The Progressive Caucus of the New York City Council is a bloc of progressive New York City Councilmembers that was formed in 2009. In 2010, the Caucus consisted of 12 members, nearly 25% of the 51-member New York City Council. The caucus grew to 35 members following the 2021 city council elections, before narrowing to 20 members in February 2023 following new bylaws requiring members to sign on to their Statement of Principles. It is co-chaired by Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) and Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn). Jennifer Gutierrez (D-Brooklyn) and Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan) are Vice Co-Chairs.

Statement of principles

The Progressive Caucus's stated objective is to create a "more just and equal

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, combating all forms of discrimination, and advancing policies that offer genuine opportunities to all New Yorkers, especially those who have been left out of our society's prosperity." The Caucus's stated principles prioritize (i) a "fair budget", (ii) a progressive economic policy, (iii) "safe, decent, affordable housing", (iv) "high-quality public education", (v) "a more sustainable and environmentally just city", (vi) "strong, vibrant, diverse neighborhoods", (vii) a criminal justice system focused on "prevention, alternatives-to-incarceration, partnership with communities, and police accountability", (viii) "full civil rights for all New Yorkers", and (ix) a restoration of "confidence and participation of government" and "strengthening the practice of local democracy".

Legislative agenda

The Progressive Caucus website shares 7 issue areas with related bills that they are prioritizing. They are: # Banning Solitary Confinement # Prohibiting housing discrimination on the basis of arrest record or criminal history # The "

Public Bank A public bank is a bank, a financial institution, in which a state, municipality, or public actors are the owners. It is an enterprise under government control.

Package" # Police Transparency # The "

Zero Waste Zero waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are reused. The goal of this movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. Current ...

Package" # Creating Permanently Affordable Housing # The Earned Safe and Sick Time Act Expansion for Gig Workers

History

The Progressive Caucus was formed in 2009 order to promote policies focused on building "a more just and equal New York City." The Caucus initially consisted of 12 members, co-chaired by

Brad Lander Bradford S. Lander (born July 8, 1969) is an American politician, urban planner, and community organizer who currently serves as the New York City Comptroller. A member of the Democratic Party, Lander is a progressive politician, and has been d ...

(D-Brooklyn) and

Melissa Mark-Viverito Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the New York City's 8th City Council ...

(D-Manhattan/Bronx). In July 2016, the caucus encouraged New York Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

to sign an anti-

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bill into law. This bill, the first of its kind as it pertained to regulation of

, was signed into law in the state of New York on October 21, 2016. Also, in November 2016, the caucus endorsed Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison for chairman of the Democratic National Committee.{{Cite news, url=http://observer.com/2016/11/nyc-council-progressive-caucus-backs-keith-ellison-for-dnc-chair/, title=NYC Council Progressive Caucus Backs Keith Ellison for DNC Chair, date=2016-11-22, newspaper=Observer, language=en-US, access-date=2017-01-23

Members

Current membership includes the following members: *

Christopher Marte Christopher Marte (born April 26, 1989) is an American politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 1st district, elected in November 2021. His district includes all or parts of Battery Park City, Chinatown, Civic Center, E ...

(D-Manhattan) * Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) *

Carmen De la Rosa Carmen De La Rosa (born December 25, 1985) is an American politician from the state of New York. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, De La Rosa has represented District 10 on the New York City Council since January 2022. She previously r ...

(D-Manhattan) *

Pierina Sanchez Pierina Ana Sanchez (born June 10, 1988) is an American politician from the Bronx, New York City. Since 2022, Sanchez has represented the 14th district on the New York City Council, encompassing Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights, and Tr ...

(D-The Bronx) * Althea Stevens (D-The Bronx) * Amanda Farias (D-The Bronx) * Tiffany Caban (D-Queens) * Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens) *

Julie Won Julie Won (born April 17, 1990) is a Korean American politician from New York City. She is a member of the New York City Council for the 26th district, which covers the western Queens neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Long Island City, Woodside, a ...

(D-Queens) * Nantasha Williams (D-Queens) * City Council Speaker

Adrienne Adams Adrienne Adams may refer to: * Adrienne Adams (illustrator) (1906–2002), American illustrator * Adrienne Adams (politician) Adrienne Eadie Adams (born December 9, 1960) is an American politician serving as Speaker of the New York City C ...

(D-Queens, ex-officio member) * Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) * Jennifer Gutierrez (D-Brooklyn) * Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn) * Chi Osse (D-Brooklyn) *

Sandy Nurse Sandra Nurse (born April 3, 1984) is a Panamanian-born American carpenter and Democratic politician from New York City who has served as the New York City Council member for the 37th district since 2022. District 37 covers Bushwick and other ...

(D-Brooklyn) * Alexa Aviles (D-Brooklyn) * Shahana Hanif (D-Brooklyn) * Rita Joseph (D-Brooklyn) * Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn) Membership during the 2018-2021 term included the following members: * Co-chair Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) * Co-chair Diana Ayala (D-Manhattan/The Bronx) * Vice Co-Chair

Keith Powers Keith Tyree Powers (born August 22, 1992) is an American actor and model. He is best known for his roles as Ronnie DeVoe in BET's miniseries ''The New Edition Story'' and Tyree in the film '' Straight Outta Compton''. Career After graduating ...

(D-Manhattan) * Vice Co-Chair

Carlos Menchaca Carlos Menchaca (born September 11, 1980) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York City Council for the 38th district. He is a Democrat. His district included the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Green ...

(D-Brooklyn) * City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) *

Margaret Chin Margaret S. Chin (born May 26, 1953) is a Hong Kong American politician who served as a council member for the 1st district of the New York City Council. A Democrat, she and Queens Council member Peter Koo comprised the Asian American deleg ...

(D-Manhattan) * Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) *

(D-Brooklyn) * Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn) *

Mark Levine Mark Andrew LeVine is an American historian, musician, writer, and professor. He is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine. Education LeVine received his B.A. in comparative religion and biblical studies from Hunter ...

(D-Manhattan) *

(D-Brooklyn) * I. Daneek Miller (D-Queens) * Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) * Deborah Rose (D-Staten Island) *

Ritchie Torres Ritchie John Torres (born March 12, 1988) is an American politician from New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Torres is the U.S. representative for New York's 15th congressional district. The district covers most of the South Bronx. It ...

(D-Bronx) * Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens) *

Jumaane Williams Jumaane D. Williams ( ; born May 11, 1976) is an American activist and politician who has served as the New York City Public Advocate since 2019. He is a former member of the New York City Council from the 45th district, which includes East Fla ...

(D-Brooklyn)

References

External links

Official website

Statement of Principles

Official Facebook page
New York City Council Issue-based groups of legislators