Crystal R. Hudson (born April 14, 1983) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. A

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, she represents the 35th district of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

, which covers parts of central

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Early life and education

Born and raised in Prospect Heights,

, Hudson graduated from

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

with a degree in economics and later received a Master's degree in Tourism Administration from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Career

Hudson began her career working for the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

, a WNBA team based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2011, she joined

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

as a marketing executive. After moving back to

to care for her mother, Carole Kay, Hudson switched to public policy work, joining Brooklyn Community Board 8 and later working for Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo as her chief of operations. Hudson was chosen in 2019 to be a Deputy Public Advocate under

Public Advocate An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

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. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and a self-described democratic ...

, a position she held until the beginning of her campaign for

2021 City Council campaign

In 2020, Hudson announced her 2021 campaign to succeed the term-limited Cumbo in the City Council's 35th district. She was quickly regarded as a frontrunner in the race, raising the most money of any candidate in the field and receiving influential endorsements from Congressmembers

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries ( ; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democrati ...

and

Yvette Clarke Yvette Diane Clarke (born November 21, 1964) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

, neighboring Councilman

Brad Lander Bradford S. Lander (born 1969) is an American politician, urban planner, and community organizer who has served as the 45th New York City comptroller since 2022. He is a Progressivism in the United States, progressive member of the United States ...

, and most of the city's major unions. Hudson's main competition came from tenant organizer Michael Hollingsworth, who was backed by the New York City

Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization in the United States and the country's largest Socialism, socialist organization. Sitting on the Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left of the politic ...

and politicians from the city's leftmost flank. The race was characterized by ''

Gotham Gazette The ''Gotham Gazette'' is an online publication of the Citizens Union Foundation of the City of New York, a government watchdog group focusing on issues confronting New York City. Its purpose is fourfold: it reports daily on New York City news, ...

'' as "split

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

the city's left," as Hudson similarly claimed "progressive" policy positions and endorsements, but was put on the defensive about her establishment ties and work for the controversial Cumbo. Hudson worked to distance herself from Cumbo during the campaign, writing an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

for Bklyner.com calling one of Cumbo's key policy achievements a "disgrace." On election night on June 22, Hudson led Hollingsworth 38–34% in first-place votes, with minor candidates taking the remainder; when

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s and ranked-choice votes were counted, Hudson expanded her lead to 54–46%. She declared victory, and Hollingsworth conceded defeat, on July 6. Hudson faced minimal opposition in the November general election, and won. Hudson became the first out gay Black woman ever elected to the New York City Council, along with

Kristin Richardson Jordan Kristin Richardson Jordan (born January 3, 1987) is an American politician who was the Council member for New York City's 9th City Council district from 2022 to 2024. Jordan identifies as a democratic socialist and police abolitionist. In her 2 ...

of Harlem.

City Council tenure

In February 2024, Hudson led an effort to block the construction of a 150-unit apartment building (with dozens of apartments set aside for affordable housing) at a vacant lot in Crown Heights in her district. She has said that she will not support new rental housing unless somewhere between 20-80% of the units are set aside for income-restricted housing. By the end of 2024, the lot for the proposed building remained a dirt lot. On October 23, 2024, Hudson introduced a resolution to the New York City Council to proclaim October 20 as New York Liberty Day. The Liberty Women's Basketball team won the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

's ( WNBA) championship tournament on October 20, 2024. The victory was the first time in over 50 years that a team from New York won a championship in the sport of basketball. Hudson introduced a motion to rename a section of a

Crown Heights Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard to the so ...

street "

Lubavitcher Rebbe Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

Way,” honoring

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of ...

's contributions to community resources for education, drug rehabilitation, and elder care. As chair of the council's aging committee, Hudson worked to expand access to free legal representation and housing court for those over 65. She introduced "Age in Place NYC" legislation that included providing culturally relevant programming at senior centers. Hudson passed legislation to increase access to doula services, in an effort to reduce the maternal mortality rate during childbirth, a particularly pressing issue for Black women.

Personal life

Hudson is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, and lives in Prospect Heights with her partner,

political strategist Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televisi ...

Sasha Neha Ahuja. Hudson served as the primary caregiver for her mother, who suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

, until she died in April 2021. Hudson and her wife became parents to a baby girl in 2023. Hudson noted that "For a city council that is majority women, I think now we have more mothers than we’ve ever had."

References

External links

Brooklyn Councilmember Crystal Hudson discusses aging in place
NY1 Spectrum News, February 16, 2025 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Crystal 1983 births 21st-century American women politicians African-American New York City Council members American LGBTQ city council members George Washington University alumni American lesbian politicians African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from New York (state) Living people New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members People from Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn Spelman College alumni Women New York City Council members 21st-century New York (state) politicians 21st-century American LGBTQ people