It’s not just the mayor on the ballot in New York City this year. Many other offices are up for grabs, including all 51 seats in the City Council — including nine Councilmembers who are term-limited and cannot run again.
To help voters make sense of the races ahead of the June 24 primary elections — early voting starts June 14! — here’s a guide to the 11 most competitive races in the boroughs, from the Manhattan race where Anthony Weiner is trying to make a political comeback to a six-way battle in The Bronx and East Harlem where a Wall Street mogul is spending hundreds of thousands.
Early voting starts on June 14, which will be conducted with ranked choice voting. Not sure who represents you in the City Council? Find out here.
Brooklyn
District 38: Sunset Park, Red Hook and sections of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst
This district with large Asian and Latino immigrant populations became more conservative after 2023’s City Council redistricting. Now, incumbent Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who has the support of the Working Families Party and the New York City Democratic Socialists, is facing a moderate Democrat challenger, Ling Ye.
Ye immigrated from China when she was 14 and has worked for Rep. Nydia Velazquez (who endorsed Avilés) and Rep. Dan Goldman, as well as former Councilmember Carlos Menchaca. Two independent expenditure committees (the local equivalent of Super PACs) are backing Ye’s run to unseat Avilés: the pro-Israel Solidarity PAC and Jobs for New York, a group affiliated with the Real Estate Board of New York.
Councilmember Alexa Avilés is defending her seat covering Sunset Park from challenger Ling Ye in the Democratic primary. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY, Ling Ye/Facebook
The sole Republican in the race is Luis Quero, a bank vice president who is running on “ending failed policies” and “bringing dignity back,” according to his campaign website.
District 39: Kensington, Borough Park, Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and the Columbia Waterfront
As Hellgate recently reported, the race for Brooklyn’s 39th district is increasingly defined by politics surrounding Israel’s war in Gaza. Incumbent Councilmember Shahana Hanif, the Council’s first-elected Muslim woman, is neck-in-neck in fundraising with challenger Maya Kornberg, a researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice who is Jewish, and who is drawing support from a number of donors unhappy with Hanif’s pro-Palestinian activism.
Kornberg has the backing of Solidarity PAC, a local pro-Israel political action committee, that through last fall had elicted at least $13,000 in apparent donations to her campaign, New York Focus reported. For her part, Hanif is seeing an upswing in support from her anti-Zionist Jewish constituents, who are campaigning on her behalf under the banner #JewsforShahana.
District 47: Bay Ridge, Coney Island and parts of Bath Beach
This district’s councilmember, Justin Brannan, is term-limited and running for city comptroller, so the seat is for the taking. Brannan’s chief counsel Kayla Santosuosso, who has the backing of both her boss and the Working Families Party, is up against Baruch College student Fedir Usmanov for the Democratic nomination. Santosuosso’s campaign has raised over $220,000, which is nearly four times as much money as Usmanov’s.
On the Republican side, Brooklyn GOP Chair and former NYPD officer Richie Barsamian is challenging George Sarantopoulos, the founder of an ATM business, who has raised just shy of $79,000. Barsamian, on the other hand, has a haul of almost $170,000.
The district, like many others in the city, has leaned redder in recent years. While Brannan, a Democrat, won back his seat in 2022, it was a close one. His Republican challenger Ari Kagan — a former councilmember who used to be a Democrat — earned nearly 42% of the vote. (Brannan and Kagan used to represent different districts, but redistricting forced them into the same one.)
District 48: Homecrest, Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach
There’s a showdown in this district between two Republicans: Councilmember Inna Vernikov, the incumbent, and Ari Kagan, a former councilmember who began serving as a Democrat then switched parties.
Vernikov, a lawyer, made news in October 2023 after being arrested for bringing a gun to a protest. Kagan worked as a journalist before his political career.
The two candidates, both immigrants born in the former Soviet Union, have a history of animosity, and this race is already shaping up to be contentious between them. In a Facebook post, Vernikov referred to Kagan as a “want to be” Republican. Vernikov has been a very vocal supporter of President Donald Trump as she campaigned for the seat and throughout her tenure.
Kagan lags far behind Vernikov in fundraising, campaign finance records show.
The Bronx
District 8: East Harlem, Randall’s Island and parts of the South Bronx
This district’s current Councilmember, Diana Ayala, is term-limited, which means this is a wide-open seat — and a crowded race. Six candidates will appear in June’s Democratic primary: Clarisa Alayeto, Federico Colon, Elsie Encarnacion, Wilfredo Lopez, Nicholas Reyes, and Raymond Santana.
By the money, there are three frontrunners. Alayeto, chair of the area’s community board, Encarnacion, who serves as Ayala’s chief of staff, and Lopez, an attorney and former legislative director in the Council, have fundraised the most so far, with enough money to qualify for taxpayer-funded matching funds. In the remaining weeks of the campaign, they have $129,000, $157,000 and $108,000, respectively, to spend on ads, literature and staff.
Santana, one of the Exonerated Five in the infamous Central Park in the 1990s who announced his run in February, has raised nearly $20,000 but has not yet qualified for matching funds.
South Bronx Council candidate Will López had campaign posters posted to small-business windows at The Hub, April 24, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
As THE CITY previously reported, Lopez has also gotten a boost from a Wall Street mogul who has poured hundreds of thousands into his campaign through an independent expenditure group that can spend an unlimited amount of money on a candidate or cause, but can’t coordinate with his or her campaign.
At a recent candidate forum covered by the Bronx Times, Lopez was heckled and criticized for that big money behind him, but the candidate emphasized he has no control over who gives money through those independent groups, or IEs.
District 13: Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Pelham Bay, Country Club, Van Nest, Westchester Square, Throggs Neck and City Island
This purple, politically-mixed district in the northwest Bronx is currently represented by one of the few Republican members of the City Council, Kristy Marmorato, who narrowly won the seat in 2023 with just 56 votes more than her rival in the primary that year. Now, Democrats are hoping to flip it back to blue.
Councilmember Kristy Marmorato (R-Bronx) speaks outside 26 Federal Plaza about she and other Common-Sense Caucus members meeting with ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan, Feb. 13, 2025. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Seven candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in June: Shirley Aldebol, David A. Diaz, Jacqueline Torres, Theona Reets-Dupont, Joel Rivera, John Perez and Eddie Marrero.
Aldebol, the former executive vice president of the buildings worker union 32BJ, has the most cash on hand at the end of April, with about $78,000 according to campaign finance records. She has also garnered the endorsement from the county party and her former union, City & State reported.
Only two other candidates have anywhere close to Aldebol’s haul heading into the final weeks. Diaz, a City Island resident and investor, has about $45,000 on hand and qualified for matching funds, and Torres, a human resources worker and veteran, has about $26,000 on hand.
District 14: Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights, Mount Eden and Mount Hope
Incumbent Pierina Sanchez won this district handily in the 2023 election with 76% of the primary vote. But this year she will try to fend off two challengers — one of them the person who held her seat from 2010 to 2021 and wants it back.
Pastor and former Councilmember Fernando Cabrera has raised a hefty sum for the campaign, with $167,000 on hand as of late April to Sanchez’s $207,000. Cabrera came under fire as Mayor Eric Adams’ faith advisor for his past anti-gay remarks and lack of personal support for gay marriage.
Bronx Councilmember Pierina Sanchez is fending off a challenge from former Councilmember Fernando Cabrera in District 14. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
A third candidate, Bryan Hodge Vasquez, a former law and legislative intern for various local political offices, has $105,000 on hand for his campaign.
Manhattan
District 2: Greenwich Village, Lower East Side, East Village, Midtown South-Flatiron-Union Square, Gramercy and Murray Hill-Kips Bay
Ten candidates are vying for an open seat in District 2 being vacated by Carlina Rivera who is term-limited out. Among them is disgraced former Congressman and two-time mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, who is attempting a political comeback after spending 18 months in prison for sexting a minor. Also running is Harvey Epstein who currently represents the area as a member of the state assembly.
Two political newcomers both with experience in local government are also vying for the seat. Sarah Batchu worked in former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office and more recently led programs at Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn and the Lower Eastside Girl’s Club of New York. Andrea Gordillo also worked at two local nonprofits — Loisada Inc. and the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center — and she’s served as chairperson for Community Board 3, which spans the Lower East Side and Chinatown, for the past year.
Batchu leads fundraising efforts with $82,000 in private and $192,000 in public funds raised, with Weinstein and Gordillo following closely behind her. The left-leaning Working Families Party has endorsed Weinstein, Batchu, and Gordillo, while Weinstein has collected the backing of several prominent unions including 1199 SEIU and DC 37.
Queens
District 21: East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, LeFrak City, North Corona and Willets Point
With local Councilmember Francsico Moya’s term-limited out, a contentious Democratic primary race with at least four candidates has been heating up in the area where Trump made notable gains in last year’s election. The neighborhood includes the controversial Roosevelt Avenue corridor, where enforcement on street vending and sex work have been hot-button issues.
Until recently, nearly every politico in this predominantly immigrant and Latino neighborhood had a horse in the race — including Democratic Assemblymembers Catalina Cruz and Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who is backing Erycka Montoya, the current deputy director of intergovernmental affairs in City Council.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos was also supporting her district director Sandro Stefano Navarro, but the Board of Election threw him off the ballot earlier this week after the Queens Dems’ pick for this seat, district leader Yanna Henriquez, successfully objected to Navarro’s ballot petitioning.
Also thrown off the ballot, at least for now, is the embattled former legislator Hiram Monserrate. The challenge to his candidacy was brought by Henriquez along with her competitor, local community board member Shanel Thomas-Henry, who successfully argued before the BOE that Monserrate was ineligible to run under Local Law 15 of 2021, which disqualifies certain felons from running for local office.
A Queens judge on Wednesday also found Monserrate — who was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend in 2009 and pleaded guilty to felony mail fraud and conspiracy charges in 2012 — ineligible under the local law. A case brought by Monserrate’s supporters to challenge the local law altogether is currently pending in court, however.
Thomas-Henry, the former community outreach manager for the LaGuardia Redevelopment Program, is endorsed by District Council 37 and former Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry, and is currently the top fundraiser in the race, with $164,029 cash on hand. Montoya trails just behind with $122,712, followed by Henriquez’s $81,888 and New York State Democratic Committee member David Aiken’s $62,657.
District 28: South Ozone Park, Jamaica, Baisley Park, Springfield Gardens, Rochdale Village and Brookville
This southeast Queens district, currently represented by Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams, is home to both a historic Black community and a growing South Asian and Indo-Caribbean enclave — groups who are all reflected on the five ballot choices.
Tyrell “Ty” Hankerson, Adams’ chief of staff, is looking to take over for his term-limited boss, and has leaned into his understanding of the districts’ needs, his experience with its constituents, as well as his achievements in Adams’ office to appeal to voters throughout the campaign. Hankerson is the Queens Dems’ pick for the office, and has already earned major endorsements from unions like 1199 SEIU and District Council 37 and a plethora of elected officials including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, U.S. Rep. Grogery Meeks — and of course, Adams herself.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ chief of staff Tyrell “Ty” Hankerson is running for her Queens District 28 seat. Credit: Ty Hankerson for City Council/Facebook
Latoya LeGrand, a community organizer and a constituent service representative for Assemblymember Vivian Cook, is also in the running, emphasizing an education-focused platform as a founder of a nonprofit that provides resources for NYCHA residents and people in foster care. LeGrand remains in the race even as four Southeast Queens residents said their signatures on LeGrand’s petition had been forged under a challenge brought by a number of citywide candidates, the Queens Eagle reported.
One of LeGrand’s competitors, former Councilmember Ruben Wills, is a party to the challenge.
Wills, who previously held the district’s seat, is currently angling for a political comeback after being exonerated in 2021 for a wrongful conviction for stealing public funds in 2017, and is advocating for prison and criminal justice reform.
It is Japneet Singh, however, who takes home the title of the race’s top fundraiser with $194,556 in his war chest. Singh, an immigrant from the India state of Punjab, is the president Khalsa Community Patrol, a community organization focused on combating hate crimes against South Asians in the area. He’s hoping to bridge the gaps that divide the district along ethnic lines.
Romeo Hitlall, a real estate broker and the first Indo-Guyanese president of the local Lions Club, has also raised significant funds, with $142,659 in the bank.
District 30: Maspeth, Glendale, Middle Village and Ridgewood
Although Democrats make up the majority of party-affiliated voters in this district, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa bested Democrat Eric Adams in the 2021 mayoral election in this southwestern corner of Queens. This politically-mixed dynamic is also at play in this year’s Council race, with term-limited Councilmember Bob Holden, a Democrat chairing the Council’s conservative common cause caucus, endorsing two of his staffers for primaries in opposing parties: Phil Wong on the Democratic line, and the race’s top fundraiser Alicia Vaichunas on the Republican line.
But Dermot Smyth, a political strategist for the United Federation Teachers and a former public school teacher, is ready to put up a fight, having outraised other Democratic primary candidates and having secured major endorsements like those from the Queens Dems, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, District Council 37 and 32BJ-SEIU. He is also endorsed by the pro-Israel Solidarity PAC. Smyth is prioritizing education, workers’ rights, public safety and affordability in this race.
Paul Pogozelski, a local civic leader critical of the Interborough Express rail line plan, is also running in the Democratic primary.
Staten Island
There are three City Council districts in Staten Island, but none of them have particularly competitive races this year. One of those districts, District 51, just had a special election won by Republican radio host Frank Morano, who will have to win again in November to secure that seat for the full term.
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