Politics
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Q&A
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June 5, 2025
Focused by billionaires and right-wing PACs, the primary Muslim girl on the New York Metropolis Council is defending gig employees, tenants, and the Gaza solidarity motion.
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New York Metropolis Council member Shahana Hanif talking at a rally at Metropolis Corridor in New York Metropolis on January 30, 2024.
(Melissa Bender / NurPhoto through AP
A whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} from actual property builders, finance executives, and the Israel foyer are flooding into New York Metropolis’s District 39 council race in an try and unseat Councilwoman Shahana Hanif.
Hanif, the daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, grew up in Kensington—a neighborhood inside her district referred to as Brooklyn’s Little Bangladesh—which is dwelling to numerous supply employees and rideshare drivers. She has been an outspoken critic of the companies funding her opponent, similar to Uber, together with sponsoring laws that raised the minimal wage of drivers. She, would develop entry to sick time, and would stop deactivating drivers with out simply trigger.
Elected in 2021, she turned the primary girl to characterize the district and the primary Muslim on the Metropolis Council. Now, she is on the middle of a litmus check in New York politics: Can billionaires purchase native elections and oust legislators with a confirmed progressive monitor file?
—Peter Lucas
Peter Lucas: New York Metropolis as soon as boasted robust public applications like free faculty via CUNY and a strong transit system. However that’s since been rolled again, and the town is at the moment affected by Eric Adams’s disinvestment and austerity. How are you preventing to manipulate in a different way?
Shahana Hanif: I’ve been an unapologetic opponent of Eric Adams’s austerity, and from him on down, management in our metropolis is in disaster. Every thing from housing to childcare and important providers feels very out of attain for on a regular basis New Yorkers. It’s evident that this administration doesn’t prioritize working individuals and households and is OK with peeling off investments from public faculties, childcare, parks, and a lot extra.
As Progressive Caucus cochair, I consider that our battle on the Metropolis Council is to serve working households, be certain that we hold a verify on the mayor, and spend money on applications like Houses Now, Houses for Technologywhich was one in every of our campaigns that revived two current Housing Preservation & Improvement (HPD) applications for reasonably priced housing. It is extremely clear that the mayor is under no circumstances within the materials wants of our constituents.
PL: Housing is a significant a part of your platform and the work that you just’ve accomplished within the workplace. Are you able to discuss slightly bit extra about your strategy to housing coverage? And may we assist insurance policies that construct extra housing that’s nonetheless reasonably priced and accessible, as an alternative of being a possibility for actual property firms to line their pockets?
SH: New York Metropolis is in an reasonably priced housing disaster and addressing the scarcity of housing inventory is important. I’m not of the point of view that if it’s not all reasonably priced, we are able to’t construct something. And I don’t assume that this may be solved solely via market-rate growth.
Take the Arrow Linen rezoning. It was a manufacturing unit for restaurant linens, and after a few century, the household determined they had been going to transition the constructing to residential, which required a change in zoning. We ended up securing a 10-story constructing with 100 reasonably priced items out of 240 complete. Not everybody goes to be a zoning legislation knowledgeable, however that shouldn’t exclude you from shaping how we resolve this disaster.
PL: One other side of housing is tenant protections—issues like lease management and imposing fines on predatory and negligent landlords. How does that slot in?
SH: As a tenant organizer, I used to arrange public housing residents at Queensbridge. In my place on the council, I’ve championed a lease freeze for rent-stabilized residents. With the Progressive Caucus, I helped introduce Chi Ossé’s FARE Actwhich is able to change lives. I battle unhealthy landlords in my district and encourage residents who attain out with a difficulty pertaining to their landlord to file a 3-1-1 case, as a result of it’s essential that these are lodged. We’ve been organizing to go the Tenant Alternative to Buy Act and the Group Alternative to Buy Act.
We have to shield all rent-controlled housing inventory. The Lease Tips Board, which the mayor appoints a majority of—beneath Adams, now we have seen the rents spike. I would like individuals to have the ability to keep of their houses and never have to decide on between whether or not they’re saving for lease or childcare or groceries.
One other massive concern with constructing reasonably priced housing is that the company that’s tasked with that, HPD, is lagging. They aren’t a strong metropolis company that’s going via the entire proposals that had been authorised for reasonably priced housing as a result of our administration has not prioritized absolutely funding and staffing it.
PL: You might have the backing of main labor unions and employees’ rights teams within the metropolis. Particularly, you’ve been an advocate of supply employees and Uber drivers. Why is it so essential so that you can have the backing of labor—and likewise to again labor?
SH: I grew up in Kensington—Brooklyn’s Little Bangladesh—which is fabricated from majority working-class individuals, lots of whom are Bangladeshi Muslims who drive and ship all day simply to have the ability to make lease, pay for groceries, and assist their households. Their fights on the job have been my fights on the council, the place I’ve pushed for the town to implement a good minimal wage for drivers and supply employees.
In 2021, I went on a starvation strike with the New York Taxi Employees Alliance, fellow Metropolis Council member Shekar Krishnan, and State Meeting Consultant Zohran Mamdani (who’s at the moment operating for mayor). In the direction of the tip of the primary week, we obtained arrested for civil disobedience, and I’ll always remember the tons of of drivers who confirmed up of their taxis that day. These employees had been preventing for this for years, and I do know individuals throughout the neighborhood who’ve suffered on account of their debt, together with these pushed to suicide. After 15 days, we secured tens of millions in taxi medallion debt mortgage forgiveness.
Presently, now we have a invoice supporting restitution for the wages Uber stole from employees. I authored laws that will develop paid sick time for gig employees. I’ve prioritized employees who haven’t any authorized standing or are within the course of, together with the Employees’ Invoice of Rights, which mandates that every one employers in New York Metropolis present their staff with robust labor protections. That laws was supported by the Central Labor Council, which partnered with us though the employees we’re preventing for won’t but be unionized. My historical past of preventing for employees is one thing I’m very pleased with, and it’s why 12 unions have endorsed me. My opponent doesn’t have one.
PL: Have you ever confronted backlash for this?
SH: Uber has given my opponent a ton of cash due to the paid sick time invoice—and billionaires like James Dolan are spending massive due to my laws that will ban facial recognition expertise at locations of public lodging (which Dolan instituted at Madison Sq. Backyard).
However, past the precise laws, my file a progressive who has championed issues like reasonably priced housing, employees’ rights and labor protections, and local weather justice, additionally makes me a goal.
PL: Former chair of the Committee on Immigration, you’ve been vocal about defending immigrants, particularly as assaults on them beneath Trump—in coordination with Adams—intensify. Are you able to inform me about your work on safeguarding immigrants’ rights, together with the New York Metropolis Belief Act?
SH: I’m the proud daughter of Bangladesh immigrants. My dad and mom weren’t residents once I was rising up, so the battle for immigrant rights can be my household’s story.
The New York Metropolis Belief Act, which now has 30 sponsors, is laws that will enable for a personal proper of motion for anybody who has been a sufferer of unlawful collusion beneath our sanctuary legal guidelines. New York is a sanctuary metropolis, however we’re nonetheless seeing ICE, with the assistance of native legislation enforcement and backing of our mayor, choose individuals up virtually each day. It’s an enormous rights violation, and hopefully this invoice will cease the collusion.
PL: You had been among the many first metropolis councilors to endorse the ceasefire in Gaza, and have continued to name for an finish to the genocide. Some individuals would possibly ask, why is it essential for an area politician to touch upon a global concern?
SH: I referred to as for a bilateral ceasefire, and sadly since then, the violence has solely gotten worse. In contrast to different cities, New York has nonetheless not adopted a ceasefire decision, which my colleagues and I pushed for. Why are we so scared to name for peace and acknowledge Palestinians as individuals? In my district, individuals of all faiths are involved and wish to see an finish to the bloodshed. It’s additionally essential to notice that our cash is funding this genocide. We desperately want a ceasefire, which suggests a launch of all of the hostages and the prevention of any extra US {dollars} going to bomb Palestinian youngsters.
PL: Once more, we’ve seen this peak the curiosity of massive cash, notably within the type of assist from Israeli teams like Solidarity PAC.
SH: I’m not stunned. Their coalition is a right-wing Israeli PAC that wishes to pit us towards each other—and it contains individuals who have opposed progressive causes for years.
PL: Loads of the cash is coming from individuals with a historical past of supporting the GOP, together with Len Blavatnik, who donated one million {dollars} to Trump’s inaugural fund. Your opponent, mockingly, has written concerning the affect of massive cash politics. What do you make of her willingness to simply accept their assist and their eagerness to again her
SH: To begin with, I’m embarrassed. My opponent has not as soon as stated something about rejecting darkish cash or their connection to Republicans. The cash that’s being spent on her behalf actually reveals the curiosity of firms and billionaires—together with individuals with ties to the Trump administration.
Personally, I don’t know any billionaires. Our metropolis deserves representatives who perceive their struggles and can battle for them, not somebody who’s purchased and bought by the very firms that exploit them.
She has introduced herself as a pro-democracy candidate and spoken about cash in politics, however her marketing campaign’s funds replicate the other. So, as a constituent, I’m simply confused. Who’re you actually? We want sincere leaders, and proper now, it’s actually exhausting to see who she is.
PL: What’s your marketing campaign’s antidote to this cascade of company spending?
SH: I at all times attempt to make selections that deliver individuals into our motion. Now we have a ton of volunteers, from “Jews for Shahana” to our Bangla operation in Kensington, and our grounded sport is wonderful. Individuals know this can be a high-stakes race, and I’m so proud that the message we’re sending is: We don’t need exterior cash, as a result of no sum of money goes to cease us from preventing for a greater, extra compassionate metropolis that helps employees, not squeezes them. Our coalition is massive, numerous, and it’s one that may efficiently battle again towards Adams and Trump.
Peter Lucas
Peter Lucas is a author in New York Metropolis overlaying labor and politics. His work has appeared in The Guardian, Jacobin, The Intercept, and elsewhere.
