Incumbent Metropolis Council Member Shaun Abreu (l.) is being challenged by Tiffany Khan (c.) and Edafe Okporo within the 2025 Democratic major.
Pictures offered by the campaigns
Incumbent Metropolis Council Member Shaun Abreu is searching for a 3rd time period within the 2025 election to characterize District 7, which incorporates elements of Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and Hamilton Heights–Sugar Hill.
Thus far, Abreu has outpaced his challengers in fundraising and endorsements, with backing from main unions and elected officers throughout the town.
However the race has drawn two opponents with sharply totally different visions for the district’s future. Edafe Okporo, a migrant advocate and former asylum seeker, and Tiffany Khan, a longtime housing activist and small enterprise proprietor, are each campaigning on progressive platforms targeted on housing justice, public security reform, and authorities accountability.
Right here’s a have a look at every candidate and their marketing campaign platforms, in alphabetical order, on the poll for the June 24 Democratic major election.
Shaun Abreu
Picture courtesy of Abreu’s marketing campaign
Council Member Shaun Abreu, a lifelong resident of Northern Manhattan, is searching for reelection to proceed representing District 7, which incorporates elements of Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, and Washington Heights. Raised between Washington Heights and the Higher West Facet, Abreu beforehand labored as a tenants’ rights legal professional and was elected to the Metropolis Council in 2021.
Abreu says he’s working to construct on his file of delivering inexpensive housing, safer streets, and neighborhood funding. If reelected, he plans to again a legislative bundle geared toward strengthening tenant protections. His proposals embrace increasing the authorized definition of tenant harassment, requiring entry to air con, and shielding tenants in buildings with unresolved code violations. He additionally helps the Group Land Act, which might empower nonprofits and neighborhood land trusts to buy multifamily buildings and develop city-owned land for everlasting inexpensive housing.
On quality-of-life points, Abreu says he’s prioritizing protected e-bike use. His proposals embrace safer battery know-how, charging infrastructure, and a possible registration system to curb sidewalk dashing.
“I’m running for reelection because my neighbors in Upper Manhattan deserve someone with the determination and track record to deliver where it counts,” Abreu stated in a press release. “I’ve stood against bad landlords and voted decisively to protect and expand our supply of affordable housing. I led the charge to fully containerize trash in West Harlem, cutting rat sightings by 60%. I’ve restored community composting, fought for fair pay for workers, and delivered millions for parks, playgrounds, and youth programs. This is a people-powered campaign—and we’re building something bigger than any one election.”
Tiffany Khan
Picture courtesy of Khan’s marketing campaign
Tiffany Khan, a former Group Board 9 member and longtime housing advocate, has targeted a lot of her civic work on housing, land use, and zoning points in northern Manhattan. Raised in Brooklyn and now a mum or dad of a younger youngster, she works in translation and interpretation.
Khan’s marketing campaign facilities on housing justice, small enterprise help, and legal justice reform. She has advocated for sturdy tenant protections, together with lease stabilization, inexpensive co-ops, and an finish to fireside evictions. She opposes rezonings that she says deepen the housing disaster and destabilize communities
On public security, Khan argues that the town’s strategy to policing and incarceration has failed to scale back crime. She proposes shifting the main focus to early intervention and youth improvement. She helps skill-based after-school applications to scale back juvenile crime and advocates for vocational coaching and recidivism discount methods.
Khan’s broader agenda consists of banning poisonous chemical compounds in meals and family merchandise, revising the state’s Basis Assist Components to raised fund public colleges, and integrating STEAM training into the town’s 3-Ok curriculum.
“Tiffany Khan brings a uniquely rich and broad set of skills to the City Council. As the owner of a NYC and NYS-certified MWBE, she has an intimate understanding of how the City and State of New York can help keep our small businesses afloat,” Khan’s marketing campaign stated in a press release. “Her imaginative and prescient for New York Metropolis can also be formed by the confluence of her upbringing in Brooklyn, work expertise overseas, and activism as a member of New York’s oldest tenants’ rights advocacy group, the Met Council on Housing.
Edafe Okporo
Picture courtesy of Okporo’s marketing campaign
Edafe Okporo, a Nigerian-American migrant advocate and the chief director of Refuge America, is a former asylum seeker who skilled homelessness upon arriving in New York.
Okporo later graduated from NYU and has since led efforts to help LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and resettle Afghan refugees beneath the federal Operation Allies Welcome initiative. If elected, he could be the primary former asylum seeker to serve on the Metropolis Council.
Okporo is campaigning on a platform targeted on immigrant rights, housing justice, and authorities accountability. He proposes the creation of a city-run Welcome, Reception, and Integration Program to assist newly arrived immigrants entry providers and navigate metropolis methods. He additionally helps elevated funding for immigrant authorized providers to fight mass deportations and help with asylum and work allow functions. To guard immigrant employees, he backs efforts to scale back the road vendor allow backlog and enhance security for meals supply employees.
On housing, Okporo is asking for a 50% improve in capital funding for NYCHA, totaling $1.5 billion yearly, and opposes the privatization of public housing. He additionally advocates for increasing the town’s Proper to Counsel program and growing oversight of homeless service suppliers.
“I came to New York as an asylum seeker, fleeing violence in Nigeria because of who I am. I know what it means to fight for safety, for housing, and for dignity. I also know what’s possible when New York opens its doors,” Okporo stated in a press release. “I’ve spent my life fighting for those pushed to the margins. As your Council Member, I’ll bring that same energy, urgency, and compassion to City Hall. I’m ready to lead—and I hope to earn your vote.”
