David Carr is the Council Member representing the Mid-Island based 50th Councilmanic District. Carr has had a lifelong passion for government and politics and began getting involved in campaigns at the age of 10. He began working in government doing constituent services in the United States House of Representatives. He eventually became the Chief of Staff to then-Assemblyman Joseph Borelli.
Carr went on to serve in that role for former City Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo in 2014. As a focal point of the Mid-Island Council office, Carr managed a broad range of issues from constituent and community matters, to moving legislation in City Hall. In less than seven years, he helped negotiate the passage of 27 of Matteo’s bills, which is a record for a Staten Island Council Member. He also worked closely with many community organizations and city agencies to help the Council member allocate funding and capital resources. He served as Chief of Staff to Matteo for eight years until his election to the Council in November 2021.
Since taking office, Carr’s focus on quality of life projects and financial relief for working New Yorkers in an increasingly challenging fiscal and social landscape has led to numerous headline-filling projects and legislation.
His first piece of legislation enacted was Local Law 66 of 2022, which requires the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) to waive the filing fee for a permit for work to repair damage from a fire and any construction defects discovered following a fire in a one-, two- or three-family home. The fee waiver extends to other homes in the same HOA or Co-Op to correct the same construction defect. The bill also requires the DOB to conduct outreach on the waiver in the designated citywide languages.
His second piece of legislation enacted was Local Law 36 of 2023, which offers a new and more forgiving interest rate for homeowners with property tax arrears that accrue while an eligible property with an assessed value of $250,000 or less is the subject of a valid payment agreement plan with the New York City Department of Finance. This bill covers 82 percent of New York City primary resident homeowners. Homeowners who make a good faith attempt to pay their tax debt are no longer subject to harsh interest rates under this law.
Ongoing quality of life issues central to Carr’s platform include the fight against migrant shelter expansion in neighborhoods with little available resources or which are not contextually appropriate for migrants entering New York City. He was a leader in the successful fight to close the shelter at the former St. John Villa High school in Arrochar, and he continues to fight against the current use and expansion of other shelters in his district. Legislation for quality of life that Carr is currently working to have passed include Intro 1120 of 2023, which would require the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to study at least 100 speed camera locations every year and, if found feasible, require DOT to install a raised speed reducer within one year. It would also require the DOT to report annually on the these studies and, if raised speed reducers are found to adequately reduce speed at these locations, recommend whether to remove speed cameras at these locations entirely.
One of Carr’s cornerstone projects is an ongoing litter, graffiti, and overgrowth cleanup partnership with the non-profit Where-To-Turn. The partnership reached its goal of 100 cleanups within the first 100 days of Carr’s first term, and they have been working to keep his district clean ever since.
Other achievements include funding local institutions and projects such as new stadium lights at Susan Wagner High School’s Athletic Facility, the renovation of the baseball and softball fields at New Dorp High School, the upgrade of Midland Playground, the Staten Island Zoo’s new Clove Road entrance, the improvement of Richmond University Medical Center including the new emergency room, new state-of-the-art cancer diagnostic and treatment equipment at Staten Island University Hospital, the College of Staten Island’s Center for the Arts, and countless other areas central to improving quality of life for every-day Staten Islanders and Brooklynites.