BY MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
For nearly three decades, Jessica González-Rojas has walked the streets of Jackson Heights, meeting neighbors, listening to their concerns, and turning community struggles into legislative action. Now, she is aiming for the New York State Senate in District 13, driven by a vision of health justice, immigrant advocacy, and neighborhood transformation.
The daughter of a Paraguayan immigrant who arrived in the United States at 16, González-Rojas grew up in a working-class household, moving across Queens before settling in Jackson Heights in the late 90’s. Her father’s journey shaped her commitment to public service. “He came here to build a life,” she recalled. “That’s why I went to Boston University, and I studied international relations because of my immigration passion.”
Her first taste of community driven action occurred when her career path shifted and she interned with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez. “I spent a few weeks in her DC office then her district office in Corona,” she said. “The difference between the offices being more ingrained in the community, was keeping families together in immigration cases, working on the census, this was the shift in my trajectory.”
Her rise in politics accelerated in the wake of the 2018 midterms. Inspired by women of color such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, González-Rojas joined a wave of candidates stepping up to represent their communities. In 2020, neighbors encouraged her to run for the State Assembly, where she quickly made her mark on health, education, and women’s issues.
“I love talking to people,” she said. “Knocking on doors, meeting constituents, hearing their concerns, it’s meaningful to be entrusted with that and then pass policies that impact their lives.”
Among her legislative accomplishments as assemblywoman, González-Rojas cites universal school meals, the Reproductive Freedom Equity Fund, and initiatives expanding housing access and tenant protections. She has also fought for green space in Queens, with Travers Park holding a special place in her heart. “My son used to play there on the swings and slide.” she said. “Something I’ve fought for and kind of been committed to is building more green space in the area.”
González-Rojas has also led a women’s rights task force in the State Assembly since last year, collaborating with other women legislators to set both budget and policy priorities. The task force focuses on issues ranging from universal child care to workforce development, and González-Rojas hopes to continue this work in the Senate, including serving on a committee dedicated to women’s issues.
Jessica González-Rojas stopped by the Queens Ledger office last Friday. Photo by Mohamed Farghaly.
After several years in the Assembly, González-Rojas is seeking a Senate seat to gain greater influence over agency decisions and expand resources for her community. She said her goal is to secure funding for projects like a health center in Jackson Heights, emphasizing health justice as a core passion. “All of this access we don’t get in the Assembly,” she said, highlighting her desire to bring more resources and decision-making power to the neighborhoods she serves.
Her approach to contentious issues has been shaped by careful listening and deep research. On the proposed casino development in Queens, she said, “I did my job. I was on a listening tour, essentially, I spoke to neighbors across the district and went to the town halls. I met with the project team. I met with people who opposed it. I met with people who supported it, I didn’t vote on a casino. I voted on the land use bill, the property is really surrounded by highways.”
González-Rojas has identified Roosevelt Avenue as a priority area for safety and accessibility improvements. The corridor, she says, suffers from poor lighting, noise, and congestion around street vendors. She advocates for a three-pronged approach to address these problems: education, enforcement, and engineering. “When you brighten the area you expose it more; when it’s dark it becomes shadowy,” she said, noting that improving visibility can make the space safer for pedestrians while still respecting the needs of local businesses.
She has made mental health a central focus of her policy agenda. She hopes to serve on the Senate mental health committee and advocates for a workforce of social workers who are multilingual and representative of the communities they serve. She stresses the importance of fair pay and benefits for social workers, citing the challenges of the profession during post-pandemic crises. Her goal is to make social work a sustainable and respected career while improving services for youth and families facing mental health challenges. Visits to city and state prisons, including Rikers Island, have underscored the urgency of these reforms.
Health equity remains the centerpiece of her Senate campaign. González-Rojas recently outlined a five-point health plan on the COVID anniversary, focusing on preventive care, community resources, and reproductive equity. She hopes to expand her influence from the Assembly to the Senate, where she can advise on agency decisions and direct more resources to her neighborhood.
For González-Rojas, housing is a fundamental human right. She has fought for programs like the Housing Access Voucher Program, securing $50 million to help residents, including runaway youth, gain access to safe and affordable housing. She also emphasizes tenant protections as a critical component of her housing agenda, aiming to ensure stability for working-class families in Queens.
Beyond policy, González-Rojas celebrates the cultural and small-business fabric of Queens. Each month, she recognizes local establishments as an Assemblymember, including Himalayan Yak, a Nepalese restaurant that has become a community institution.
Looking ahead, González-Rojas wants her legacy to be tied to improving community health. She has championed projects like a local health center and a five-point health plan aimed at addressing inequities exposed by the pandemic. “Health is my life’s work in the intersection of all the things that impact health,” she said, “To be able to know that I contributed to improving the health outcomes of my neighbor is everything.”
