Christopher Marte (born April 26,1989)[citation needed] is an American politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 1st district,elected in November 2021.[1][2] He is a member of the Democratic Party.[3]
During his tenure on the New York City Council,he has opposed various efforts to increase housing supply in New York City and has been one of few local New York City politicians to oppose congestion pricing in the most polluted and congested parts of Manhattan.[4]
After graduating from college,Marte worked in finance for IBM. He then joined Arena,a Democratic-affiliated political action committee that trains candidates and campaign staffers. He later co-founded Neighbors United Below Canal,a non-profit organization.[8]
New York City Council
Marte ran for City Council in 2017,losing narrowly to incumbent Margaret Chin. He ran again in the 2021 Council elections,which were the first New York City elections to use ranked-choice voting. In the Democratic primary,Marte won 34.9% of the votes in the first round of voting and 60.5% of the votes in the final round.[9] Marte won 72.1% of the vote in the general election.
In 2023,Marte voted against a proposal to allow outdoor dining structures created during the COVID-19 pandemic to become permanent. Marte argued that outdoor dining benefitted gentrifiers who like to party long into the night while harming long-term residents.[10]
Marte was one of few local New York City politicians to oppose congestion pricing in the most polluted and congested parts of Manhattan.[4]
Housing
During his campaign for the City Council,Marte criticized incumbent council member Chin for voting to upzone NoHo and SoHo to permit 3,500 additional apartments,including 900 affordable housing units.[11]
In 2022,Marte filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of four tower developments in Downtown Manhattan on the basis that dense housing was "environmental racism" and violated people's right "to clean air and water,and a healthful environment."[12][13]
In December 2024,Marte voted against City of Yes,legislation to rezone parts of New York City to allow for the conversion and construction of 80,000 new housing units across the city over a 15-year period.[14][15] Marte said the increase in housing supply only benefitted real estate developers.[16][17]
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