Representing Manhattan’s 4th City Council District in the city’s legislature since 2018, term-limited Keith Powers is seeking higher office this election cycle with a run for Manhattan Borough President, leaving his seat wide–open for a cohort of candidates.
Six hopefuls are on the ballot vying for Powers’ open City Council seat, which covers parts of Manhattan’s east side from Stuyvesant Town to the Upper East Side, in the June 24 Democratic Primary.
Here’s a look at the candidates hoping to clinch the Democratic nomination ahead of November’s general election:
Vanessa Aronson
Vanessa Aronson is a former public school teacher and U.S. Foreign Service Officer, making her second attempt to represent District 4 with a campaign platform centered around government ethics, climate action, and protections for marginalized communities.
The former Lexington Democratic Club President supports banning campaign contributions from individuals and companies doing business with the city and calls for shifting lobbying oversight to the Conflicts of Interest Board. She also proposes reforms to increase transparency in discretionary funding and improve the city’s election infrastructure.
“At the UN, I negotiated multi-million dollar agreements that provided food assistance to 795 million people – delivering real results during a public crisis. In our own backyard, I grew the membership of the Lexington Democratic Club by 400% and revitalized this local institution during my time as president,” Aronson said.
“Life in our city shouldn’t be this hard. We have an affordability and housing crisis, mental health and public safety concerns, and rampant inaccessibility across the city. New Yorkers pay taxes every year and never see real investment in their communities. Trust in government continues to crater while city services degrade. But it doesn’t have to stay this way, ” she continued.”
On public safety, Aronson supports expanding services for victims of hate crimes, establishing a 24-hour hate crimes hotline, and increasing training for judges and prosecutors. She also backs funding for community organizations that assist hate crime victims and LGBTQ+ residents.
Aronson’s climate agenda calls for full implementation of Local Law 97, the city’s landmark emissions reduction mandate, as well as the creation of an Office of Climate Resiliency. She has proposed investments in green jobs, increased tree canopy, and better protections for communities at risk of extreme heat and flooding.
Faith Bondy
Attorney Faith Bondy, a lifelong New Yorker and practicing attorney, is running for City Council on a platform focused on quality of life, public safety, and education. She is the president of the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club and has held leadership roles on neighborhood associations, local PTAs, and the community board.
Bondy lives in East Midtown with her husband and two daughters. A graduate of Binghamton University and Cardozo School of Law, she says her upbringing in a family of union educators and administrators shaped her roots in public service.
“Faith is committed to delivering the quality of life District 4 residents expect and deserve. As a public school parent, she will fight for streamlined admissions, the best schools, and affordable childcare,” Bondy’s campaign said in a statement. “With deep community roots, she will advocate for affordable housing so young adults and families can build their lives here and seniors can age in place.”
Her platform includes expanding public school access and enrichment programs, increasing funding for sanitation and rat mitigation, and enhancing parks and green spaces by “ensuring that the Parks Department is fully staffed.” She supports affordable housing policies aimed at helping families remain in the district and seniors age in place.
Bondy has called for greater resources for local police precincts, more foot patrols, and stronger community policing. She has also pledged to combat hate crimes, particularly antisemitism, improve mental health services, and crack down on moped and e-bike abuses.
Virginia Maloney
Meta project manager and former public-sector consultant Virginia Maloney, the daughter of former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, is stepping into public life to “make New York more accountable, affordable, and accessible” and to hopefully fill the same City Council seat her mother held between 1982 and 1993.
She also previously worked as a project manager for the quasi-governmental city’s Economic Development Corporation. Now, she is running on a platform that emphasizes reforming government operations to be more transparent, efficient, and tech-forward. She calls for increased oversight of city agencies, stronger cybersecurity, and expanded accessibility for people with disabilities.
On public safety, Maloney supports increased resources for police and fire departments, improved community policing, and measures to reduce pedestrian fatalities and retail theft. She also backs infrastructure changes to regulate e-bikes and crack down on illegal license plates.
Maloney’s platform includes tackling New York’s housing affordability crisis by preserving existing affordable housing and balancing development with neighborhood character. She supports increasing funding for parks and says she will prioritize obtaining more capital and operating funding for maintenance and programs in parks, particularly on the East River Esplanade.
If elected, she had promised to expand health care access and inpatient care for people with severe mental illness, while fighting to stop the closure of Beth Israel Hospital. On education, she said she will expand Pre-K, STEM programs, and mental health resources in schools. She also wants to expand transit access, particularly ADA compliance in subway stations, and secure funding for the Second Ave. Subway expansion.
Rachel Storch
A former three-term Missouri state representative, Rachel Storch returned to her hometown on the East Side of Manhattan to raise her four children 15 years ago.
Since returning to New York, she has held leadership roles at the 92nd St. Y and the Fifth Ave. Synagogue and is now running a campaign focused on public safety, affordability, education, and quality-of-life issues.
“Today, Rachel is running for the City Council; she has the experience necessary to make New York City a more affordable, safer, and cleaner place for everyone,” her campaign said in a statement.
On her platform, Storch says she supports a “fully funded and accountable” police department, with an emphasis on crime prevention and mental health services. She has also vowed to call for greater enforcement against reckless e-bike use and illegal cannabis storefronts, and pledged to confront antisemitism and other hate crimes
On housing, Storch backs the preservation of rent-stabilized and Mitchell-Lama units and says she will support policies that expand affordable housing and homeownership opportunities.
A former legal aid attorney and AmeriCorps VISTA, she says she will be a pro-choice voice on the Council, advocating for women’s health care access. Storch plans to reduce red tape for small businesses, support the creation of a Small Business Ombudsman, and back regulatory reforms to help restaurants and local businesses open, expand, and operate more easily.
Benjamin Wetzler
Benjamin Wetzler, a lifelong Upper East Sider and current Stuyvesant Town resident, is a housing policy analyst with New York State Homes and Community Renewal and a former Democratic District Leader.
He says his platform focused on long-term planning and data-driven solutions to housing affordability, public safety, and quality-of-life issues.
“I am running for Council now to reduce the cost of living, help all New Yorkers find an affordable home, make New York safer, and improve our public spaces using innovative and data-driven policies,” Wetlzer said. “Making this happen will require proactive, long-term thinking, which has been in short supply in city government here in NYC. I have the experience, the vision, and the drive needed to improve our city and make it work for everyone.”
On the issue of housing, Wetzler supports building more affordable housing through a revived Mitchell-Lama-style program for middle-income homeownership, office-to-residential conversions, and reforms to building codes to enable mid-rise, family-friendly housing. He backs tenant protections, full funding for Right to Counsel, and expanded support for seniors aging in place.
On public safety, Wetzler proposes targeted NYPD presence in crime hotspots like East 14th and 86th Streets, stronger enforcement of hate crimes by providing city support for security at religious institutions, and tougher rules on illegal e-bike use and resale of stolen goods. He also advocates expanding mental health services and long-term care beds.
His quality-of-life agenda includes repealing the 8 p.m. trash set-out rule, increasing sanitation services, enforcing traffic laws more effectively, and completing projects like the East River Greenway. In education, he supports expanding classroom space, protecting special education, and installing computer labs in every local school.
Luke Florczak
Luke Florczak, a former U.S. Marine musician and current financial advisor, has launched a campaign centered on public safety, affordable housing, education equity, and veteran representation.
“Having served honorably in the United States Marine Corps, Luke knows what it means to represent something bigger than oneself. He hopes to be a voice for the almost quarter million veterans that lack a proper voice in the city council and the thousands of New Yorkers who he’s had the privilege to call neighbor for the last several years,” Florczak’s campaign said in a statement. “The issues faced by veterans living in the city are not theirs alone; Public Safety, Homelessness, Affordable Housing options, and better access to health services are just a few issues every New Yorker deals with in some way. By tackling these issues in our community, Luke hopes to also effect change for veterans in the city.”
Florczak advocates expanding affordable housing options through innovations in construction, including ‘industrial 3D printing’ and environmentally responsive designs, and supports lifting zoning restrictions like the 12 FAR cap. He wants to strengthen existing affordability programs and reduce homelessness, particularly among veterans.
On public safety, Florczak calls for improved enforcement of e-bike regulations, better communication between communities and law enforcement, and greater transparency from precincts and sheriffs regarding illegal cannabis stores.
For education equity, he says he will advocate for increased investment in public schools, reform of the SHSAT admissions process, and stronger collaboration with teachers’ unions. He also opposes policies that limit access to top-performing schools based solely on geography.
