Rebecca C. Lewis is deputy state politics reporter at City & State, where she has been for over three years. She has covered a variety of issues, from the legalization of recreational marijuana to New York City's most recent Charter Revision Commissions. Rebecca also puts together the First Read newsletter every morning. Before coming to City & State, Rebecca worked at the public radio station WFUV while attending Fordham University.

Lindsey Boylan is running for Manhattan Borough President to create a more equitable, sustainable, and livable city that leaves no New Yorker behind. Lindsey is a public servant and former government official who has dedicated her life and career to creating bold solutions to solve complex urban issues. Lindsey spent almost a decade in urban planning and management, including the oversight of Bryant Park, Herald and Greeley Squares, and pedestrianizing major segments of Broadway Boulevard and several other public spaces in Manhattan. Lindsey also previously served as deputy secretary for Economic Development and Housing for the State of New York, where she oversaw the state’s chief economic development agency. During her time in government, Lindsey secured millions of dollars for underfunded public housing, led the state’s efforts to provide assistance for the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and pushed to enact a $15 minimum wage and Paid Family Leave policy for New Yorkers. Lindsey previously served on community boards 5 and 7 in Manhattan. She received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College and her MBA from Columbia University. Lindsey is married to her husband LeRoy and together, they are raising their daughter Vivienne.

A career-long civic leader and expert on economic development and job creation, Elizabeth has served on Manhattan’s Community Board 7 since 2010. From 2013-2016, she served as its longest-serving elected Chair. Elizabeth moved to Manhattan in 1995 and has called the borough her home her entire adult life. For more than 25 years, her career has bridged public and private, global and local. Through it all, she has remained dedicated to public service as a neighborhood advocate. She began her NYC career in municipal infrastructure finance, supporting essential local public projects for the City and the country – everything from bridges to schools to airports to housing to transit systems. After several years in the private sector, she joined the New York City Department of Education, where she worked with Caroline Kennedy to launch the Fund for Public Schools, which raised funds for New York’s 1.1 million students and 1,800 schools. She later returned to municipal finance, spending a decade in executive roles focused on projects related to New York City and New York State. In 2010, Elizabeth was appointed to Manhattan's Community Board 7, which represents 200,000 residents on the Upper West Side (from West 59th Street to West 110th Street). She was elected Chair of the fifty-person body in 2013, in which capacity she helped set the board’s priorities and agenda, oversaw its full-time staff and operating budget, and served as its primary spokesperson. She was elected three times, becoming the Board’s longest serving elected Chair.

During her tenure as Chair, Elizabeth negotiated hearings on Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, successfully implemented the Amsterdam Avenue bike lane, launched the City's first truly inclusive playground, carried out the multi-year review and approval of the American Museum of Natural History Gilder Center expansion, established the Board's first Public Housing task force, and brought Citi Bike to the Upper West Side. She also worked to make the Board more efficient and accessible to its constituents by implementing new processes and technologies – all while placing community, collaboration, and equity at the heart of her work. As a current Board member, Elizabeth is helping to lead the Upper West Side’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. She serves a member of the Board’s Parks & Environment and Transportation Committees, where she advocates for her constituents every day on issues like cutting red tape for our small businesses and improving local quality-of-life issues including: fighting noise and air pollution (helicopters), advocating for open streets, mass transit and innovative and green mobility solutions, bringing back composting, and cleaning up trash from our streets. In addition to this civic leadership, Elizabeth currently works at the World Economic Forum, where for seven years she has been responsible for the Forum's US government engagement. In this role, she connects the White House, federal administration, US mayors and governors to global leaders in business, technology, and academia. Her focus has been on engaging cities and states on global issues and emerging technologies, to promote an inclusive and sustainable future. Elizabeth previously served as Chair of Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century (“DL21C”), where for a decade she organized and activated a new generation of New Yorkers into civic and political life. Elizabeth is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. She lives on the Upper West Side with her partner and their spirited pup Bruno.

Elected to the State Senate in 2012, Brad chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and represents New York’s 27th State Senate District, which covers much of lower and midtown Manhattan. Brad champions a wide range of issues, such as housing, transportation, public education, environmental conservation and seniors. He has passed over 100 bills and counting in the Senate, including the Child Victims Act, which enabled adult survivors of child sexual abuse to revive legal claims against their abusers; the TRUST Act, which permitted Congress to review the state taxes of elected officials like Donald Trump; GENDA, which extended human rights protections to transgender New Yorkers; and banning the practice of sexual orientation change efforts, or so-called “conversion therapy.”

Brad is a longtime grassroots activist, serving previously as a Democratic District Leader and three-term chair of Manhattan Community Board 2. He is the past president of the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats and a former board member of Tenants & Neighbors and Citizen Action.

Raised in rural West Virginia, Brad graduated from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar, and Harvard Law School. Before being elected to the Senate, he practiced law in the private and non-profit sectors.

Senator Hoylman and his husband David are the parents of two young daughters, Silvia and Lucy. The family are members of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the LGBTQ synagogue.

If elected, Brad would make history as the first LGBTQ Borough President.

Mark has twice been elected to represent the 7th Council district–one of the most diverse in New York City–covering West Harlem/Hamilton Heights, Morningside Heights, and parts of the Upper West Side and Washington Heights. In an historic first for the nation, Mark defeated the landlord lobby to pass legislation guaranteeing a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction in New York City’s housing courts. This landmark policy has leveled the playing field for tenants and has already resulted in a significant decline in the number of families in New York City losing their homes because of evictions. As chair of the City Council Health Committee, Mark has risen to national prominence as a leader in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He has fought for health policy based on science, and has consistently taken on the racial inequity of both the pandemic and healthcare more broadly. Mark has created hundreds of units of deeply affordable housing in his district. He secured approval of the Morningside Heights Historic District, preserving 115 historic buildings. He has successfully fought to preserve affordable homeownership in New York City by protecting low-income coops. While chairing the Council’s Parks Committee in his first term, Mark championed greater investment in our city’s green spaces–securing tens of millions of dollars in funding for neglected parks in low-income neighborhoods. He has been a champion for improved bus service, more accessible subway stations, and streets which are safer for all–including pedestrians and bicyclists. Mark led revitalization of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus as chair of the group in his first term, and is a leader in the fight against anti-Semitism. He passed legislation creating New York City’s first-ever office for the prevention of hate crimes. At the start of his career, Mark taught bilingual math and science at Junior High School 149 in District 7 in the South Bronx. He went on to found Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, a community development financial institution which has made $25 million in small loans to low-income families and small businesses in Northern Manhattan. Mark earned a B.A. in physics from Haverford College and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Mark lives with his family in Washington Heights. He and his wife Ivelisse are proud parents of their sons Alejandro and Daniel. He speaks Spanish, Hebrew and a smattering of other languages.

Manhattan Borough President candidate and current City Council Member Ben Kallos was praised by the New York Times for his “fresh ideas” and elected in 2013 to represent the community he grew up in with his mother, and his grandparents who fled anti-Semitism in Europe. Ever since his first campaign, Ben has refused campaign contributions from Real Estate, lobbyists and corporations, and has fought alongside New Yorkers against powerful interests ever since. Ben is a leading advocate for education, having advocated for universal childcare, school lunch, and after school. In his district he opened 900 pre-k seats and secured funding for 824 K–8 seats to relieve school overcrowding. He wrote the law to put hundreds of thousands of affordable units back on the market, and as the Planning Chair he oversaw the construction and preservation of 7,000 affordable units citywide, as well as 1,000 units in his own district. As the author of the Climate Emergency resolution that passed the City Council making New York the largest city on the planet to do so, he has secured $275 million to rebuild resilient waterfront parks. Ben has improved commutes in the neighborhood with bike share, select bus, and ferry service, not to mention the opening of the Second Avenue Subway. He even put a new large trash can on every corner to clean up the neighborhood. Ben's favorite part of his job is meeting other New Yorkers including at his monthly First Friday open office hours where he partners with them for a better borough.