The Democratic primaries in June are about a month away, and one of the races is for New York City Council District 38.

The district covers parts of Red Hook, Sunset Park, Dyker Heights, Borough Park, Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.

Councilwoman Alexa Avilés currently represents that district and is running for reelection against her challenger, Ling Ye.

Both were raised in Brooklyn and say the call to public service was personal.

Le came to the country at just 14 years old.

“The ultimate experience of being American is when I'm helping other people," said Ye.

Avilés moved from Puerto Rico at age 5 and says she had an interest in her community at a young age.

“I saw there are systems at play and that there were policies that created concentrated poverty and that we could change those things. And so that's always been a motivating factor," said Avilés.

Both candidates say housing affordability is an issue at the top of their list.

“For housing, I have a practical approach, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. It’s good to have 100% affordable, but maybe not always realistic. We need to increase housing supply and be open to negotiate with private developers," said Ye.

Avilés wants to bring down the threshold of affordability.

"We have to increase subsidy from the city government into development and push down the income requirements, pushing projects through. There's a lot of bureaucracy projects that take a long time," said Avilés.

Both candidates also say public safety needs to improve. Avilés says while policing is necessary, safety starts with getting to the root of the issue.

“We need to make sure people are employed and that we address issues of poverty. We need shelter for folks, right homes that they can be in, as opposed to living on the street and trying to figure that out. Public safety is all those things," said Ye.

Ye says she wants to build upon NYPD resources, but change the approach.

“We should ask NYPD to hire more culturally competent officers, we should ask NYPD to hire and promote officers that are from our community. And we should ask NYPD to do community oriented policing," said Ye.

The Democratic primaries will be on June 24.