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August 5th 2021 Len’s Letter #43 East Side, West Side, All Around the Town
2021 Who the Democrats have nominated in New York City
Eric Adams. Jumaane Williams Brad Lander
Let me introduce you to New York City. To its politicians. New York City has a lot of people. The 2019 population estimate was 8.3 million. If it were a state on its own, it would be the 13th largest state, behind Virginia.
New York City, like many cities and like the states of New Jersey and Virginia, has its elections in odd numbered years. It has just completed its primaries. For most offices, but not all, the winner of the Democratic Primary will be the person elected to office.
New York City has an elected mayor who has a lot of power, an elected Public Advocate who is a kind of independent ombudsman and is first in line to succeed the mayor, and an elected comptroller who is the City’s chief financial officer,
The Democratic nominee for mayor is Eric Adams. He is the Borough President of Brooklyn, a former police captain known for wanting to reform the police department and for his recollection of being beaten up by the police when he was a teenager. He is considered a political moderate.
The Democratic candidate for Public Advocate is the incumbent Jumaane Williams, the son of immigrants from Granada, a self-described democratic socialist, and former member of the City Council.
The Democratic candidate for Comptroller is Brad Lander, a Reform Jew and the son of a St. Louis bankruptcy attorney. A leading progressive on the City Council, he was endorsed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Each of these three is from the borough of Brooklyn.
New York City has five boroughs – Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Each borough has a Borough President — a kind of cheerleader for the borough. Borough President nominees were selected in the primary and I will mention them later. The mayor’s most important opposite (other than the governor) will probably be the City Council. New York City’s legislature is not powerless in its dealing with the mayor.
The City Council has 51 members of which three are Republicans. With a base pay of $148,500, they are paid reasonably well. Each city council district is composed of roughly 160,000 people. That means each New York City council district has a population in between the population of Springfield, Missouri and Springfield, Massachusetts.
New York City is minority White — 45%. Sixteen of the Democratic nominees to the city council or 31% of them are White. In only one instance is one of the Republicans, all of whom are White, facing a non-White Democratic opponent. Two of the sixteen non-Hispanic White Democratic nominees were born outside of the United States – one in Italy and one in Belarussia.
Jews are about 13% of New York City’s population. Seven of the Democratic nominees (as well as I can tell) are Jews — 14% of the Democratic candidates.
African Americans are about 24% of New York City’s population. Ten of the Democratic nominees are African American – about 20% of the nominees. (The Mayoral nominee is African-America as are two of the five borough presidents.)
Fifteen of the City Council nominees are from or are children of parents from two Caribbean Islands.
Five and a half (one candidate claims Puerto Rican and Dominican descent) are connected with Puerto Rico. Since 15% of New Yorkers have Puerto Rican connections, 11% is only a slight underrepresentation.
Five and a half of the nominees are connected with the Dominican Republic. People with a Dominican connection are 7% of New Yorkers. With 11% of the nominees, they are slightly overrepresented.
People from Haiti or descended from Haitians are about 2% of the New York City population. Four of the Democratic nominees were either born in Haiti or descended from people born there. Whatever difficulty Haitians may have with democracy in Haiti, Haitian-Americans in New York City are punching well above their weight with about 8% of the Democratic nominees – four times their proportion of the population.
Four other nominees have a South American or Central America heritage – one each with connections to Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Guyana. The Guyanese candidate has a South Asian Indian heritage.
Two other candidates have a South Asian heritage. One is a Muslim woman whose family was from Bangladesh. If elected, she would be the first Muslim on the New York City Council. The other is an Indian-American man. Three candidates have an East Asian heritage – one Chinese, two Korean.
Thirty of the 51 Democratic nominees are women. More than half of the 21 male nominees are white. Only in that sense do the days of White male dominance continue on the City Council.
With at least six nominees, gays will have a significant group of members if they are all elected.
As useful as the group identities may be, meeting these representatives of New York City as individuals is particularly interesting. Here they are. I have included website links only for those who need outside resources to be elected. Even here in New York City, it is important to help every Democrat win. Sadly, the Republicans have become a party that is an enemy of democracy.
District 1 – Christopher Marte is the Democratic nominee for this district at the Southern tip of Manhattan. It includes the Financial District, Chinatown and Little Italy, Tribeca, SoHo and NoHo, Battery Park City as well as such sites as Ellis Island (think immigration), Liberty Island (think statue), Washington Square Park (if you are my age, think fold music), City Hall, and the World Trade Center. The district is 45% White and 36% Asian.Christopher Marte is the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. He is a former investment analyst for IBM and a graduate of Long Island University’s Global College. He led an effort to prevent construction of a “mega-jail” in his district.
District 2 – Carlina Rivera is the incumbent and the Democratic nominee for a second term in this district in southeastern Manhattan that includes the Lower East Side, the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, and Murray Hill. The district is 56% White and 20% Hispanic. The daughter of a single mother from Puerto Rico, she went to a Catholic High School and graduated from Marist College. She worked as director of programs for a non-profit focused on economic and community revitalization before she was elected to City Council.
District 3 – Erik Bottcher is the Democratic nominee in this district in southwestern Manhattan that includes Chelsea, the West Village, Hell’s Kitchen (think West Side Story), Hudson Yards (new glitzy development), the Garment District, the Flatiron building neighborhood, and farther north. The district is 67% White, 13% Hispanic, and 12% Asian. Erik Bottcher was Chief of Staff of the outgoing, term limited President of the City Council. A gay man originally from the Adirondacks, he graduated from George Washington University and then came to New York.
District 4 – Keith Powers is the incumbent and Democratic nominee for this district in east central Manhattan which includes Midtown and Times Square, a large part of the Upper East Side, Turtle Bay (think the UN), Murray Hill, and Koreatown. The district is 77% White and 10% Asian. Keith Powers attended private Catholic elementary and high schools and graduated from the University of Dayton. He served as Chief of Staff for an Upper East Side state assembly member and, in 2006, chaired the campaign for an Upper East Side State Senator.
District 5 – Julie Menin is the Democratic nominee for this district in the Upper East Side of Manhattan (East of Central Park to the East River) that includes Roosevelt Island and a bit of East Harlem. The district is 78% White and 10% Asian. Julie Menin has been Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. Most recently, she was the City’s Director of the Census. She grew up in the Upper East Side. Her father was a doctor, her mother a painter. She graduated from Columbia and received her JD from Northwestern.
District 6 – Gale Brewer is the Democratic nominee for this district in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (West of Central Park to the Hudson). The district is 72% White and 11% Hispanic. Gale Brewer has been the Manhattan Borough President for the past eight years, but was term limited. A graduate of the Boston private day school, the Winsor School, she has two undergraduate degrees – one from Bennington and, much later, one from Columbia. She also has an MPA from the Kennedy School at Harvard.
District 7 –Shaun Abreu is the Democratic nominee for this district that includes areas along the Hudson River in Manhattan – the northern part of the Upper West Side, Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights (think Columbia University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Union Theological Seminary), Morningside Park, and (no voters alive here) Grant’s Tomb. The outgoing City Council member Mark Levine is the Democratic nominee for Borough President. The district is 49% Hispanic and 26% black. Shaun Abreu was born in Washington Heights, the child of Dominican immigrants who lived for a time on public assistance. He went to New York City public schools, graduated from Columbia University, and received his JD from Tulane. He clerked at the National Labor Relations Board and worked as an attorney for tenant’s rights. His mother was a clerk at Zabar’s.
District 8 — Diana Ayala is the incumbent and was renominated by the Democrats for this district which includes northern Manhattan including most of East Harlem and parts of the South Bronx including Mott Haven, Port Morris, Highbridge, Concourse, and Longwood. The district includes Randall’s Island and Wards Island. The district is 50% Hispanic, 22% Black, and 20% White. Diana Ayala was born in Puerto Rico, moved to New York City as a child where she lived in public housing and in shelters. She has an Associate’s Degree from Bronx Community College. After working as a Senior Center Director, she became the Chief of Staff for the previous City Councilor for District 8.
District 9 – Kristin Richardson Jordan appears to have defeated the incumbent by 104 votes (there will be a recount) to gain the nomination for this district which is in Harlem and includes Hamilton Heights, and Manhattanville. St. Nicholas Park and Marcus Garvey Park are in the district. 47% of the district is Black, 24% is White, 20% is Hispanic. Kristin Richardson Jordan is the daughter of two physicians who practiced at Harlem Hospital. An activist, she is a graduate of Brown University. She started a publishing company, coordinates a poetry group, and is a member of activist organizations.
District 10 – Carmen De La Rosa is the incumbent and has been renominated by the Democrats for this district which is in northernmost Manhattan. It includes Washington Heights (think Lin-Manuel Miranda), Inwood, and Marble Hill. 80% of the district is Hispanic; 10% is White. Carmen De La Rosa was born in the Dominican Republic. She was a young child when her family moved to New York. She is a graduate of Mother Cabrini High School and Fordham University and turned early to politics. She worked for the NY State Assembly and was Chief of Staff for a City Council Member. When State Senator Adriano Espaillat was elected as Borough President, he recommended a City Council Member for the State Senate and Carmen De La Rosa to replace the City Council Member. To win, she defeated an incumbent who had supported an opponent of Espaillat.
District 11 Eric Dinowitz is the incumbent and was renominated by the Democrats for this district in the far northwest corner of the Bronx. It includes Riverdale, Norwood, Van Cortlandt Village, and Woodlawn, parts of Wakefield, Bedford Park, and Kingsbridge. Van Cortlandt Park, the city’s 3rd largest park, is in the district. 39% of the district is Hispanic, 33% is White. Eric Dinowitz is a teacher with a BA from SUNY Binghamton and a Master’s Degree from Hunter College. His father was a state assemblyman. He was a chapter leader for the UFT and a District Leader. He is married, has twin sons, and sings in a Jewish acapella group.
District 12 – Kevin Riley is the incumbent and was renominated by the Democrats for this district in the central part of the Bronx’s northern border. The district includes all of Williamsbridge, Baychester, Co-Op City, Eastchester, and part of Wakefield. 67% of the district is Black, 25% is Hispanic. Kevin Riley grew up and still lives in Baychester. He has a BA from SUNY Old Westbury and has an MPA from Metropolitan College of New York. He joined the City Council after a special election held because the Council Member was expelled for personal use of campaign funds. Previously, he had been an aide to the Assembly Speaker. He has two daughters.
District 13 Marjorie Velazquez was nominated by the Democrats to represent this district in the eastern Bronx which includes Throggs Neck (think the bridge to Long Island), Pelham Parkway, Morris Parkway, Pelham Gardens, Schuylerville, Country Club, Locust Point, and Westchester Square. City Island is in the district as is Hart Island and two notable parks – Ferry Point and, the city’s largest park, Pelham Bay Park. 40% of the district is White, 39% is Hispanic. Born in the Bronx of parents from Puerto Rico who eventually owned their own business. Marjorie Velazquez attended public elementary schools, graduated from St, Catherine Academy High School, and NYU in Finance and Accounting. Her career was threatened by a workplace injury. She turned to volunteer activities including Community Board #10 and various Boards. She ran on the Working Families Party ticket for City Council in 2017.
District 14 Pierina Sanchez is the Democratic nominee for this district in the northwest Bronx along the Harlem River and east of the Hudson. The district includes University Heights, Fordham, Morris Heights, and Kingsbridge. The district is 72% Hispanic and 21% Black. Pierina Sanchez describes herself as an Afro-Dominicana. She was born in University Heights and raised in Knightsbridge. She attended local public elementary schools and the Academy of Mount Saint Ursula. She credits the Bronx Community College Upward Bound Program for her preparation and her ability to get a full scholarship to Harvard, after which she received an MPA from Princeton. She served as a planner in the Obama White House, worked for non-profits, and returned to work in the District 14 office. She went on to work as a senior advisor on housing in City Hall before running for City Council. She also serves as a visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt University.
District 15 Oswald Feliz is the incumbent. He was renominated by the Democrats for this district in the center of the Bronx where the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden are. Neighborhoods in the district include some or all of Belmont, Van Nest, Allerton, and West Farm; Fordham, Tremont, Bedford Park, Williamsbridge, and East Tremont. The district is 66% Hispanic and 25% Black. Oswald Feliz is a Dominican-American and a native of the Bronx. His parents were a cab driver and a home attendant. He is a graduate of Walton High School and Lehman College. He received his JD from CUNY. He has worked on the staff of a state Senator, served as an adjunct at Hostos Community College and as a tenants’ rights attorney. He will have an opponent in November.
District 16— Althea Stevens is the Democratic nominee for this district in the northeast of the South Bronx – Yankee Stadium territory. It includes parts of Concourse, Morrisania, Highbridge, Morris Heights, and Tremont. The district is 58% Hispanic and 39% Black. Althea Stevens is African American and a Bronx local. She has a BA from LIU and a Master’s Degree from Hunter. For the past 13 years she has been working for the East Side Settlement House, most recently as Director of Elementary Programs and Community Affairs.
District 17 Rafael Salamanca is the incumbent and has been renominated by the Democrats for this South Bronx district which includes some or all of the following neighborhoods – Corona Park East, Melrose, Hunts Point, Concourse, East Tremont, Morrisania, Longwood, Port Morris, and West Farms. The commercial center, The Hub, is in the district as are the North and South Brother Islands. The district is 69% Hispanic and 27% Black. Rafael Salamanca was born and raised in the Bronx. His parents were from Puerto Rico. His father works on the docks at the Hunts Point Market and his mother worked in health care. He did not complete high school, but did receive a. high school equivalency and an associate’s degree from Monroe College. While working as an administrative assistant in health care, he organized his and other communities on health issues. He has served as a member of the Bronx Community Board 2.
District 18 Amanda Farias won the Democratic nomination for this district on the eastern shoreline of the South Bronx which includes Parkchester, Castle Hill, Soundview, and Clason Point. The district is 58% Hispanic and 30% Black. Amanda Farias is a district native of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage who grew up in Soundview. She has a BA and an MA from Saint John’s in Queens, interned with Senator Gillibrand, and was a Field Organizer for President Obama’s reelection. She has been a Fellow at the new American Leaders Project and a member of the Teamsters union. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of the Consortium for Worker Education.
District 19 Tony Avella is the Democratic nominee for this district in Northern Queens which includes Auburndale, College Point, Whitestone (think the bridge), Bay Terrace, Beechhurst, and parts of Flushing, Bayside, and Douglaston-Little Neck. The district is 53% White and 28% Asian. Tony Avella is a former member of the City Council and a former State Senator. As a state Senator, he was a member of the Independent Democratic Conference that allied itself with the Senate Republicans. He has a BA from Hunter College and served as an aide to City Council Member Peter Vallone, Sr, and to mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins. He will have an opponent in November.
District 20 Sandra Ung is the Democratic nominee in this northern Queens district which includes Flushing and Kissena Park. The district is 64% Asian, 16% Hispanic, and 15% White. Sandra Ung is an attorney who is a special assistant to US Representative Grace Meng. She grew up in Flushing, went to Flushing High School and Hunter College. She worked for non-profits, was an assistant for two NYC comptrollers, and was Chief of Staff for former member of the State Assembly Jimmy Meng.
District 21 Francisco Moya is the Democratic nominee for this district in northern Queens. LaGuardia airport is in the district which includes Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights. The district is 75% Hispanic and 13% Asian. Francisco Moya is of Ecuadorian descent. He has a BA from St. John’s in Asian Studies and an MBA from Baruch. He was formerly director of business development for Elmhurst Hospital, worked in public affairs for Cablevision, and was an aide for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.
District 22 Tiffany Caban is the Democratic nominee for this district in the northwest part of Queens and which includes parts of Astoria, as well as parts of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Woodside. It also includes Rikers Island which is part of the Bronx. The district is 52% White and 25% Hispanic. Tiffany Caban lost the race as a reform candidate for Queens District Attorney by a hair in 2019. She was born in Richmond Hill to Puerto Rican parents and was raised in public housing. Her mother was a children’s caretaker, her father was an elevator technician. She graduated from St. Francis Prep School, earned a BA from Penn State, and a JD from New York Law School. She had worked as a Public Defender before her campaign for District Attorney.
District 23 Linda Lee is the Democratic nominee for this district in northeastern Queens which includes the neighborhoods of Glen Oaks, Bellerose, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Floral Park as well as parts of Douglaston-Little Neck, Bayside, Hollis and Queens Village. The district borders Nassau County and includes Cunningham Park. The district is 37% Asian and 31% White. Linda Lee is the president and CEO of Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York. She has a Master’s Degree from Columbia’s School of Social Work, is a Commissioner of the NYC Civic Engagement Commission and is a member of the New York Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
District 24 James Gennaro is the Democratic nominee for this district in central to northeastern Queens. The district includes some or all of Jamaica, Briarwood, Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows, Pomonok, Hillcrest (my wife’s childhood neighborhood), Jamaica Estates (Donald Trump’s childhood neighborhood), Jamaica Hills, and Parkway Village as well as the lower half of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The district is 33% White, 29% Asian, and 22% Hispanic. The City Council is James Gennaro’s home. He was a City Council staffer for 13 years and policy advisor to former President of the City Council Vallone. He is a former three term member of the City Council and a current member after a special election returned him to his old seat. He is president of the Jamaica Estates Association and a member of Queens Community Board 8. He will have an opponent in November.
District 25 Shekar Krishnan is the Democratic nominee for this district in northwestern Queens which includes Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The district is 36% Hispanic, 28% White, and 27% Asian. Shekar Krishnan is an Indian-American civil rights attorney who has focused on housing issues. He is a graduate of Cooper Union and the University of Michigan Law School, was Director of Legal Advocacy for Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation and is the Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of Communities Resist, Inc.
District 26 Julie Won is the Democratic nominee for this district in the westernmost part of Queens on the East River including Long Island City, Sunnyside, southern Astoria, and northern Woodside. The district is 38% Hispanic, 28% White, and 27% Asian. Julie Won immigrated to the United States from South Korea when she was six years old. At Syracuse University she earned two BAs, one in English and one in International Relations. After internships with Amnesty International and Congress, she worked for IBM for six years in change management and then for IBMiX as a Digital Strategy Consultant. She defeated 14 other Democrats in gaining the nomination.
District 27 Natasha Williams is the Democratic nominee for this district in southeastern Queens including St. Albans, Cambria Heights, and parts of Jamaica, Hollis, Springfield, Gardens, and Queens Village. The district is 73% Black and 13% Hispanic. Natasha Williams is a Queens native, daughter of a single mother social worker. She has her BA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MPA from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs. One of the organizers of the Women’s March and involved in social justice issues nationally, she is the Executive Director of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus.
District 28 Adrienne E. Adams is the Democratic incumbent and has been renominated for this district in southeastern Queens which includes some or all of Richmond Hill, Jamaica, South Ozone Park, and Rochdale Village. Much of the JFK International Airport is in the district. The district is 48% Black, 19% Hispanic, and 16% Asian. Adrienne E. Adams is a graduate of Bayside High School and of Spelman College. She had been an active public figure in Queens, serving as a trustee for the Queens Public Library, appointed by Governor Cuomo to the Local Planning Committee for the Jamaica Downtown Planning Initiative, and is a past co-Chair of the Jamaica NOW Leadership Council. She is a long-time member of the NAACP and the National Action Network as well as the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
District 29 Lynn C. Schulman is the Democratic nominee for this district in central Queens that includes Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Rego Park, and eastern Richmond Hill. The district is 47% White, 28% Asian, and 18% Hispanic. Lynn Schulman is a graduate of NYU and has a JD from Brooklyn Law School. For the past four years, she has been the senior Community and Emergency Services Liaison for the Office of the Speaker for the New York City Council. Before that she was, for ten years, the Senior Associate Executive Director for the Woodhull North Brooklyn Healthcare Network. She has managed external affairs for the Gay Men’s Health Center and directed crisis and litigation public relations programs for Fortune 500 companies while at Edelman public relations.
District 30 Robert F. Holden is the Democratic incumbent and has been renominated for this district in central Queens which includes Woodhaven, Ridgewood, and Woodside. The district is 57% White and 31% Hispanic. Robert F. Holden is from Queens. He has an Associate’s Degree from New. York City College of Technology, a BA from Queens College and an MFA from Hunter. A. photographer and graphic designer, he has taught at New York City College of Technology. He has been President of the Juniper Park Civic Association for twenty-five years and has run for office under the Republican, Conservative, and Reform Party line.
District 31 Selvena Brooks-Powers is the incumbent and Democratic nominee for this district in the farthest southeastern section of Queens which includes Far Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale, Arverne, Edgemere, and parts of Springfield Gardens. Much of the JFK Airport is in this district. The district is 68% Black, 16% Hispanic, and 11% White. Selvena Brooks-Powers was raised in Queens. She earned her BA from Wilberforce University and her MS from NYU. She began her career as a staffer in the New York State Senate. She ran a mayoralty campaign in San Francisco and was the press officer in the New York City Comptroller’s office. She continues to work as a political consultant.
District 32 Felicia Singh is the Democratic nominee for this open Republican seat which includes communities facing Jamaica Bay and communities on the western end of the Rockaways. Among these communities are Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Belle Harbor, Breezy Point, Broad Channel, Rockaway Park, Neponsit, Roxbury, and parts of South Oxone Park, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven. Within the district are Jacob Riis Park, Fort Tilden, and most of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Felicia Singh https://www.felicia2021.com has a BA and an MA from Adelphi, taught in China at Neijiang Normal University while in the Peace Corps, and now teaches at Coney Island Prep. She has lived in Ozone Park her entire life. Her father drove a taxi; her mother was a school bus matron. Her family roots are Punjabi Indian, but her parents immigrated from Guyana. She will face Republican Joann Ariola, Chair of the Queens Republican Party and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the MediSys Health Network.
District 33 Lincoln Restler is the Democratic nominee for this western Brooklyn district that is across the East River from Lower Manhattan and includes Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill, and Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, part of Downtown Brooklyn, and Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). The district is 74% White and 14% Hispanic. For twelve years, Lincoln Restler has been the Program Officer for Asset Building and Financial Services in New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs. Before that, he was a Program Analyst for the Mayor’s office for Neighborhood Economic Development and the Research Coordinator for CUNY’s Dominican Studies Institute. For just short of twelve years, he has also been a District Leader and State Committeeman. Born and raised in Brooklyn, a child of civic activists, he doesn’t quite explain in his website how his Bar Mitzvah was in a church. He returned from college committed to fighting what he saw as a corrupt political machine. He is a graduate of Brown University.
District 34 Jennifer Gutierrez is the Democratic nominee for this district that touches the East River and stretches southeast toward along the border between Brooklyn and Queens. The district includes parts of Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Ridgewood. The district is 55% Hispanic and 26% White. Jennifer Gutierez was the Chief of Staff for Antonio Reynoso, the previous City Council Member, now nominated as Brooklyn Borough President. Before that she worked with Chilean families of the disappeared and for the Arizona Democratic Party, managed Reynoso’s campaign for City Council and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez’ campaign for Congress. She was born and raised in Queens, a child of a family of Colombian immigrants living in a one-bedroom apartment. Her father became disabled when she was ten; her mother cleaned houses and apartments, often accompanied by her daughter who interpreted and negotiated wages.
District 35. Crystal Hudson is the Democratic nominee for this district that touches the East River and stretches southeast to the north and east of Prospect Park. The district includes Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, and parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. A small part of Prospect Park is in the district. The district is 46% Black and 33% White. Crystal Hudson grew up in Prospect Heights and spent part of the last few years as a caretaker for her mother, who had Alzheimer’s. She founded Greater Prospect Heights Mutual Aid, was the Deputy Public Advocate with Jumaane Williams, the current Advocate, and was the Chief of Operations for the outgoing District 35 City Council Member. She has worked in advertising and marketing for the Washington WNBA and NBA teams and for Amtrak and has been endorsed by LGBTQ groups including the Lambda Democrats and the Stonewall Dem Club. She has a BA from Spelman and a Master’s Degree from the George Washington University School of Business.
District 36. Chi A Osse is the Democratic nominee for this district in north central Brooklyn that is mostly in Bedford-Stuyvesant and includes part of northern Crown Heights. The district is 70% Black and 18% Hispanic. Chi A Osse is a graduate of the Friends Seminary and NYU. Twenty-three years old, he is the son of Combat Jack who was a Haitian immigrant, a hip hop figure from Brooklyn, and a graduate of Cornell and Georgetown Law School. An artist and a musician, he has had a variety of short-term show business experiences and continues to work with the musical artist IDKHIM.
District 37. Sandy Nurse is the Democratic nominee for this district in north central Brooklyn that includes Ocean Hill, Cyprus Hill, City Line, and a little bit of East New York and Brownsville. The district is 56% Hispanic and 30% Black. Sandy Nurse ousted an incumbent who had been elected without opposition in a special election in 2020. She and others had sought election in 2020, but Party officials challenged signatures and kept her and others off the ballot. She was born in Panama and raised by a single mother. She was the founder of a bicycle powered food hauling and composting service and a co-founder of Mayday, a community center for programming and debate of radical ideas. She has taught carpentry at Farm School NYC, having learned to be a carpenter through a year’s program offered by the New York District Council of Carpenters and the Passive House design-build firm.
District 38. Alexa Aviles is the Democratic nominee for this district along the southwestern shore of Brooklyn. The district primarily includes Sunset Park as well as Red Hook, Greenwood Heights and bits of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park. The Greenwood Cemetery and Sunset Park are in this district. The district is 44% Hispanic and 33% Asian. Alexa Aviles is of Puerto Rican heritage. She grew up in East New York and has lived in Sunset Park for almost 20 years. A graduate of Columbia University with a Master’s Degree from Baruch, she is the Program Director for the Scherman Foundation which directs funds nationally to organizations working on human rights, the arts, and locally to organizations working on NYC community issues. She has been an education advocate and describes herself as a Democratic Socialist.
District 39. Shahana K. Hanif is the Democratic nominee for this district that touches the mouth of the East River and stretches south and east to include Park Slope, Gowanus, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront and parts of Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington. The district is 66% White, 14% Hispanic, and 13% Asian. Shahana K. Hanif is the daughter of a contractor and restaurateur whose mother was at home. They are part of the Bangladeshi Muslim community in Kensington and she has been living and struggling with Lupus for nearly half her 29 years. She is a graduate of Brooklyn College and has been politically active, most recently serving as the Director of Organizing and Community Engagement for City Council Member and recently elected City Comptroller Brad Lander.
District 40 Rita C. Joseph is the Democratic nominee for this central Brooklyn district that includes all of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, most of Flatbush, and parts of Ditmas Park, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, Kensington, and Midwood. The district is 65% Black, 17% Hispanic, and 10% White. At age 19, Rita Joseph founded Haitian Enforcement Against Racism to oppose the FDA’s prohibition of blood donations by people of Haitian descent. As a young mother, she was active in the Holy Innocent Catholic Church and in a variety of organizing efforts such as opposing cuts to student Metro cards. She was awarded a full scholarship to St. Francis College in Brooklyn and got her Master’s degree for teaching at Touro College. She teaches in the New York Public Schools.
District 41. Darlene Mealy is a former City Council Member and is again the Democratic nominee for this central Brookyn district that includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, East Flatbush, Crown Heights, and Ocean Hill. The district is 81% Black and 14% Hispanic. Darlene Mealy was born in Detroit and grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from Wingate High School. Before her first election to the New York City Council, she had worked for 17 years for the MTA. As a city council member, she was involved in several financial controversies related to public funds and to the rent for her office.
District 42. Charles Barron is the Democratic nominee for this district in the easternmost part of Brooklyn bordering Jamaica Bay which includes most of East New York and part of East Flatbush. The district is 73% Black and 19% Hispanic. Charles Barron has been a community activist in New York for many years. He represented District 42 on the City Council from 2001 to 2013 and was succeeded by his wife Inez Barron who he is now replacing. He ran for the US Congress twice and lost both times. In his youth he joined the Black Panther Party and was particularly critical of US foreign policy and its support for dictators. Ten years after joining the Black Panthers, he joined the National Black United Front (NBUF) in Harlem. He and other activists were arrested for attempting to physically remove Robert Morris, a White historian and the appointed head of the Schomberg Center for the Study of Black Culture.
He moved to East New York to become the Chief of Staff for the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, chair of the NBUF and minister of Brooklyn’s House of Lord Church. He and his wife also founded the Dynamics of Leadership Company on which they based their talks around the country. When the protests he led had a specific objective, they succeeded – preventing construction of a wood burning incinerator and, later, a natural gas generator in the neighborhood. These struggles led him to electoral politics. On the City council he joined with conservative Democratic City Councilmember Tony Avella (who also returns to the Council this year) to limit the power of the Council Speaker. This was one incident in a running feud with Speaker Christine Quinn.
District 43 Incumbent Justin Brannon had no Democratic opposition for the nomination for this district at the southwestern tip of Brooklyn that faces Staten Island. The district includes Bay Ridge and other communities on the waterfront including Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, and parts of Bensonhurst. Dyker Beach Park and Golf Course and Calvert Vaux Park are in the district. The district is 59% White, 24% Asian, and 14% Hispanic. A graduate of Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, Justin Brannon http://justinbrannan.com became a hardcore punk guitarist for bands that were known for their commitment to social justice, vegetarianism, and opposition to the hedonistic punk rock culture. When he stopped touring, he wound up working at the investment bank, Bear Sterns. He became a radio announcer and was shop steward for the union. He became Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs for the City Council Member who retired in 2017, won the primary to run for that seat by 682 votes, and defeated his Republican opponent 51-47. As a Council Member he has been criticized for taking donations from developers. He will have a Republican opponent this fall.
District 44. Incumbent Kalman Yager had no opposition for the Democratic nomination for this district in south central Brooklyn that includes Borough Park, Ocean Parkway, Bensonhurst and Midwood. The district has a substantial Orthodox Jewish presence. It is 71% White, 17% Asian, and 10% Hispanic. Kalman Yager has a BA from Touro College and a JD from New York Law School. After law school he worked for politicians. Initially, he worked for a City Councilman, then for the Bronx Borough President, and then as senior advisor and counsel for City Councilman from District 44, David Greenfield. When Greenfield decided not to run for reelection so that he could head the charity Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, he chose his senior advisor and counsel to succeed him. There was no Democratic primary. In the General Election, he defeated Assemblyman Dov Hikind’s son, who ran under the banner of a third party.
District 45. Incumbent Farah Louis won renomination in the Democratic Primary for this southeastern Brooklyn district. The district includes East Kensington. The district is 76% Black and 11% White. Farah Louis had replaced Jumaane Williams who was elected Public Advocate. She is the daughter of immigrants from Haiti. Her mother worked in health care, her father worked in law enforcement and as a taxi driver. She graduated from Midwood High School, has a BA from Long Island University, and an MPA from NYU. She worked in health care for eight years, and then in Jumaane Williams’ City Council office. She won the special election in May, 2019 and then won the required additional election in June.
District 46. Mercedes Narcisse is the Democratic nominee for this district along the southern shore of Jamaica Bay in southeastern Brooklyn. The district includes Canarsie, Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, Gerritsen Beach, Georgetown and parts of Marine Park, Flatlands, and Sheepshead Bay. The Floyd Bennet airfield is in the district. The district is 43% White and 42% Black. Mercedes Narcisse was born in Saint-Marc, Haiti and was raised by her grandmother after her father left for the US when she was three. She immigrated on her own to the US and enrolled in Tilden High School though she spoke no English. She learned English, graduated, and attended the New York Institute of Technology from which she graduated, trained to become a Registered Nurse. To keep herself and her child afloat, she worked three jobs and eventually opened a surgical supply business. She became active in Haitian communal organizations and a Democratic club. She is now the administrator of two senior centers. She ran for City Council in 2013, but lost to the outgoing Council Member. She is running on a platform that resonates with those who describe themselves as Democratic Socialists.
District 47. Ari Kagan is the Democratic nominee for this district at the southeastern tip of Brooklyn. This includes Coney Island and other communities along the southern shoreline including Gravesend, Sea Gate, part of Bensonhurst, and a small part of Bath Beach. Most of Coney Island’s attractions are in the district. The district is 57% White, 18% Asian, 14% Hispanic, and 9% Black. Ari Kagan https://www.ariforcouncil.com came to the United States from Belarus in 1993. By 2012, he was sufficiently integrated into the politics of southeastern Brooklyn that he was elected District Leader, an unpaid party position that is a kind of liaison between the political party, the public, and elected officials. During the intervening 20 years, he had worked for a member of Congress, for two Comptrollers, John Liu and Scott Stringer, and edited a Russian language newspaper. Elected District Leader, he founded a political club and ran unsuccessfully for the state assembly. He went to work for City Council Member Mark Treyger. In winning the Democratic Primary, he has taken a major step to replacing the term-limited Treyger. The only obstacle remaining in this district where election of a Republican is not out of the question is the Republican nominee who has flirted with QAnon theories.
District 48. Steven Saperstein is the Democratic nominee for this district at the southern tip of Brooklyn. Neighborhoods in the district include Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Manhattan Beach, and parts of Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, and a small bit of Coney Island. The district has a substantial Orthodox Jewish population. It is 71% White and 14% Asian. Steven Saperstein is a special education teacher. He grew up in a home that used American Sign Language for communication. He needed a speech therapist to master English. He is a member of the Orthodox Jewish community but has had a secular education. He attended public schools. His BA is from NYU and his JD is from Syracuse. He is co-founder of the Shorefront Coalition intended to aid seniors and youth and previously ran unsuccessfully for the Assembly as a Republican.
District 49. Kamillah Hanks is the Democratic nominee for this district at the northern end of Staten Island which includes the following neighborhoods – Stapleton, West New Brighton, Port Richmond, Sunnyside, St. George, Mariners Harbor, New Brighton, Clifton, Arlington, Graniteville, Livingston, Tompkinsville, Randall Manor, Silver Lake and parts of Concord and Rosebank. The Staten Island Zoo is in the district. The district is 38% White, 29% Hispanic, and 23% Black. Kamillah Hanks is a Staten Island local. She graduated from LaGuardia High School for the Arts in Manhattan and studied business at the College of Staten Island. She has retained her artistic interest and produced an Oscar nominated documentary about the Staten Island Ferry called “Ferry Tales.” She has been active in the life of the island, serving for four years as Executive Director of the Downtown Staten Island Council and for nearly ten years as the CEO of the Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership. She has received the National Council of Negro Women Leadership Award.
District 50 Sal Albanese is the uncontested Democratic nominee for this district which is a band across north central Staten Island. The eastern part of the district is more heavily populated. The western part of the district includes the Staten Island Greenbelt, the remains of the Fresh Kills Landfill as well as Freshkills Park. The district is 71% White, 13% Hispanic, and 12% Asian. If there is a Democrat who can win an election in this district it is 71 year old Sal Albanese https://sal2021.com. An immigrant from Calabria, Italy as a child, he has been in New York politics for a long time. A graduate of York College, NYU, and eventually, Brooklyn Law School, he was a conservative Democratic City Council Member from 1982 to 1998. Since his election to the City Council, he has run unsuccessfully for Congress and for Mayor. After leaving the City Council, he has worked for investment firms.
District 51 Olivia Drabczyk https://www.oliviadrabczyk.com is the uncontested Democratic nominee for this district which covers the southern half of Staten Island. This is a land of parks. In addition to the southern half of the Staten Island Greenbelt and Freshkills Park, the district has Great Kills Park, Blue Heron Park, Wolfe’s Pond Park, Long Pond Park, Conference House Park, Bloomingdale Park, and Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve. The district is 84% White and 9% Hispanic. Forty-two percent of the voters are Republican. Thirty percent are Democrats. Olivia Drabczyk is running against the Republican incumbent Joe Borelli. She lives in Great Kills with her parents, sibling, and her mixed-race son. She is a special education teacher, a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School with a BA from Pace University and a Master’s from Teachers College, Columbia. She is a first-time candidate whose past successes have included being a Fulbright Award Winner. The incumbent, Joe Borelli, was identified by the Conservative Party as the City Council’s most conservative member. As an Assembly Member, he was the only representative of New York City to vote against the NY Safe Act, a gun safety measure passed in 2013. He was New York Co-Chair in the 2016 Trump Republican Primary campaign.
Borough President Nominees
Mark Levine is the Democratic candidate for Manhattan Borough President. He was born in Chicago, grew up in Columbia Maryland, graduated from Haverford College and received an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. After teaching junior high school in the South Bronx through Teach for America, he founded a neighborhood credit union and ran unsuccessfully for City Council. Elected District Leader, he was an early supporter of Barack Obama, ran unsuccessfully again for City Council, but was finally elected in 2013 in the Upper West Side
Antonio Reynoso is the Democratic candidate for Brooklyn Borough President. He was born in the Bronx and raised in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. He graduated from Le Moyne College, a Jesuit school in Syracuse, and worked as a community organizer for the New York City branch of ACORN, an activist voter registration organization that was driven out of the business when some of its registrants were fraudulently registered. He became Chief of Staff for a member of the City Council and ran to replace her when she was term limited.
Donovan Richards is the incumbent Queens Borough President. He was renominated in the Democratic Primary in a very close race. He was born and raised in southeast Queens, attended Jamaica High School and graduated from Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, New York. He attended Nyack College and graduated from the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens. He came from an actively religious family and in his youth participated in a religious mission to Haiti. He became involved in politics, particularly to address gun safety, when a close friend was killed. He became the Chief of Staff for his City Councilman and replaced him when term limits prevented him from running again.
Vanessa Gibson is the Democratic nominee for The Bronx Borough President. She was raised in The Bronx, in Morris Heights. She graduated from Murray Bergtraum High School, earned her BA at SUNY Albany, and an MPA from Baruch. As a college senior, she interned for a state Assemblywoman. She continued working for Assemblywoman Aurelia Greene and replaced her in Albany when she left to work with the then Bronx Borough President. Vanessa Gibson was elected to the New York City Council in 2013 with particular commitments to decrease the number of homeless and to mend relationships between the community and the police.
Mark Murphy https://www.murphyforstatenisland.com is the Democratic nominee for the President of the Borough of Staten Island. He is attempting to flip this open Republican seat. His father, John Murphy, was the Congressman from Staten Island from 1963 to 1981. He got himself in trouble with the Abscam bribery scandal for which he went to jail for a year and a half. Mark Murphy made his money as a real estate developer. He made his way in politics serving as an aide to then Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. His run for Congress to unseat the Republican incumbent Michael Grimm, to be elected to the seat his father had once held. was unsuccessful. He lost to Grimm by six points. He will have a decent chance for election in this race. The Republican nominee is former member of Congress Vito Fosella. Fosella left Congress when it was discovered, after he was arrested for drunk driving. The arrest led to the discovery that he had a second family in Virginia, a spouse and a daughter. Unsurprisingly, Fosella was endorsed by former President, Donald Trump.
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