John Buthorn is running for City Council with a clear mission: to champion safety, accountability, and opportunity for every family in our community. His policy agenda is rooted in action—enhancing vehicular and pedestrian safety in our school zones, ensuring real consequences for those who threaten our streets and businesses, and strengthening our police and emergency services through smart, targeted funding. John’s vision goes beyond enforcement; it’s about building a borough where small businesses can thrive, veterans and first responders are honored and supported, mental health services are accessible and responsive, and our children grow up protected, engaged, and empowered. Every proposal is focused on real results—because Staten Island deserves a leader who listens, acts, and delivers.

Safety

Enhance vehicular safety in school zones utilizing speed bumps, signage, and traffic lights. Deploy Police officers in these designated areas to monitor speed and traffic violations that give consequences to such violations.
Work with the NYPD to identify patterns of vehicle and property crimes that allow for the enhanced deployment of plain-clothes officers to patrol hot spots for theft and burglaries.
Work with small businesses to enhance their security and reporting of commercial burglaries to faster identify suspects.
Work with City Council to fund the recruitment of qualified candidates for police officer, as well as the retention of veteran officers in the ranks.
Address the needs of the NYPD ranks, such as Detective Investigators, to avoid high caseloads and to ensure justice is being brought for the victims of crime.
Continually monitor the agencies involved in our safety with oversight & accountability to ensure monies spent are of the highest needs and delivery of services is effective and efficient.

Thriving Small Business

Work with the Staten Island District Attorney to allow the prosecution of retail theft causing small businesses sustained losses.
Advocate for BIDS, tax reforms, and reduction in regulations that hinder small businesses from thriving and expanding their operations that allow for the creation of jobs in our community.
Increase the opportunities for minority, women, and veteran businesses that would allow for NYC contracts that their goods or services can provide.

Justice For Our Heroes

An increase in our funding for the NYC Department of Veterans Services to ensure adequate monies to prioritize vulnerable veterans in their housing, food security, mental health, employment, and career transitioning.
Support to push through City Council Resolution 5 to "reinstate and compensate" terminated City workers from the COVID vaccine mandate.
John supports NYC workers and is a supporter of NYC Council Resolution 5 that would allow terminated City workers as a result of the COVID vaccine mandates to be re-hired and/or compensated for their time lost. This includes those that were at or near their time to retire with full pension benefits.
NYC Property Tax break for First Responders, similar to Military Veterans, for retired NYPD and FDNY.
Protection of NYC workers in their healthcare and retirement.
Use of NYC Discretionary funds to support Veterans Service Organizations with mission to advocate and improve the quality of life for Military Veterans.

Resources for Mental Health & Addiction

Work to fund resources provided for the community of District 51 in mental health support in areas of substance abuse, suicide prevention, and mental health.
Identify programs in these areas providing services and use discretionary funds to enhance their operations to provide mental health services.
Establish a mandated Drug awareness campaign in all middle schools and high schools, as well as in school resources for those students and families needing support.
Improve the police investigation of narcotics sales utilizing modern day resources to identify the selling and delivering of narcotics using social media platforms, telephones, encrypted messaging apps, and the internet.
Bring Social Media Awareness Campaigns to middle school aged children identifying the hazards on mental health and safety.
Increase Mobile Crisis Response Teams to those suffering immediate mental health concerns that can offer safety to them and others.

Opportunities For Youth

Keep children engaged in outdoor play by funding the renovation of old or unused spaces within parks or designated City areas with artificial turf to encourage additional sports programs.
Work with non-profit organizations to increase after school programs that allow for children access to tutoring, sports, and physical play while reducing the burden on working families in requiring private after school care.
Increase Education in our schools with City funded resources that give high school kids options in STEM programs, career technical trades, internships, or programs they are interested in without it being a lottery system to be admitted.
Engage youth with Community Service projects, charity drives, and contributions that are positive impacts to our community.

Neighborhood Cleanliness

Work with designated agencies, like NYC Parks and NYC Sanitation, to address areas of illegal dumping and sites like Arthur Kill Road where littering is out of control.
Address complaints by constituents in garbage removal missed to allow faster response.
Work with NYC Council to institute higher penalties for illegal dumping based on 1st, 2nd, and additional offenses.
Affix mobile cameras to areas that can be monitored in real time and allow for the Sanitation Police to deploy and respond to acts of illegal dumping.
Programs focused on graffiti removal.

Guarding Our Streets

Divert police patrols to areas of high noise complaints due to reckless driving and/or street racing to enforce these violations.
Increase the penalties for these acts that are a danger to our pedestrians.
Ensure oversight of 311 complaints made to the City and allow for adequate response and alleviation of the complaint.
Redesign roads where street racing frequently occurs such as adding barriers or traffic calming measures.

Protecting Children

Mandated Reporters: Although the professions for mandated reporters are outlined by NYS, a first of its kind NYC law that requires mandated reporters living within NYC to notify the State Registry even when the information obtained or suspected is not in the performance of their professional duties.
Physical and Personal Security at Public Schools: Initiating a pilot program identifying the best School Safety Agents that can meet standards and be trained in the use of a firearm. The goal would be eventually to integrate an on-duty armed school safety agent at every public school during school hours.
Administration for Children’s Services: Ensuring foster care providers are vetted and meet safety and care standards to prevent the abuse and neglect of children within the system.
Improving the communication gaps with ACS, NYPD, Family Court, schools, and hospitals to ensure the needs of the child are met and in their best interest.
Improving ACS resources for better training, more caseworkers, and improving technology for tracking cases to ensure outcomes are expedited for their care.
Investigation of Crimes Against Children -Upgrading and expanding NYPD technology, as well as adding specially trained and dedicated personnel to investigative units focused on cyber-related offenses, social media platforms, and online threats against children
Law-Zero Tolerance policies and advocating for harsher penalties of convicted persons for crimes against children.
Instituting General Fitness Guidelines and School Programs for Awareness of Digital & Social Media safety, as well as self-defense programs

Safety
Reduce property crimes targeting cars and homes.

Thriving Small Business
Advocate for BID tax reforms.

Resources for Mental Health & Addiction
Expand support services.

Opportunities for Youth
Invest in after-school programs.

Neighborhood Cleanliness
Tackle illegal dumping and street cleaning.

Guarding Our Streets
Address reckless driving and noise complaints.