It was a big win for Democrats throughout Brooklyn Tuesday as candidates from that party swept elections for the New York City Council and various judicial seats.
These victories included hotly contested seats such as District 47, where Democrat Justin Brannan defeated Republican Ari Kagan.
And, in the newly drawn District 43, which covers parts of Bensonhurst, Sunset Park, Gravesend and Boro Park, Democrat Susan Zhuang beat Republican Ying Tan for the seat in a near landslide to become the first Asian-American City Councilmember from Brooklyn.
The Judicial races also saw a Democratic sweep, although many of them did not have candidates from other parties. For the Supreme Court - Second Judicial Court, all six Democratic candidates were elected, while all four Civil Court judge Democratic candidates did the same. The same goes for the four Democrats who won the open seats for municipal Civil Court. Even Hon. Bernard Graham, the acting surrogate court judge, was elected.
The Chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, expressed her joy over the blue sweep across the borough.
"I congratulate the projected election winners across Brooklyn and New York City," she said. "The Brooklyn Democratic Party looks forward to working with our victorious newly-elected and re-elected Democratic officials. The City Council continues to gain diverse and qualified representation in Brooklyn that will keep uplifting all Brooklynites and improving our City. As a Party, we are proud to have Brooklynites bringing reform and change to the bench."
Many incumbents were re-elected to their seats, including Councilmembers Shahana Hanif (D) of District 39 and Inna Vernikov (R) of District 48. Some of these incumbents either ran opposed or ran against candidates who sometimes garnered much fewer votes compared to the incumbents.
Despite all the victories last night, there was a low voter turnout, with only 444,511 New Yorkers and 140,629 Brooklyn voters casting their ballots, as of 6:00pm Tuesday, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
Even so, when BK Reader spoke to voters around Brooklyn, all explained they were driven to vote for the sake of their communities.
In District 43, local Pat O'Brien said she voted for Susan Zhuang because she came directly to her house to talk, which O'Brien said was rare for a candidate.
"The neighborhood needs to get better. We need cleaner streets," O'Brien said.
Jason Alicea in District 38 said he voted for incumbent Alexa Aviles.
"I voted for the current candidate, Alicea said. "I think she is doing a lot for people who need services, as people are trying to go by the city as the city becomes more and more expensive."
City Council Results
Below are the results of last night's election. The results of the elections were reported by the Board of Elections as of 1:00am, Nov. 8. The districts not listed had candidates that ran unopposed.
District 33 (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Fulton Ferry)
Democrat incumbent Lincoln Restler overwhelmingly beat Martha Rowen, who ran as a Republican, Conservative, and a member of the Medical Freedom Party. Restler took 87.02% of the votes, while Rowen only got 12.04%.
District 34 (Williamsburg, Bushwick, Ridgewood)
District 37 (Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York)
Democrat and incumbent candidate Sandra Nurse won 88.59% of the votes against another Republican and Medical Freedom Party member, Isaiah Vega, who got 10.51% of the votes.
District 38 (Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights and portions of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, Borough Park)
Incumbent Democrat Alexa Aviles won this district against Republican Paul Rodriguez 65.72% to 33.5%.
In a Facebook post, Aviles wrote, "Two years ago, we proved that South Brooklynites wanted to see an accountable, transparent, and compassionate government. And two years later, we’ve just resoundingly confirmed that no amount of fear mongering or snake oil salesmanship can change that. We all yearn for a city that puts people over profits, puts community over division, puts care over incarceration, and puts investment over austerity. De Corazon, it has been my privilege and honor to be your representative. Here’s to two more years!"
District 39 (Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington)
Another noted Brooklyn incumbent, Shahana Hanif, was re-elected with 85.15% of the votes against Republican, Conservative, Medical Freedom candidate, Arkadiusz Tomaszewski, who got 12.8% of the votes.
"Today, we won and ensured this community will have brave, progressive representation for two more years. Representing the community that raised me has been one of the greatest privileges of my life, and I know my work in City Hall has only just begun. I look forward to using this next term to continue passing transformative legislation for the working-class communities of the City and delivering for the people of my district," Hanif said.
District 40 (Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Park South, Prospect Lefferts Gardens)
Incumbent Democrat Rita Joseph won her district's election in a landslide against Medical Freedom candidate Daniel Lally, 96.17% to 2.84%.
District 43 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach)
Democrat Susan Zhuang beat Republican Ying Tan with 58.9% of the vote, while Tan garnered 26.5%. A third candidate, Vito LaBella, got 14.6%.
"Everyone's hard work paid off. This is a victory for the community, that's my base; that's where I come from," Zhuang told BK Reader. "I understand the community, and also I personally live here, raise my children here, that makes the difference. People know me in the community and they feel like they voted for their neighbor." Zhuang also added there is "much work to do, but together we can deliver safer streets and stronger schools for everyone.”
District 44 (Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Midwood, Ocean Parkway)
District 46 (Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, Sheepshead Bay)
District 47 (Bensonhurst, Coney Island, Gravesend, Sea Gate)
Perhaps the most closely watched race in Brooklyn was the one between two incumbents in a redrawn district, Democrat Justin Brannan and Republican Ari Kagan. Brannan emerged as the victor with 58.5% of the votes while Kagan took home 41.5%.
"I'm really looking forward to representing Coney Island and just really being the best that I can be to the people of Coney Island and continuing the work that we've done in Bay Ridge. I think Coney deserves someone who listens and can get things done. As soon as I knew we were going to have Coney Island, I started knocking on doors and just listened. Gotta listen to people," Brannan told BK Reader.
District 48 (Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Homecrest, Trump Village, Luna Park, Brightwater Towers, Midwood)
Republican Inna Vernikov was re-elected against Democrat Amber Adler in perhaps the only race that was not part of the Blue sweep. Vernikov got 67.5% of the votes while Adler garnered 24.5%. Another candidate, Igor Katazker, who ran under the Team Trump Party, earned 8.1% votes.
On her Facebook page, Vernikov thanked her supporters: "Last night was YOUR victory! It is only with your tremendous outpouring of support that I can continue being the voice for this district. Thank you for exercising your right to VOTE. Thank you to my unparalleled campaign team, staff, friends, family and community! I will continue zealously fighting for THE PEOPLE of 48! God bless you & our incredible New York City!"
Additional reporting by Denislam Sadykov and Miranda Levingston.
