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City Council

City Council

  • Free-for-All in Flushing as Voters Choose Next City Council Member

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    Council Member Koo, center, among others (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    In central Queens’ City Council District 20, which spans Flushing, Murray Hill, and Queensboro Hill there is a crowded and competitive Democratic primary race coming to a head this month, with early voting ongoing and primary day on June 22. The candidates face an onslaught of contentious issues such as anti-Asian hate crime, rezoning of the Flushing waterfront, a busway in downtown Flushing’s Main Street, and small business struggles.

    Hoping to replace outgoing

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  • In Queens, Council Member at the Epicenter Looks to Hold Seat Against Insurgent from the Left

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    Council Member Moya (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    One year ago, COVID-19 swept across Corona, turning the Queens neighborhood into the epicenter of the pandemic — and leaving behind a trail of death, sickness, hunger, and unemployment. In the wake of the crisis, which hit Northern Queens harder than most of the city, incumbent City Council Member Francisco Moya says his work to address healthcare and food insecurity kept the pandemic’s effects on his 21st

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  • Crowded Field Competes to Represent Brooklyn Waterfront in City Council

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    (l-r) Elizabeth Adams, Victoria Cambranes, Sabrina Gates, Toba Potosky, Lincoln Restler, Stu Sherman, Benjamin Solotaire & April Somboun at June 6 debate


    As Stephen Levin nears the end of his three terms in office representing Brooklyn’s 33rd City Council District, eight Democratic candidates are vying to replace him — bringing varied resumes and competing visions on key issues like policing, the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and the recent tide of development in the district’s neighborhoods.

    The 33rd District stretches along

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  • Diverse Field of Candidates Vies to Replace Trailblazing Council Member in Queens

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    Council Member Danny Dromm (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    A crowded Democratic primary race is unfolding in Queens to select the successor for term-limited City Council Member Daniel Dromm, a trailblazing LGBTQ leader and powerful chair of the Council finance committee who has held the seat for nearly 12 years but is term-limited out of office. The primary

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  • Future of Immigrant Communities the Focus of Brooklyn City Council Race

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    Council Member Menchaca & others at a community fridge (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    With City Council Member Carlos Menchaca among the three dozen members of the 51-seat Council facing term limits this year, there is a competitive Democratic primary unfolding to replace him in Brooklyn’s 38th District, which is centered in Red Hook and Sunset Park, and also includes parts of Greenwood Heights, Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Boro Park. Menchaca, a Democrat, has held the seat for two terms, nearing eight years. Given the

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  • Close Ally Has Inside Track in Race to Replace North Brooklyn City Council Member

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    Council Member Antonio Reynoso (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Brooklyn and Queens residents in the 34th City Council District must vote on term-limited Council Member Antonio Reynoso’s replacement in this year’s election. The first and most important round of voting takes place in this month’s Democratic primary, the winner of which is all but certain to become the next Council member in January given the district’s overwhelming Democratic enrollment advantage.

    Voters have four candidates to choose from: Jennifer Gutierrez, Reynoso’s chief of

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  • Crowded City Council Race in Lower Manhattan District Devastated by Covid

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    Council Member Margaret Chin and others (photo: Jeff Reed/City Council)


    Nine Democratic candidates are running in the City Council District 1 primary for a seat based in Lower Manhattan. The district includes parts or all of Battery Park, the Civic Center, Chinatown, the Financial District, Little Italy, the Lower East Side, NoHo, SoHo, South Street Seaport, South Village, TriBeCa, and Washington Square. Governors Island, Ellis Island, and Liberty Island are also a part of the district.

    The current City Council member, Margaret Chin, was elected

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  • WATCH: City Council District 9 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 9 primary debate


    Nine of the candidates running in the Democratic primary for City Council District 9, which is mostly made up of Central Harlem in Manhattan, met for a zoom debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included William Allen, Cordell Cleare, Joshua Clennon, Pierre Gooding, Kristin Richardson Jordan, Ruth McDaniels, Athena Moore, Mario Rosser, and Keith Taylor. McDaniels had to leave part-way through the debate. Incumbent Council Member Bill Perkins

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  • WATCH: City Council District 5 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 5 debate


    Candidates running in the Democratic primary for City Council District 5, which is mostly made up of Manhattan's Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, met for a zoom debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included Billy Freeland, Julie Menin, Rebecca Lamorte, Kim Moscaritolo, Tricia Shimamura, Christopher Sosa, and Marco Tamayo. (Note: this debate was taped before sexual misconduct allegations were made against mayoral candidate Scott Stringer, which is

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  • In Brooklyn, Incumbent Council Member Looks to Hold Off Veteran Challenger and Win First Full Term

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    Council Member Farah Louis (photo: City Council)


    New York City Council Member Farah Louis is among the 18 members of the 51-seat Council eligible for and seeking reelection this year, but she is not able to cruise to a full term representing Brooklyn’s 45th District, which includes Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park, Flatlands, Canarsie, and Kensington. Louis, a Democrat, has held the seat for part of one term so far after being elected in a 2019 special election to fill a vacancy created by Jumaane Williams winning his own special election

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  • WATCH: City Council District 3 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 3 Democratic primary debate


    Candidates running in the Democratic primary for City Council District 3, which includes parts of Manhattan's West Side like Chelsea and the West Village, met for a zoom debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included Erik Bottcher, Phelan Dante Fitzpatrick, Marni Halasa, Aleta LaFargue, Leslie Boghosian Murphy, and Arthur Schwartz. Watch:

  • WATCH: City Council District 6 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 6 Democratic primary debate


    Six candidates running in the Democratic primary for City Council District 6, which includes most of the Upper West Side of Manhattan, met for a zoom debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included: Gale Brewer, Sara Lind, Maria Danzilo, David Gold, Jeffrey Omura, and Zack Weiner. Watch:

  • In Queens, Council Member Who Unseated Incumbent Tries to Hold Off Primary Challenge from the Left

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    Council Member Robert Holden (photo: Emil Cohen/City Council)


    City Council Member Bob Holden, a first-term Democrat from Queens, is known for being one of the Council’s more moderate-to-conservative members, having won his seat running on the Republican ballot line in 2017 after losing the Democratic primary to the incumbent at the time. Especially in a legislative body that includes just three Republicans in 51 seats, Holden regularly takes among the more right-leaning positions on a number of issues, particularly policing, whether in his district or on a

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  • WATCH: City Council District 2 Democratic Primary Debate

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    Democratic primary debate in City Council District 2


    City Council Member Carlina Rivera, a Democrat representing District 2, which covers parts of Manhattan such as the East Village and Lower East Side, is being challenged in her reelection bid by activist Erin Hussein, with the two running in the June Democratic primary. Rivera and Hussein met by Zoom for a debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Watch:

  • WATCH: City Council District 10 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 10 Democratic primary debate


    Five Democratic candidates for City Council District 10, currently represented by term-limited Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez and covering parts of Upper Manhattan, met by Zoom for a debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included Carmen De La Rose, Angela Fernandez, Johanna Garcia, Francesca Castellanos, and James Behr. The primary is in June, with early voting June 12-20 and primary day June 22. Watch the debate:

  • Council Member Seeking Reelection and the Speakership Faces Exonerated Ex-Rep Pursuing Redemption

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    Adrienne Adams and Ruben Wills


    City Council Member Adrienne Adams, a first-term Democrat, is among the several candidates seeking to become the next Speaker of the City Council. But her first hurdle will be defeating two challengers in the imminent June primary to win a second term representing Council District 28 in Southeast Queens. Among those challengers is her predecessor, Ruben Wills, who was expelled from the Council following a corruption conviction but was recently exonerated and is seeking a political comeback.

    District 28 includes

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  • WATCH: City Council District 1 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 1 Democratic primary debate


    Nine Democratic candidates for City Council District 1, currently represented by term-limited Council Member Margaret Chin and covering parts of Lower Manhattan, met by Zoom for a debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. Participating candidates included Christopher Marte; Susan

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  • In Competitive Central Brooklyn City Council Race, Candidates Focus on Housing, Education and Public Safety

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    Outgoing Council Member Robert Cornegy (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    With City Council Member Robert Cornegy, Jr. among the three dozen members of the 51-seat Council facing term limits this year, there is a competitive Democratic primary unfolding to replace him in Brooklyn’s 36th District, which includes northern Crown Heights and parts of Bedford Stuyvesant. Cornegy, a Democrat, has held the seat for two terms, nearing eight years. Given the district’s overwhelming Democratic voter enrollment, the winner of the

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  • WATCH: City Council District 7 Democratic Primary Debate

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    City Council District 7 candidate debate


    Ten candidates running in the Democratic primary for City Council in Manhattan's 7th District gathered by Zoom for a debate hosted by Manhattan Neighborhood Network and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max. The candidates are vying to replace term-limited Council Member Mark Levine representing parts of northern Manhattan including Manhattanville, Morningside

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  • Competitive Central Brooklyn Council Race Splits City's Left

    Michael Hollingsworth & Crystal Hudson

    (l-r) Michael Hollingsworth & Crystal Hudson


    With City Council Member Laurie Cumbo among the three dozen members of the 51-seat Council facing term limits this year, there is a competitive Democratic primary unfolding to replace her in Brooklyn’s 35th District, which includes parts or all of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant. Cumbo, a Democrat, is also the Council majority leader and has held the seat for two terms. Given the district’s overwhelming Democratic voter

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  • Latinos and the 2021 New York City Council Elections

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    Dominican Day Parade (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    In the coming months, leading up to the all-important June New York City primary elections, I will be writing a series of columns for Gotham Gazette exploring how the Latino vote can impact City Council races across the city. The series — Latino Vote ‘21 — will also highlight some opportunities that may increase Latino political representation and will at times touch on citywide or boroughwide races.

    This series is, I believe, the first of its kind in a publication like Gotham

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  • WATCH: Candidate Debate in Queens City Council District 24 Special Election

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    (l-r) top: Samar Khurshid, David Brand, Soma Syed; middle: Dilip Nath, James Gennaro, Deepti Sharma; bottom: Neeta Jain, Moumita Ahmed


    Six candidates running in the special election for City Council District 24 in eastern Queens met for a debate on January 26 hosted by Gotham Gazette, Queens Eagle, and Citizens Union Foundation. The special election to replace Rory Lancman, who stepped down to take a position in the Cuomo administration, is ongoing, with early voting January 23-31 and election day on February

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  • A Brief Guide to the City Council Specials Kicking Off the 2021 Election Cycle and Implementation of Ranked-Choice Voting

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    Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    New York City’s first ranked-choice election is underway in Queens. The crowded and competitive special election to replace former City Council Member Rory Lancman, who resigned for a position in the Cuomo administration, saw early voting begin this past Saturday. It will run through January 31, followed by election day on February 2.

    While it is the city’s first election using ranked-choice voting, which took effect this year after being approved by voters in 2019 and only applies

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  • New York's Activist Left and Organized Labor Begin Choosing Their Next City Council Class

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    The City Council chambers (photo: William Alatriste)


    With 31 members facing term-limits and with special elections slated to fill five recent vacancies, it is set to be a transformative year for the New York City Council. City politics have undergone a dynamic shift since the last class of Council members was seated after the 2017 municipal election, and activists and organized labor are hoping to take advantage of that fact in announcing their support for a new crop of Council contenders.

    Almost every “open” City Council seat where no

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  • Candidates Riding Cash Advantages in City's Down-Ballot Races

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    (l-r) Comptroller candidates Lander, Benjamin, Weprin, Parker


    This article is published in partnership with City Limits. Also read: The Money Race in the Mayoral Primary: January Filing Sets the Stage for 2021

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    If money plays a decisive role in the Democratic race for

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