New York City's 49th City Council district

New York City's 49th City Council district
Boundaries following the 2020 census
Government
• Councilmember	. Kamillah Hanks . D–Stapleton
Population  (2010) [1]
• Total	170,363
Demographics
•  White	38%
•  Hispanic	29%
•  Black	23%
•  Asian	8%
• Other	3%
Registration
•  Democratic	59.0%
•  Republican	15.4%
• No party preference	20.9%
Registered voters (2021) 109,147 [2]

New York City's 49th City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been represented by Democrat Kamillah Hanks since 2022. Hanks succeeded former councilwoman Debi Rose, who was term limited in 2021. ^[3]

Geography

District 49 covers nearly the entire North Shore of Staten Island, including the neighborhoods of Stapleton, West New Brighton, Port Richmond, Sunnyside, St. George, Mariners Harbor, New Brighton, Clifton, Arlington, Graniteville, Livingston, Tompkinsville, Randall Manor, Silver Lake, and parts of Concord and Rosebank. ^[4] Clove Lakes Park, Sailors' Snug Harbor, and the Staten Island Zoo are also located within the district.

The district overlaps with Staten Island Community Boards 1 and 2, and is contained entirely within New York's 11th congressional district. It also overlaps with the 23rd and 24th districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 61st, 63rd, and 64th districts of the New York State Assembly. ^[5]

The district is both the most Democratic and the most diverse City Council district on Staten Island, and it is the only one to currently be represented by a Democrat. When Debi Rose was elected in 2009, she was the first African American to ever hold higher office on the island.

Members representing the district

Members	Party	Years served	Electoral history
District established January 1, 1992
Jerome X. O'Donovan (Dongan Hills)	Democratic	January 1, 1992 – December 31, 2001	Redistricted from the 35th district and re-elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Re-elected in 1997. Retired to run for Borough President of Staten Island.
Michael McMahon (Stapleton)	Democratic	January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2008	Elected in 2001. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Resigned after being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Vacant		December 31, 2008 – March 19, 2009
Kenneth Mitchell (Stapleton)	Democratic	March 19, 2009 – December 31, 2009	Elected to finish McMahon's term. Lost renomination and lost re-election as a Conservative.
Debi Rose (Arlington)	Democratic	January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2021	Elected in 2009. Re-elected in 2013. Re-elected in 2017. Termed out.
Kamillah Hanks (Stapleton)	Democratic	January 1, 2022 –	Elected in 2021. Re-elected in 2023.

Recent election results

2025

The 2025 New York City Council elections will be held on November 4, 2025, with primary elections occurring on June 24, 2025. ^[6]

2025 New York City Council election, District 49 ^[7]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks (incumbent)	7,174	58.1
	Democratic	Abou Diakhate	1,979	16.0
	Democratic	Sarah Blas	1,902	15.4
	Democratic	Telee Brown	1,100	8.9
	Write-in		193	1.6
Total votes			12,348	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks (incumbent)
	Republican	John Shea
	Working Families	Sarah Blas
	New North Shore	Sarah Blas
	Total	Sarah Blas
	Write-in
Total votes				100.0

2023 (redistricting)

Due to redistricting and the 2020 changes to the New York City Charter, councilmembers elected during the 2021 and 2023 City Council elections will serve two-year terms, with full four-year terms resuming after the 2025 New York City Council elections. ^[8]

2023 New York City Council election, District 49 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks (incumbent)	6,859	79.2
	Safe Streets SI	Ruslan Shamal	1,418	16.4
	Write-in		380	4.4
Total votes			8,657	100.0
	Democratic hold

2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented ranked-choice voting in all local elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur. ^[10]

2021 New York City Council election, District 49 Democratic primary ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Maximum round	Maximum votes	Share in maximum round	Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks	9	5,996	56.9%	​​
	Democratic	Amoy Barnes	9	4,536	43.1%	​​
	Democratic	Ranti Ogunleye	8	2,329	20.4%	​​
	Democratic	Kelvin Richards	7	1,929	15.8%	​​
	Democratic	Selina Grey	6	1,657	13.1%	​​
	Democratic	David Hernandez	5	1,190	9.1%	​​
	Democratic	Mike Schnall	4	1,014	7.6%	​​
	Democratic	Troy McGhie	3	869	6.4%	​​
	Democratic	John McBeth	2	394	2.9%	​​
	Write-in		1	53	0.4%	​​

An interactive map of District 49

2021 New York City Council election, District 49 general election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks	15,203	58.6
	Republican	Patricia Rondinelli	10,081	38.8
	Ordinary People	Jason Price	605	2.3
	Write-in		76	0.3
Total votes			25,965	100
	Democratic hold

2017

2017 New York City Council election, District 49 ^{[13] [14]}

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debi Rose (incumbent)	5,895	69.4
	Democratic	Kamillah Hanks	2,558	30.1
	Write-in		41	0.5
Total votes			8,494	100
General election
	Democratic	Debi Rose	14,714
	Working Families	Debi Rose	1,038
	Total	Debi Rose (incumbent)	15,752	59.2
	Republican	Mike Penrose	7,726
	Conservative	Mike Penrose	1,717
	Total	Mike Penrose	9,443	35.5
	Reform	Kamillah Hanks	1,377	5.2
	Write-in		39	0.1
Total votes			26,611	100
	Democratic hold

2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 49 ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debi Rose	14,462
	Working Families	Debi Rose	1,099
	Total	Debi Rose (incumbent)	15,561	69.6
	Republican	Mark Macron	5,515
	Conservative	Mark Macron	1,250
	Total	Mark Macron	6,765	30.3
	Write-in		28	0.1
Total votes			22,354	100
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Census Demographics at the NYC City Council district (CNCLD) level". NYC Open Data. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
2. "Council District Summary Report" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. February 21, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
3. "District 49 – Kamillah Hanks". New York City Council. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
4. "Council Members & Districts". New York City Council. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
5. "NYC Boundaries Map". BetaNYC. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
6. "Disclosure Deadlines – 2025 Citywide Elections". New York City Campaign Finance Board. July 15, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
7. "2025 Primary Official Ranked Choice Rounds, DEM Council Member 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. July 22, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
8. Pazmino, Gloria (January 15, 2020). "Why the Census Means NYC Lawmakers Will Serve 2-Year Terms Instead of 4". www.ny1.com. New York 1. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
9. "General Election 2023 - Member of the City Council, 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
10. Rachel Holliday Smith (January 18, 2021). "How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work in New York City?". The City. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
11. "2021 Primary Official Ranked Choice Rounds, DEM Council Member 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
12. "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
13. "Primary Election 2017 - Democratic Member of the City Council, 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
14. "General Election 2017 - Member of the City Council, 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
15. "General Election 2013 - Member of the City Council, 49th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 7, 2021.