The mayoral race is getting most of the attention, but on Primary Day, there are battles in many of New York City’s 51 City Council districts. Most — but not all — are Democratic candidates squaring off against one another.
Some of these contests feature crowded fields. A number of them have attracted outside moneyed interests. And there are some recognizable figures hoping to make comebacks or chart a new path forward.
With just hours to go before the polls close, here is a look at some of the most noteworthy among the 32 primary contests for Council seats.
Gaza Dominates a Brooklyn Contest, Part 1
Since becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the Council in 2021, Shahana Hanif, 34, has focused intently on issues including housing. She has also been an unsparing critic of the Israeli government, attending pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and getting arrested at a Bryant Park protest weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Her focus on the war frustrated some constituents and was part of the reason Maya Kornberg, 33, a senior research fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, challenged her. In a television interview, Ms. Kornberg, who supports a cease-fire in Gaza, blasted Ms. Hanif’s “disproportionate focus on that issue and taking public divisive stances on that issue, instead of focusing on the local issues.”
Ms. Hanif, who grew up in Kensington, has pushed back, saying she is laser-focused on issues affecting the district, citing as an example her work to rezone the site of the Arrow Linen & Uniform Supply Company in Windsor Terrace for housing. She has bashed Ms. Kornberg for donations she has received from super PACs backed by Uber and companies associated with Madison Square Garden, which have contributed $400,000 to attack Ms. Hanif and back Ms. Kornberg.
Gaza Dominates a Brooklyn Contest, Part 2
The race in the district next to Ms. Hanif’s has also been partly defined by a progressive candidate’s views of Israel. Alexa Avilés represents south Brooklyn and identifies as a democratic socialist. She has drawn a forceful challenge from Ling Ye, who emigrated to New York from China and previously worked for Representative Dan Goldman, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Ms. Ye has focused her campaign on public safety and quality of life and has accused Ms. Avilés in a local publication of being more focused “on building a personal brand.” Ms. Avilés, 51, who was endorsed by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has focused on climate resiliency in the district, which includes low-lying neighborhoods like Red Hook.
Ms. Ye has drawn support from outside groups funded by the Real Estate Board of New York. Groups backed by the board and other business interests have attacked Ms. Avilés, saying she wants to raise taxes and defund the police. Ms. Avilés is also a vocal critic of Israel and said at a recent rally for Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is running for mayor, that opponents were lining up against her because she had called out the country’s treatment of Palestinians.
“I’ve stood up over and over to demand a cease-fire in Gaza,” she said. “We want to end the genocide and we want a free Palestine!”
The Weiner Comeback?
Anthony Weiner, the former congressman who spent about a year and a half in prison and much longer in public exile after a sexting scandal, has been running a high-profile campaign for an open Council seat on Manhattan’s East Side. Mr. Weiner, 60, who represented parts of Brooklyn on the Council in the early 1990s before running for Congress, has tried to center his campaign on street and subway safety.
Still, given his notoriety, he has also confronted his foibles head-on. A mailer he recently distributed features a large elephant and the tag line “Anthony Weiner Knows You May Have Questions.” The large primary field includes three well-funded opponents, Assemblyman Harvey Epstein; Sarah Batchu, a nonprofit executive; and Andrea Gordillo, a community board member.
Like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s bid for mayor, the race is a test of voters’ willingness to let disgraced politicians return to public life.
“Unlike some others in public life (you know who I mean), you won’t hear me blaming anyone else,” Mr. Weiner wrote in the mailer. “An important part of my life today is acceptance. I accepted responsibility.”
An East Side Scion Hopes to Join the Council
Virginia Maloney is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her mother, former Representative Carolyn Maloney, and win a seat on the City Council. The younger Ms. Maloney, who currently works at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is getting a lot of help in this crowded and competitive primary from several of mother’s old friends, including several unions that had supported her.
She has also received close to $450,000 in support from outside committees, funded by companies like DoorDash and unions including the United Federation of Teachers.
Ms. Maloney, 37, is up against Rachel Storch, a former state legislator in Missouri who is now the chief operating officer at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue; Vanessa Aronson, who works for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and Benjamin Wetzler, who works for New York State on affordable housing.
Ms. Maloney said she was happy to receive her mother’s support.
“Our family instilled in me the importance of giving back to our community and contributing to public service,” she said. “But I’m charting my own path. I’m bringing my own unique résumé to the City Council.”
Big Money Swamps Lower Manhattan
Councilman Christopher Marte has drawn three aggressive challengers who want to represent Lower Manhattan’s Council District 1. The candidates have sparred over the fate of the Elizabeth Street Garden, where a long-gestating plan to build affordable housing for older New Yorkers was killed on Monday by Mayor Eric Adams.
Mr. Marte celebrated the garden’s survival on social media and trumpeted his work to protect it and his efforts to create affordable housing elsewhere. His opponents had all previously said they believed that the need for affordable housing outweighed the benefits of preserving a small green space.
One of Mr. Marte’s opponents, Elizabeth Lewinsohn, stands out for another reason. Not only has she opted out of the city’s public matching funds program; she has self-funded her campaign to the tune of about $520,000, pulling in far more money than her opponents. She also has plowed more money into her own campaign than any other individual candidate in the city.
Ms. Lewinsohn previously worked in policy for the Police Department and serves on Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan. Backed by the teachers’ union, her campaign has focused heavily on public safety. She told a local news outlet that she was “running for office to make our streets safer — not with slogans, but with real leadership.”
Benjamin Oreskes is a reporter covering New York State politics and government for The Times.
The post Here Are 5 Key City Council Races to Watch in the N.Y.C. Primary appeared first on New York Times.
