Who Represents You

Activism is not running around, protesting and getting arrested (most of the time). Activism is being informed, getting involved in your community, and getting to know your neighbors and friends. Activism is taking responsibility for what goes on around you and not leaving those decisions to others. Knowing your local leaders is a good place to start.

Every New York City resident also has four elected representatives that will vary depending on the neighborhood they live in. Those representatives are:

City Council Member

State Assembly Member

State Senator

U.S. Congressional Representative

To find your representatives, do the following:

Step 1		You must know your 9 digit postal code or zip code + 4. If you don’t know it, visit the United States Postal Service (USPS) web site. Type in your address and write down your 9 digit zip code.
Step 2		The next step is to visit the "League of Women Voters" web site and type in your zip code +4. (Click the logo or step number to the left) If all goes well, it should return [almost] all your elected representatives. Recently, it seems that a zip code +4 cannot figure out a City Council member. If This web site gave you your officials then just continue with the next step and get your City Council Rep. and you are done. If there were problems finding your representatives on this site, use the links below to get you information from the individual government sites.
Step 3		The New York City Council site is probably the most confusing. Click the logo or step number to the left to go to the Council website. Under the title "Council Members & Districts" click on the blue word "map." It moves the page to the top where you will see a space in the upper right of the map. Type in your address and borough and it will return your City Council Member.
Step 4		The New York State Assembly site is easy. Click the links to the left and the Assembly search page will ask for your address and 5 digit zip code; that’s all.
Step 5		The New York State Senate is similar to the Assembly page. Use the links to the left and enter your address and 5 digit zip code to find your State Senator.
Step 6		The U.S. House of Representatives is the easiest site to use. Use the links to the left or simply type “house.gov” in the address bar of your browser. When the site comes up, you will find a small window in the very top right of your screen for your zip code. If you put your zip + 4 it quickly returns your Congress Member. If you do not have your zip + 4 this becomes a 2 step process. First enter your 5 digit zip. The site will usually return several possible House Members. Another screen will request your street address and return your Representative.

If you live in New York City, there are elected representatives we all share. The following chart lists the Federal, State and local officials that New York City residents have in common. It is important to understand who they are and what their jobs and responsibilities are.

President Joseph Biden

Governor Kathy_Hochul

U.S Senator Chuck Schumer

U.S Senator Kirstin Gillibrand

Mayor Eric Adams

There are 3 additional citywide elected officials. The Public Advocate, the Comptroller and the Speaker of the City Council.


Public Advocate Jumanee Williams	City Council Speaker Adrienne-Adams	Comptroller Brad_Lander

City Council Speaker: The Speaker of the City Council is elected by the 51 members of the council, every 4 years, at the beginning of each council term. The Speaker has broad responsibilities that include: bringing bills up for a vote or blocking bills from being voted on; assigning council members to committees as well as chairpersons of all committees; allocates discretionary budgets to each member. These broad powers make the speaker the second most powerful elected official after the Mayor according to many experts.
Comptroller: The Comptroller is the City’s chief financial officer and oversees a staff of about 800 people. He or she is responsible for the integrity and efficiency of the city’s finances and providing transparent oversight of the budget. In addition, the Comptroller controls the city’s pension fund, reviews city contracts and investigates for waste and fraud.
Public Advocate: ”The Public Advocate is a non-voting member of the New York City Council with the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation. The Public Advocate also serves as an ombudsman for city government, providing oversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaints about city services and making proposals to address perceived shortcomings or failures of those services.” The Public Advocate's power and effectiveness is limited by the small budget allocation given to the Public Advocate.

Borough Presidents

New York City is made-up of five boroughs. Each one has a Borough President. These elected officials used to have broad powers and a voice in budget matters, but that has changed. Today the Borough President is largely a ceremonial position. The only actual authority they still retain is to appoint Community Boards, advise the mayor and comment on land usage in their boroughs.

The primary function of the Borough President is to act as public relations representatives and advocates for their boroughs. They also have a small discretionary budget they can use for local events and organizations.

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio_Reynoso
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine
Queens Borough President Donavan Richards
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella