Latest news with #MayaKornberg
New York Times
12 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Hanif Wins Re-election in Council Contest Defined by Israel and Gaza
Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the City Council in New York City, has held onto her seat in Tuesday's Democratic primary contest, which had turned into a tense race where the politics of the Middle East became a focal point. Ms. Hanif, who represents Brooklyn neighborhoods including Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Kensington, defeated her challenger, Maya Kornberg, a senior research fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, according to The Associated Press. Ms. Kornberg, 33, said she decided to challenge Ms. Hanif, 34, who was elected in 2021, because of the councilwoman's focus on the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, and she regularly characterized her as being insufficiently concerned with the needs of the district. 'The Council member's disproportionate focus on that issue and taking public divisive stances on that issue, instead of focusing on the local issues facing our district — on fixing potholes and planting trees — is precisely the progressive attitude we need to change,' Ms. Kornberg said in a recent television interview. The race was animated this winter by the vandalism of an Israeli restaurant in Park Slope. Ms. Hanif condemned it, but some constituents felt she had not been vocal enough in calling out the vandalism as antisemitic. In an interview before the primary, Ms. Hanif said her opponents had tried and failed to belittle her efforts to bring more housing to Brooklyn, among other priorities. She cited as an example her efforts to rezone the site of the Arrow Linen & Uniform Supply Company in Windsor Terrace for housing. Many community members opposed the redevelopment, which passed the City Council earlier this year. Before it did, Ms. Hanif worked to scale it down and to ensure that more affordable units were included. 'My campaign has been a multiracial and intergenerational coalition of people who want to build bridges,' said Ms. Hanif, who was supported by and campaigned aggressively with the progressive mayoral candidates Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander. 'If you look at the other side, you're not going to see anything close to that sort of coalition.' In the end, Ms. Hanif, who grew up in the district in Kensington, prevailed in part because of her grass-roots outreach in immigrant communities. The efforts helped her withstand about $400,000 in super PAC spending from, among others, Uber and companies associated with Madison Square Garden, deployed to boost Ms. Kornberg's campaign and attack Ms. Hanif.
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Here Are 5 Key City Council Races to Watch in the N.Y.C. Primary
The mayoral race is getting most of the attention, but on Primary Day, there are battles in many of New York City's 51 City Council districts. Most — but not all — are Democratic candidates squaring off against one another. Some of these contests feature crowded fields. A number of them have attracted outside moneyed interests. And there are some recognizable figures hoping to make comebacks or chart a new path forward. With just hours to go before the polls close, here is a look at some of the most noteworthy among the 32 primary contests for Council seats. Since becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the Council in 2021, Shahana Hanif, 34, has focused intently on issues including housing. She has also been an unsparing critic of the Israeli government, attending pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and getting arrested at a Bryant Park protest weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Her focus on the war frustrated some constituents and was part of the reason Maya Kornberg, 33, a senior research fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, challenged her. In a television interview, Ms. Kornberg, who supports a cease-fire in Gaza, blasted Ms. Hanif's 'disproportionate focus on that issue and taking public divisive stances on that issue, instead of focusing on the local issues.' Ms. Hanif, who grew up in Kensington, has pushed back, saying she is laser-focused on issues affecting the district, citing as an example her work to rezone the site of the Arrow Linen & Uniform Supply Company in Windsor Terrace for housing. She has bashed Ms. Kornberg for donations she has received from super PACs backed by Uber and companies associated with Madison Square Garden, which have contributed $400,000 to attack Ms. Hanif and back Ms. Kornberg. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Post
27-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Antisemitic DC killings must be a wake-up call for NYC voters
Last week's horrific murders in Washington, DC, can only further feed the backlash against rising antisemitism already brewing in next month's city Democratic primaries all the way down the ballot. Start with two City Council races in Brooklyn, where Democratic Socialist/Working Families Party-aligned extremist incumbents face serious challenges from saner Dems. In and around Park Slope, Maya Kornberg, a research fellow at the progressive Brennan Center, is challenging Shanana Hanif, who, even after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas atrocities, has remained all-out anti-Israel. Advertisement And just to the south, Ling Ye, a former aide to Rep. Dan Goldman, is taking on incumbent Alexa Avilés, a similarly lockstep far-lefty. Both sitting councilmembers have insisted on a ceasefire in Gaza without requiring the release of all hostages, have not rebuked supporters who accuse Israel of genocide, and lent their support to agitators who illegally occupied the Columbia University campus. A defeat of either incumbent would send a welcome message that DSA/WFP extremists don't speak for most New York Democrats. Advertisement The issue may also turn the race for city comptroller, where the Israel-haters favor Councilman Justice Brannan over Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. Brannan has the support not just of notorious Linda Sarsour but also of toxic radicals like Councilwoman Tiffany Caban. In the mayoral race, to be fair, antisemitism may be the main reason Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is doing so well, since he has no actual accomplishments to brag about. Mamdani's candidacy is basically defined by his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel; he won't even say the country has a right to exist as a Jewish state (even though Arabs and other non-Jewish citizens have full rights). Advertisement Even as Mamdani avers his support for nonviolence, he pockets campaign cash from Israel-bashing campus protesters, including ones at the center of anti-Semitic protests across the city. Without question, antisemitism's been on the rise in the Democratic Party, particularly as the DSA and WFP wield such disproportionate power in primary elections. This year, every registered Democrat who wants to pull the party back from the brink would be wise to take the time to identify and vote against every politician who has the backing of the Democratic Socialists, the Working Families Party or any other front for the antisemitic left.
