many residents in our district, including seniors and people living with physical, developmental, and mental health disabilities, continue to face barriers accessing housing, transportation, healthcare, education, and public services. Even major transit hubs like the Delancey Street Essex Street station, one of the busiest gateways in our community, must continue moving toward full ADA accessibility so all residents can safely navigate public transportation. Through my work in community organizing, disaster response, and mental health services, I have seen how emergencies and everyday systems disproportionately impact people with disabilities when accessibility is treated as an afterthought. As Assemblymember, I will advocate for stronger ADA compliance across transit, public housing, and infrastructure, expanded supportive housing and community-based services, and policies that ensure government programs are accessible and navigable for all families. A truly inclusive community is one where people of all abilities can live independently, participate fully, and age in place with dignity.
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Paid for By Lilah Mejia For Assembly
87 Columbia Street, New York, NY 10002 USA
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