It certainly offered a good view of the city she wants to lead. 

About 150 feet above the ground, Kathryn Garcia, sitting alongside her two nieces and a NY1 camera crew in a tiny metal cage on the Wonder Wheel, explained why she wants to be mayor. 

“So this is really about a vision that I see for New York City,” Garcia told us as the historic Ferris wheel churned. "I envision a much greener New York City."

What You Need To Know

  • Kathryn Garcia quit her job and announced her candidacy for mayor last year

  • She ran the sanitation department and the New York City Housing Authority

  • Despite her government experience, her campaign has not gained traction

Often overlooked, fans of the former Sanitation Commissioner will tell you she has the skill and experience to tame the vast bureaucracy of city government. 

She worked at the Department of Environmental Protection, headed the Sanitation Department, ran the city’s public housing authority for a bit and the city’s emergency food program at the start of the pandemic. That said, her name recognition is low — just 29% of New Yorkers knew who she was in a poll last month.

Nonetheless, she's trying to transition from experienced bureaucrat to charismatic candidate. 

We spent the day with her in Coney Island to see how it was going. 

“I am really excited about the campaign that we are running,” Garcia said. Half of New Yorkers are undecided, she added. "Nobody has got this locked up. It’s wide open.”

She wanted to visit this Brooklyn neighborhood to discuss her plans to make New York City more resilient.

“This is one of the communities that was hardest hit during Hurricane Sandy, inundated with water, cut off from power, where people really suffered, and if we are not making plans now, we won’t be ready for the next storm,” Garcia said.

Last week she released her resiliency plan, which includes building green roofs on schools and reallocating 25% of car space for people instead. 

Of course, she’ll have to get to City Hall first. 

For one, Garcia’s campaign has not received as much attention as some of the men in the race. 

“There has never been a conversation of any of the male candidates of what is their viability, and that feeds press,” Garcia said. "I think the women candidates have all had to jump through that hoop in a way to prove themselves that none of the men have had to.”

At least for now, Garcia is getting more personal on the campaign trail. On Monday, she released a plan to revamp the foster care system. Garcia grew up in a house with five kids — three of them adopted, including her. She said the foster care system is personal for her. 

She wants the city to implement a race-blind system, which means officials determining whether to take children out of homes would not know the race of families. That, some experts say, can reduce implicit bias in the system. 

It’s proposals like these she hopes will get some attention.