New York City Council
In November 2020,Abreu announced his 2021 campaign to succeed the term-limited Levine in the City Council's 7th district,which covers Morningside Heights,Manhattan Valley,Hamilton Heights,and parts of the Upper West Side,Harlem and Washington Heights. [6] Garnering endorsements from Levine,U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat,and most of the city's major unions,Abreu was regarded as the frontrunner in the race. [7]
Five of Abreu's eleven opponents –Maria Ordoñez,Stacy Lynch,Marti Allen-Cur3mmings,Dan Cohen,and Corey Ortega –sought to counter this advantage through ranked-choice voting and formed a coalition,wherein each of the five candidates advised their own voters to rank the other four coalition members on their ballot. [8]
On election night on June 22,Abreu led the field with 27 percent of the vote,with four members of the opposing coalition coming in second through fifth. When ranked-choice votes and absentee ballots were taken into account two weeks later,Abreu maintained his lead,with 63 percent of the vote to Ordoñez's 37 percent;Abreu formally declared victory on July 2,and his opponents conceded in the succeeding days. In the November general election,Abreu won with over 88% of the vote. [9]
Chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management
Since the beginning of 2024,Abreu has served as the Chair of the Sanitation Committee. [10] While on the committee,he worked with the New York City Department of Sanitation to create a trash containerization pilot program in West Harlem to remove trash bags off the streets and reduce the rat population. [11] Following the pilot program's success,the sanitation committee and council voted to expand on-street trash containerization citywide for larger residential buildings. [12]
Legislation
Abreu sponsored a bill passed in 2023 that banned weight and height discrimination in hiring and housing New York City,adding them to a list of protected classes. [13] In 2024,the council passed a bill banning forced brokers fees which was originally co-sponsored by Abreu. [14] In 2025,Uber and DoorDash sued the City of New York over two laws introduced by Abreu that regulate food-delivery app tipping options intended to protect consumer transparency and worker pay. [15]
