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District 18

Amanda Farías

Soundview-Bruckner, Soundview-Clason Point, Castle Hill-Unionport, Harding Park, Parkchester, Westchester Square

Amanda Farías is a lifelong Bronxite, born and raised in Soundview as a second-generation Afro-Latina of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. She is a proud product of local schools and community institutions. Growing up she attended P.S. 69X and Holy Cross School, and spent after-school hours and summers at the local Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. She is a graduate of Preston High School and St. John’s University with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Government and Politics, where her passion for community service, activism, and empowerment began. 

She presently serves as the Majority Leader of the City Council and is in her second term as the Council Member for the 18th District, representing the neighborhoods of Castle Hill, Clason Point, Harding Park, Parkchester, Unionport, Soundview, and Westchester Square.

She was first elected as the Council Member of the 18th district in 2021, won her re-election in November 2023, and was appointed as Majority Leader in January 2024.

Her appointment as Majority Leader by Speaker Adrienne E. Adams was a historic moment that signified the next generation of leadership in New York. Farías is the first Latina to serve in this role and marks the first time the top leadership positions of the New York City Council will all be held by women, all of whom are women of color. As Majority Leader she remains focused on the issues of the collective democratic ideals of the Council and working class communities like her own in Council District 18 and across New York City. 

Council Member Farías serves as the Chair of the Committee on Economic Development. She is historically the first woman, Bronxite, and Latinx person to serve as Chair of the Committee. As Chair, she has passed important legislation to create a citywide plan for industrial development, provide discounted ferry fares for high school students, codify the NYC ferry discount program, and more. 

She hosted the City’s first legislative hearings on the adult-use cannabis industry, public heliports, and the procurement of small businesses in migrant shelter food contracts. She continues to work tirelessly to ensure that economic recovery is focused on equity and prioritizes our Black, Latino, AAPI, and working class communities.

Since Farías was first elected to the City Council in 2021, she has served in multiple leadership roles as the Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, a dedicated member of the Budget Negotiation Team, and Co-Chair of the largest Women’s Caucus in the history of the City Council. She has been an unwavering advocate for her district and worked hard to deliver over $34.5 million to her community in just her first two years. 

Under her leadership as Co-Chair of the Women’s Caucus, in the first women-majority Council, the Council passed  several comprehensive bill packages addressing the urgent needs of New Yorkers health and wellness. This included but is not limited to the Support Survivors package, the Universal Childcare package, the NYC Abortion Rights Act, and the Menstrual Equity package. While she is no longer Co-Chair, she will continue to serve on the Commission on Gender Equity and work to create holistic improvements to the quality of life for women, trans women, and gender non-conforming people across New York City.

During the height of the pandemic Farías became active in mutual aid and as Council Member she has continued to keep the fight against food insecurity as a top priority in her office. Farías has continuously supported local pantries, community gardens, hosts several food distributions a year, and more through her office budget. She also spearheaded an initiative to distribute $25,000 in Health Bucks at the local farmers market for people to buy fresh produce. Through this initiative her office personally helped over 1,000 people put healthy food on the table for their families for free.  

Council Member Farías’ extensive experience includes working for the New York City Council from 2013 to 2017 in several different capacities, including as Director of Special Projects, managing the Women’s Caucus, a district wide Participatory Budgeting process and councilmanic budget and legislative priorities. After her time in the Council, Farías joined The Consortium for Worker Education as an Assistant Director in 2017 to manage workforce development programming in the Bronx. Farías’ programming and partnerships with CUNY, labor unions, and local community-based organizations allowed her to create new opportunities for young Bronxites to access upward economic mobility. During this time she also served as the New York State Coordinator for New American Leaders and as the Co-Founder of Women of Color for Progress. Through her work with these organizations, Farías created a pipeline for more women, immigrants, and people of color to be elected to office through increased civic engagement and opportunities in electoral politics.