The June Democratic primary win for Democratic Socialist candidate Daraliza Avila Chevalier over incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat seemed conclusive, with the activist heavily favored over Republican Manual “Jomo” Williams in the November vote — but a candidate from Harlem says that she can better represent the people of the 13th U.S. Congressional District.
Candace Niles, 35, a lifelong Harlem resident, contends that she is an alternative to Chevalier who more accurately reflects the voice of forgotten Harlemites. She is prioritizing the gentrification and displacement of her community, which she has witnessed over the years and has deeply troubled her.
“You feel like, to a degree, we’re being wiped out, slowly but surely,” Niles said. “If we’re not being pushed out by lack of affordability, we’re being pushed out because people are stealing our property.”
Niles alleges she is a victim of deed theft involving her family home in Central Harlem and has been dealing with the issue since 2022.
She was registered to run as a Democrat last December, but switched to an independent ticket this past spring after noticing the primary became overcrowded and experiencing what she claims was “gatekeeping” with local party leaders. She is now running as part of the Voice Party.
Niles said Chevalier and the Democratic Socialists largely represent “parachute candidates,” who are not from the community and choose to focus on popular national topics, as opposed to the everyday issues of Harlem residents.
“I’m not a candidate that was chosen,” Niles said. “I’m running because I care. I’m running because I’m a true resident of this community.”
Niles graduated from the local Touro College in June to become a paralegal. She initially attended John Jay College, but left to raise her daughter with her husband and care for her parents and ailing grandmother. She was inspired to return to school to pursue her love of law after dealing with her ongoing alleged deed theft situation.
Her upbringing in Harlem in the early 1990s is familiar to many Harlemites. She remembers gems like gatherings at Howard Bennett and Rucker Parks, street art murals, and mom-and-pop stores that have since been replaced with large brands. Gentrification has changed that, she said.
“It hurts sometimes because it doesn’t look like the Harlem I grew up with,” Niles said. “Harlem wasn’t perfect, but there was always that beauty about Harlem.”
If elected, Niles said she intends to address affordability and displacement, insisting that “truly” affordable housing can be attained through former New York State Rep. Charles Barron’s blueprint of only allowing developers who offer affordable rates. This would require action from the city councilmember.
“If you make these developers build according to the actual AMI (area median income) rather than what is set by HUD, you can put a stop to this,” Niles said. “If they don’t agree to the terms, [they are] not allowed to build. … It needs to be true to what people are making.”
Other initiatives Niles supports include more tenant protections, paid apprenticeships for young adults, and addressing seniors’ needs such as food instability.
“The way the seniors get treated is ridiculous. It bothers me because I sat and I listened to those people, day in and day out,” Niles said, going back to her work with seniors over the years. “They are the glue that holds our community together.”
Niles said she has spoken to countless residents in the district through town halls and tabling at NYCHA buildings and more, hearing about the issues from the heart of the community; something she claims Chevalier did not do, but instead went to the “areas of Harlem that are gentrified.”
While agreeing with Chevalier’s stances on issues like Palestine and ICE, Niles criticizes her for focusing on those topics as opposed to the urgent struggles of regular uptown residents. She and others have argued that Chevalier was propped up by the Democratic Socialists of America as a result of her involvement in the Columbia University Gaza protest.
“[Chevalier] is not in tune with the people in this community,” Niles said. “The people in this community are trying to figure out how they’re going to pay their rent. They’re not concerned with Israel or what Netanyahu is doing.”
In a response, Chevalier spoke to the Amsterdam News and pushed back on the idea that she is a parachute candidate, highlighting that she won Harlem and Black voters in the primary.
“I have been organizing in New York for my entire adult life,” Chevalier said, having been an organizer uptown for more than a decade about mass incarceration and ICE detention, after moving to the city to attend Columbia. According to Chevalier, critical funding for the district for issues of affordability, housing, and more is instead being used for pointless overseas wars as in Gaza and Lebanon, which she said she would fight against in Congress.
“I believe in the right of working people to benefit from the wealth that their labor produces. I believe that they deserve to lead a dignified life,” Chevalier said.
Among her housing proposals, Chevalier said she supports fully funding NYCHA and opposing privatization with the Rental Assistance Demonstration and Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (RAD/PACT) program. Niles has questioned how tenants can trust Chevalier’s position since a big supporter of hers — Mayor Mamdani — lends support to the controversial program. Chevalier replied that she intends to fix the problem by ensuring there is enough funding from the federal level so NYCHA buildings can be preserved and repaired.
Concerning deed theft, an issue that Niles also criticizes Chevalier for, Niles outlined potential measures. If elected, she said she would support an eviction moratorium for homeowners and would look to stop deeds from being available to the general market where speculators can find them, through means including introducing federal legislation to establish more privacy standards; using federal oversight with systems like ACRIS, the city’s property information website; and working with city and state leaders.
“Just because I wouldn’t be a member of City Council doesn’t mean I can’t make changes to how homeowners are protected,” Niles said. “Homeowners should have the right to know that their property records are public without having to accept that their personal information can be turned into a roadmap for criminals.” She also suggested implementing the use of a special password and an explanation each time someone wants to access a deed.
“While I don’t have the experience of being in City Council or being an assemblyman or senator, I have the experience of working with the people, for the people,” Niles said. “I live out in this community; I’m working with the people in this community, and I’ve always been a fighter.”
