Shahana Hanif

Shahana made history as the first South Asian and Muslim woman ever elected to the New York City Council and the first woman Council Member for the 39th District. She is running for re-election in District 39 to continue the powerful work she’s led during her first term to advance reproductive rights, protections for immigrants, and climate justice.

In her first year, she successfully advocated to expand the NYC Abortion Access Fund from $250K to $1 million to ensure NYC continues to provide safe abortions to all. As the Chair of the Immigration Committee, she has been on the frontlines organizing to deliver language justice, expand funding for immigration legal service providers, and stand with domestic, delivery, and taxi workers in their fights for workplace protections and better wages. Thanks to her leadership, the city council invested $10M to fund childcare for undocumented families. She’s introduced 17 pieces of legislation, including universal residential composting, and she works in deep collaboration with her colleagues, advocates, and her constituents to tackle local issues with transformative legislation.

She secured millions of dollars for her district's community-based organizations, playgrounds, libraries, and schools, including Brooklyn’s only forest, Prospect Park. Shahana has kept the spirit of participatory democracy alive by leading participatory budgeting to empower neighbors to determine how city dollars should be spent in the district.

Shahana is a foodie and often shares reviews about her local eats.