More Abundance candidates!
Including recommendations in four of the city’s contested council races
Today we’re announcing our second round of candidate recommendations, highlighting more abundance champions.
Across different backgrounds and boroughs, these leaders are all challenging the outdated ideas and outworn welcomes of old New York politics and politicians.
Learn more about them below, and fill out our onboarding form to access more opportunities to help them win this June. Together, we’ll prove that Abundance isn’t just winning the battle of ideas—it can win battles at the ballot box.
Contested City Council Races
Sarah Batchu in District 2 (Downtown Manhattan’s East Side): Five candidates are running to succeed Carlina Rivera, who has supported critical housing and resiliency action in the face of caustic opposition. We strongly recommend Sarah, the one most likely to represent the district with courage and vision. In addition to her City Hall and nonprofit executive experience, Sarah has advocated for City of Yes, congestion pricing, local small businesses, and more as Vice Chair of Community Board 3. We can’t afford to lose bold, forward-looking leadership in District 2, exactly why we need to elect Sarah.
Shahana Hanif in District 39 (Central Brooklyn): Councilwoman Shahana Hanif is running for reelection in a hotly contested race, and we are proud to support her bid. Shahana approved the critical Arrow Linen rezoning, legalizing hundreds of new homes in the face of vociferous NIMBY opposition; led the fight to end parking mandates as part of City of Yes; and partnered with transit and safe streets advocates throughout her tenure. We are eager to see the councilwoman continue leading her constituents and the Council’s Progressive Caucus, which she co-chairs, towards a more abundant future.
Shaun Abreu in District 7 (Upper Manhattan’s West Side): We are excited to see Councilman Shaun Abreu continue to represent Upper Manhattan with innovative thinking. Shaun pushed to introduce trash containerization in New York, working to eliminate piles of garbage bags lining our streets and reduce rat sightings. Additionally, he is one of the council’s more pro-housing supply members, backed critical supportive housing in his district, and led on the Council’s fight to lower speed limits in partnership with Albany passing Sammy’s Law.
Shekar Krishnan in District 25 (Northwest Queens): Councilman Shekar Krishnan has been a bold representative of his Queens district, taking on challenging political battles to push for a more equitable and innovative streetscape. He has championed the 34th Avenue open street and proposed reductions of onerous street vendor licensing rules. Shekar has also helped bring along fellow progressives into the fight for increased housing supply.
Uncontested City Council Races
Amanda Farías in District 18 (East Bronx): Council Majority Leader and Bronx native Amanda Farías has been a passionate and effective legislator since her 2021 election. She helped secure passage of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity through coalition building and supporting Community Board education. And she shepherded the Metro North rezoning plan through the council, which will create 7,000 new homes, four new train stations, and 10,000 new jobs—exactly the kind of forward-thinking planning New York needs more of.
Chi Ossé in District 36 (Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights): Advancing the abundance agenda requires both legislative leadership and thought leadership. Councilman Chi Ossé has provided both, but he excels in shaping public opinion. His “Why Shit Not Working” video series has educated millions about the government mechanisms—and political culture—that have made it too hard to build housing and transit in New York. He’s bringing abundance ideas to a new generation of New Yorkers while bringing a new generation of ideas to the City Council.
Erik Bottcher in District 3 (Manhattan’s West Side): Erik Bottcher has been a powerful pro-housing voice even when it’s more politically expedient not to be. Erik steered City of Yes for Housing Opportunity to success while supporting more and better housing in the district. More broadly, he has led public education efforts to connect housing abundance, walkable neighborhoods, and the fight against climate change—transcending issue silos to build a bigger vision for New York.
Lincoln Restler in District 33 (North Brooklyn): Councilman Lincoln Restler has been a stalwart supporter of bold housing, public transit, street safety and climate initiatives in his district and in the council. An ambitious legislator, Lincoln has carried bills to make government work better, faster, and more transparently in service of climate and transit: accelerating bike lane implementation, enabling citizen reporting of blocked bike and bus lanes, and closing loopholes that exclude buildings from emissions reduction requirements.
Brooklyn Borough President
Antonio Reynoso for Brooklyn Borough President: Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is one of the most abundance-aligned elected officials in New York, and we’re excited for him to have another term at Borough Hall. As a champion of City of Yes for Housing, comprehensive planning, congestion pricing, street redesign, and bold climate policy, Antonio exemplifies the kind of leadership New York needs.
See all of our candidate recommendations on our website (and dig into our methodology for selecting them). Together, we can elect these abundance champions and chart a better path for New York.
And remember to fill out our interest form to indicate that you want to volunteer on a campaign, and we’ll point you in the right direction—or sign up for a shift now on our brand-new Mobilize page (and bookmark it!).