Council Member Alexa Avilés is currently serving in her second term on the New York City Council representing the 38th District neighborhoods that include Red Hook and parts of Park Slope, Sunset Park, Borough Park, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach. She is a proud Boricua mom, Brooklynite, and democratic socialist dedicated to public service and ensuring all people have what they need to thrive. Council Member Avilés serves as the Chair of the Committee on Immigration and is a member of the Economic Development, Public Housing, Housing and Buildings, General Welfare. Environmental Protections, Resiliency and Waterfronts Committees, as well as, on the Council’s Taskforce to Combat Hate.

During her time on the Council, Avilés has championed many pieces of legislation centering equity for our working class communities in South Brooklyn, passing over half a dozen bills that combat cruise ship pollution and truck congestion in Red Hook, as well as require greater transparency surrounding NYCHA management practices and NYPD stops of civilians. She has fought hard for budget justice for our communities as well, securing millions for park and school upgrades and taking tough stands against the Mayor’s cruel cuts to vital services.

Before her election to the City Council, Avilés’s career spanned almost three decades in the not-for-profit and social justice philanthropic sectors. Most recently, Avilés served as Program Director at the Scherman Foundation, where she supported local and national social justice organizations that included work to protect human rights, autonomy, and dignity of all people. She has supported state and national efforts to reduce the incarceration of juveniles and adults, fought discrimination across multiple government systems, and supported the empowerment of marginalized communities.

For nearly a decade, as a PTA President, Avilés partnered with parents, staff and students to improve academic and recreational programs. She championed quality education, language access and an inclusive and supportive community for all. She has had the privilege of serving on multiple local and national nonprofit boards including Brooklyn Community Board 7 and as Chair of the NYC Youth Board.

She is a proud alumna of A Better Chance and the National Urban Fellows. The first in her family to go to college, she is a graduate of Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Latin American History. She earned a Master’s in Public Administration from Baruch College’s Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. 

Avilés was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, grew up in East New York, Brooklyn, and has lived in Sunset Park with her family for decades.