Critical New York City elections will be held in 2025, beginning with the Party Primary on June 24, 2025. DID has conducted candidate forums for City Council Districts 1, 2, and 3, Manhattan District Attorney and Manhattan Borough President. Over 200 people attended these forums. Candidates were requested to complete a questionnaire. Candidate questionnaire responses, websites, and forum recordings are available below.
DID and other downtown clubs will be co-hosting forums for Comptroller and Public Advocate on February 6 and for Mayor on February 11. Save the dates!
We wil update this page as we conduct the forums and vote our endorsements.
See below for more information on the candidates and for forum videos.
Endorsements
New York City Council
District 1 – Christopher Marte
Christopher Marte was born and raised on the Lower East Side, where his father owned a bodega and his mother worked in a garment factory before becoming a home attendant. Professionally, Christopher started his career managing IBM’s retirement funds while paying off his student loans. From the beginning of his political career, his desire was to unite people across the district and to ensure that all the people of the district had access to and were served by their representative.
As Council Member, Chris opened a store-front office with multi-lingual staff in the Chinatown section of the district to ensure that his diverse constituents had a place to go when they needed help. He secured major budget victories for his constituents, funding among other things:
- A new headquarters for the Lower East Side Ecology Center in East River Park;
- The first new playground in JHS 56 / Corlears Complex for students at University Neighborhood Middle School and other schools in the building; and,
- An olympic-sized pool for the Harbor School on Governor’s Island.
Legislatively, Marte worked with his colleagues to expand SCRIE and DRIE rental assistance for renters in former Mitchell-Lama buildings, including Gateway Plaza in Battery Park City, Independence Plaza in TriBeCa and Knickerbocker Village on the Lower East Side. Marte also worked to pass legislation to create and map the Freedom Trail to track the abolition of slavery in New York City, with many sites in lower Manhattan.
On the housing front, Marte helped open over 200 units of permanently affordable housing on Grand Street in the lower east side. His office worked to help get people moved from shelters into permanent housing and to prevent homelessness, particularly for renters who are victims of landlord abuse and fires.
District 2 - Harvey Epstein
Harvey Epstein is currently a State Assemblymember. Throughout his career he has focused on key issues such as protecting tenants, preserving affordable housing, reforming the criminal justice system, expanding employment for people with disabilities, improving education, promoting environmental sustainability, and protecting the rights of LGBTQIA New Yorkers. His long commitment to these issues and deep roots in the community were compelling reasons for DID's endorsement.
Harvey has been a community leader for more than 20 years. Before he was elected to the Assembly, he served on Community Board 3 for 14 years as its board chair, and chair of its Land Use Committee. A public-school parent, Harvey is a former president of the District 1 President’s Council and former PTA president at the Neighborhood School (where his children attended). Harvey has engaged in numerous community struggles to protect low-wage workers, local day-care centers, and diversity in admissions at public schools.
An experienced leader and advocate for the progressive movement, Harvey has introduced and supported legislation that protects the rights of LGBTQIA and non-binary New Yorkers, promotes environmental sustainability, supports public education, and makes voting easier. He has tackled deep inequities in the criminal justice system by fighting to end the excessive use of solitary confinement, to legalize adult use marijuana, expunge records for New Yorkers with marijuana related offenses, reform the parole system, and to make it easier for incarcerated people to earn a college degree. He has also been deeply invested in securing extensive protections for tenants, protecting the environment, saving small businesses, and creating new educational opportunities for people with disabilities.
District 3 - No endorsement
Manhattan District Attorney - Alvin Bragg
Alvin Bragg was elected in 2022 as the 37th Manhattan District Attorney. A lifelong Manhattanite, he has spent more than two decades fighting to make our communities safer and our criminal justice system fairer.
Since taking office his has worked with law enforcement to target those driving violent crime and increased gun prosecutions by 20%; launched new mental health and substance use initiatives to get people the help they need and prevent crime and more than doubled the services provided to crime victims; invested in new programs to give kids positive alternatives like jobs and community service, so they avoid trouble and stay on a path to a bright future; and worked to hold the powerful accountable and deliver justice for all.
New crime stats (NYPD Stats) show Alvin's safety vision is working: In Manhattan, shootings are down 45%, burglary is down 12%, and overall index crimes are down 10% in the last two years.
Manhattan Borough President - Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Brad Hoylman-Sigal has spent the last decade fighting in the State Senate for a more affordable, safe, and fair New York. During his time in the Senate, he passed over 350 bills focusing on a range of issues, including protecting tenants against eviction, cracking down on dangerous e-bikes, securing funding for mental health, eliminating illegal guns, and fighting bias crimes including antisemitism and anti-LGBTQ hate.
As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Brad has been a champion of access to justice. He has worked to reduce court backlogs by successfully advocating for the creation of new judgeships, including additional Family Court judges. He helped lead the confirmation hearings for the Court of Appeals that led to Rowan Wilson being installed as the Chief of New York’s highest court, becoming the first Black person in this position.
Brad is a longtime grassroots activist, serving previously as a Democratic District Leader and three-term chair of Manhattan Community Board 2. He is the past president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats.
Candidate questionnaire responses
- Council Districts 1 and 2
- Council District 3
- Letter from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
- Manhattan Borough President
Candidate Forum Videos
- Council Districts 1 and 2 Forum
- Manhattan District Attorney, Borough President, Council District 3 Forum
Candidate Participants
Council District 1
- Jess Coleman
- Elizabeth Lewinsohn - declined to participate due to scheduling conflicts
- Christopher Marte
Council District 2
- Sarah Batchu
- Harvey Epstein
- Andrea Gordillo
- Allie Ryan *
- Anthony Weiner *
Council District 3
Manhattan District Attorney
Manhattan Borough President
- Brad Hoylman-Sigal
- Keith Powers
- Vincent K. Jenkins *
* DID will update when website becomes active