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Mark Levine (New York politician)

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Mark Levine
Levine in 2023
28th Borough President of Manhattan
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
DeputyAya Keefe
Keisha Sutton-James
Preceded byGale Brewer
Member of the New York City Council
from the 7th district
In office
January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021
Preceded byRobert Jackson
Succeeded byShaun Abreu
Personal details
Born (1969-04-30) April 30, 1969 (age 55)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseIvelisse Suarez
Children2
RelativesAsher Arian (cousin)
EducationHaverford College (BS)
Harvard University (MPP)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

Mark D. Levine (born April 30, 1969[1]) is an American politician and educator serving as the 28th Borough President of Manhattan since 2022. Previously, he served as member of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021, where he represented the 7th district covering Manhattan neighborhoods of Morningside Heights, West Harlem, Washington Heights, and part of the Upper West Side.

Early life and education

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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Levine grew up in Columbia, Maryland. His early life was greatly influenced by the social activism of his parents, Marshal and Adele Levine. His cousin on his father's side, Asher Arian, was a prominent political scientist in Israel. Levine majored in physics[2] at Haverford College and the University of Seville, Spain. He received a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1995. Levine speaks fluent Spanish and Hebrew.

Career

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Levine taught bilingual math and science at Junior High School 149 in the South Bronx from 1991 to 1993.[3] He was a Teach For America corps member in the program’s early years.[4]

In 1994 he founded Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, a cooperatively-owned financial institution serving low-income families in the Washington Heights section of Northern Manhattan.[5] Levine ran for the New York City Council in 2001,[6] finishing second in a ten-way Democratic field.[7]

In 2007 Levine was elected Democratic District Leader in the 71st Assembly District, Part A, representing parts of Hamilton Heights/West Harlem and Washington Heights. He was an early supporter of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, and ran on Obama’s delegate slate that year in New York’s 15th Congressional District. In 2009 Levine founded the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan,[8] a progressive, reform-oriented local political club. In 2010 he ran for New York State Senate in the 31st District, finishing second in a four-way race with 39% of the vote.[9]

New York City Council

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Levine took office in January, 2014.[10] During his first term he served as chair of the City Council's Parks Committee,[11] chair of the Council's Jewish Caucus,[12] and founder and co-chair of the Council's Affordable Housing Preservation Taskforce.[13]

Levine was lead sponsor of legislation passed in 2017[14] which established a right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction in housing court, making New York City the first place in the nation to grant such a right.[15][16][17]

Other issues Levine has focused on include: construction of affordable housing,[18] greater equity for parks in low-income neighborhoods,[19][20] improved police-community relations,[21][22] safer streets and expanded mass transit,[23][24] dual-language education,[25] historic preservation,[26] expanded access to medical marijuana,[27] and acceptance of bitcoin for payment of NYC fines and fees.[28]

In addition to chairing the health committee, Levine was a member of the education, transportation, economic development, juvenile justice, and hospitals committees at the end of his term. He was also member of the Progressive Caucus and the Jewish Caucus.

In 2017, Levine won the Democratic primary to remain in his council seat with 75% of the vote over closest competitor Thomas Lopez-Pierre with 25%.[29]

Levine was a candidate for City Council Speaker in 2017.[30][31][32]

In his role as chair of the City Council's health committee, Levine gained wide attention during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[33]

Manhattan Borough President

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Levine announced his candidacy for Manhattan borough president in January 2020.[34] Levine was endorsed by Representatives Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez, among other elected officials, labor unions, and advocacy groups.[35] He won the Democratic primary defeating New York State Senator Brad Hoylman by 7%, and defeated Republican Lou Puliafito in the November 2021 general election.[36]

Levine took office on January 1, 2022.

Levine is a member of the Vote Blue Coalition, a progressive group and federal PAC created to support Democrats in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through voter outreach and mobilization efforts.[37]

2025 Comptroller Campaign

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Following the decision by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander to challenge incumbent Eric Adams in the 2025 Democratic primary for mayor, Levine opened a campaign account for Comptroller.[38][39]

Election history

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2010

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New York State Senate, 31st District, Democratic Party primary election[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Adriano Espaillat 13,499 52.4
Democratic Mark Levine 9,696 37.6
Democratic Anna Lewis 1,942 7.5
Democratic Miosotis Munoz 541 2.1
  Other 95 0.4

2013

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2013 New York City Council election, District 7 Democratic primary election[41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Levine 7,454 41.4
Democratic Joyce S. Johnson 3,108 17.3
Democratic Luis Tejada 2,561 14.2
  Other (4) 3,511 19.4
2013 New York City Council election, District 7 general election[42]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Levine 18,105 82.2
Green Christina Gonzalez 1,700 7.7
Working Families Mark Levine 1,168 5.3
  Others/Write-in 1,062 4.8

2017

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2017 New York City Council election, District 7 Democratic primary election[43]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Levine 9,286 74.1
Democratic Thomas Lopez-Pierre 3,179 25.4
  Others (Write-in) 72 0.6
2017 New York City Council election, District 7 general election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Levine 21,314 95.1
Green Florindo Troncelliti 1,097 4.9

2021

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2021 Manhattan borough president election[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mark Levine 223,248 84.98
Republican Lou Puliafito 34,163 13.00
Libertarian Michael Lewyn 4,874 1.85%
Write-in 435 0.17
Total votes 262,720 100.00
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ admin (2014-01-28). "Meet the City Council's New Members: Mark Levine". NYN. Archived from the original on 2022-02-08. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  2. ^ Levine, Mark; Paschalidis, Nicholas; Sarris, Emmanuel (May 1994). "Energetic ion distributions on both sides of the Earth's magnetopause". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 99 (A5): 8687–8703. Bibcode:1994JGR....99.8687P. doi:10.1029/93JA03563.
  3. ^ Appelbaum, Aliza (May 13, 2010). "Community organizer vies for state Senate". Riverdale Press. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  4. ^ Kopp, Wendy (2003). One Day, All Children... PublicAffairs. p. 155. ISBN 978-1586481797. Archived from the original on 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  5. ^ Lii, Jane (March 30, 1997). "Building a Nest Egg and a Community". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  6. ^ Seifman, David (July 24, 2001). "Hollywood stars light up small-scale NYC race". New York Post. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Searchlight on Campaign 2001: District 7". Gotham Gazette. 2001. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Large turnout for new Democratic Club" (PDF). Manhattan Times. March 19, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Voting Results -- 2010 Primary". Gotham Gazette. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  10. ^ Prend, Channing (January 27, 2014). "At Levine inauguration, thoughts of finding common ground in diverse district". Columbia Spectator. Archived from the original on 30 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  11. ^ Chiwaya, Nigel (January 23, 2014). "Ydanis Rodriguez and Mark Levine Tapped to Lead Council Committees". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  12. ^ Donn, Yochonon (March 5, 2014). "New 'Jewish Caucus' Chair Wants to Revitalize Council Group". Hamodia. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  13. ^ Anuta, Joe (May 23, 2015). "City Council to take more aggressive role in cataloging and preserving affordable housing". Crain's New York Business. Archived from the original on 30 March 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  14. ^ Tukaj, Amanda (July 21, 2017). "City Council Passes 'Right to Counsel' For Low-Income Tenants in Housing Court". Gotham Gazette. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  15. ^ Bekeimpis, Victoria (December 11, 2014). "Housing: The Other Civil Rights Movement". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  16. ^ Navarro, Mireya (December 16, 2014). "Push to Provide Lawyers in New York City Housing Court Gains Momentum". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  17. ^ "The Tale of Two Housing Courts". WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show. March 28, 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  18. ^ McQueen, Gregg (February 21, 2018). "Elected officials call for affordable housing on DOT site". Manhattan Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Parks Equity, Big and Small". WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show. March 13, 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  20. ^ Foderaro, Lisa (May 6, 2014). "Focusing on Lesser-Known Open Spaces in New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  21. ^ Jorgensen, Jillian (February 12, 2015). "With Push for More Desk Appearance Tickets, Council Bill Would Track Racial Data". New York Observer. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  22. ^ Levine, Mark (January 9, 2015). "Learning to See Each Other". Gotham Gazette. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  23. ^ Barkan, Ross (November 26, 2014). "City Council Passes Bill Tripling Traffic Signals Accessible to Blind". New York Observer. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  24. ^ Miller, Stephen (January 8, 2014). "New CM Mark Levine Will Push NYC DOT for Full 125th Street SBS Route". Streetsblog. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  25. ^ Shapiro, Eliza (October 29, 2015). "Councilmembers push DOE on foreign-language instruction". Politico. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  26. ^ Fractenberg, Ben (February 21, 2017). "Morningside Heights Historic District Designated by Landmarks Commission". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  27. ^ Green, Johnny (February 4, 2015). "Major Concerns Raised About New York's Medical Marijuana Program". The Weed Blog. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  28. ^ Martucci, Chris (February 16, 2015). "New York City Councilman Mark Levine Proposes Accepting Bitcoin for Fines and Fees". JET Law. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Councilmembers Rosenthal and Levine Soundly Defeat Democratic Challengers". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  30. ^ "New York City Girds for Political Brawl Over Looming Speaker Vacancy". The New York Times. February 15, 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  31. ^ "City Council speaker race heats up as Melissa Mark-Viverito's heir apparent won't seek reelection". New York Daily News. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  32. ^ "City Council speaker's race shifts, leaving white men ascendant". Politico. June 5, 2017. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  33. ^ Morgan, Richard (April 29, 2020). "How a politician with no medical background came to be hyped as 'the Anthony Fauci of the New York City Council'". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  34. ^ Shahrigian, Shant (6 January 2020). "NYC Councilman Mark Levine launches Manhattan borough president run". nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  35. ^ Hallum, Mark (28 February 2021). "Mark Levine gets endorsements on top of financing lead in Manhattan Borough President race". amNewYork. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  36. ^ Garber, Nick (6 July 2021). "Mark Levine Wins Manhattan Borough President Primary Race". Patch. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  37. ^ "Coalition". Vote Blue. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  38. ^ Fitzsimmons, Emma G. (July 30, 2024). "Brad Lander, New York City's Comptroller, Will Run Against Mayor Adams". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  39. ^ Mena, Kelly (August 9, 2024). "Mark Levine officially sets sights on city comptroller race". NY1. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  40. ^ "Statement and Return Report for Certification" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. October 5, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  41. ^ "Statement and Return Report for Certification" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. September 30, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  42. ^ "Statement and Return Report for Certification General Election 2013" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. December 3, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  43. ^ "Statement and Return Report for Certification: Primary Election - 09/12/2017" (PDF). Board of Elections in the City of New York. September 26, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  44. ^ "General Election 2021 - New York County" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. November 29, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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Political offices
Preceded by Member of the New York City Council
from the 7th district
2014–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Borough President of Manhattan
2022–present 		Incumbent
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