How a political insider spends her Sundays
Tricia Shimamura spends her days moving around the city as community affairs director for Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. She helps with everything from street fairs to welcoming new immigrants.
It is a mission that resonates deeply with Ms. Shimamura, 34, who ran for the Upper East Side City Council in 2021. She is of Japanese and Puerto Rican descent and would have been the first person of color to represent her district.
A licensed social worker, Ms. Shimamura has served as deputy chief of staff to Carolyn Maloney – a former Democratic congresswoman from New York – and as director of government affairs at Columbia University. She sits on the boards of several organizations that work with women to develop leadership skills and run for political office.
On Sundays, Ms. Shimamura combines family time with community service, an exhausting and uplifting balance. She lives with her husband, Dov Gibor, 44, who is a lawyer, and their two sons, Teddy, 4, and Oliver, 1.
“Teddy recently pointed to a photo from the 2017 Women’s March and said, ‘That’s where my mom works,’” Ms. Shimamura said. She added: “It is very important to me that my children see me working.”
RISE, SHINE, PLAY On Sundays my boys are my alarm clock. They wake me up around 6:30 am. I quickly check my email. When I know there isn’t an emergency at work that needs my attention, I can focus more on things at home.
I try to let Dov sleep for a few more moments. I bypass the menagerie of Magna-Tiles and toys that line my boys’ room and find an open space. I lie down, with a stuffed animal for a pillow, and let my boys play, closing my eyes for as long as they let me.
PANCAKES AND GOSSIP We leave for breakfast around 8 am. The majority of people we see on the street are wearing gym clothes, because they just did their workout, and I envy them; or they are exhausted parents, and I feel sorry for them.
We get pancakes at Ella’s Café on East 76th and Second. Teddy has a huge appetite. At breakfast I drink coffee and sit back in fear and awe as I watch him consume a man-sized meal. Ollie usually chooses to chew on the table or a napkin.
Nine times out of ten we run into a voter or a neighbor we know, and half of our breakfast is gossip from the local neighborhood. It’s amazing and feels like a small town.
BACK TO WORK I leave breakfast and meet up with my boss. A large part of my job consists of keeping an eye on the most important problems throughout the municipality. Our Sunday calendar can be very extensive: a park cleanup, a community fair, a press conference can all take place in one day. I am fortunate to have a partner who can take care of our boys while I am at work.
I find it very useful to do the fieldwork. I can get an idea of what is happening in the neighborhoods, if there is to be follow-up. Mark and I will talk about the events, our children, the local drama. We work very well together.
Most of the time, Mark continues to work. He knows I have small children, so around 2 p.m. I hop on a CitiBike and ride home.
FRESH AIR I immediately get to work cleaning up the mess my kids have made. Ollie is starting to eat fruit, so there will be splatters of banana, peach or watermelon on our walls and floor. Dov is very busy arguing with the boys, so I step in to straighten things out a bit.
Once we’re done, we take them outside again. We have a one bedroom apartment, so we try to be outside as much as possible.
We take a walk along the East River Esplanade, one of my favorite places in the city, and end at Carl Schurz Park or John Jay Park. We always run into friends and neighbors, so it becomes a playdate. We stay until the boys are sufficiently exhausted, around 4:30 PM, and then we do the bath-dinner-bed shuffle.
EMPTY THE FRIDGE Our pediatrician won’t like this, but the truth is, we don’t all eat together. My kids are still in the phase of eating simplistic foods. Ollie gets puree and yoghurt. Teddy gets a vegetarian burger or pasta with zucchini. He takes avocado, chickpeas, something green. We are fortunate to be in the Yorkville CSA. We pick up on Tuesdays, so on Sunday my goal is to empty the fridge.
After dinner, Dov puts the children to sleep. It is this beautiful golden time, around 7:30 PM I will take it a bit easier. I send a few emails and texts, and check on some neighbors.
We eat around 8 p.m. I make farro or quinoa. We take eggs or beans and any vegetables left over from our CSA Dov loves spicy food, just like me. The biggest difference between our food and the boys’ food is the amount of jalapeño and red pepper flakes. Dov insists on eating all the jalapeño ribs.
PAINTING AND ‘PODCASTS’ After dinner I will paint. During the pandemic I rediscovered my love for painting. It’s a way to calm my nerves. I paint scenes from my neighborhood: the Esplanade, FDR Drive, the corner where I campaigned, our dry cleaners. While I paint, I listen to recordings of the community council. It’s almost like listening to a podcast.
SPELLING BEE AND BED Then Dov and I make a plan for the week: what’s going to happen, who has dinner, who has a meeting. We are both involved with the Four Freedoms Democratic Club. When we have club meetings, Dov visits personally. I listen from home so I can be with the boys and put them to bed.
We wrap things up around 11 p.m. Before we go to sleep, we compare the scores from the New York Times Spelling Bee. I’m doing well, but Dov is exceptional. I’m extremely competitive, so even though I’m not that good, I’m forever optimistic that today will be the day I hit Queen Bee before he does.