Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Amanda Farias

Amanda Farias

  • Carrying Juneteenth Forward in New York City

    City buildings lit up for Juneteenth (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when Black Americans who had been enslaved in Texas finally received word that President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring them free two years earlier on January 1, 1863. 

    It’s easy to imagine the hopes and dreams, long held within, that finally were released into the universe, and the disappointment that surely followed when Black Americans realized that freedom

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  • As Mayor Adams Takes on the Issue, City Council Examines NYC Workforce Development Programs and Plans

    Mayor Adams visits a factory (photo: Michael

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  • 'We're in a State of Transition': Bronx Democrats Wrestle with Changing of the Guard

    Bronx Democrats Heastie Diaz Jr Crespo

    Bronx political leaders Heastie, Diaz Jr., Crespo (photo: Bronx Borough President's Office)


    To say the Bronx political landscape is changing is simultaneously both a trite observation and a vast understatement. The once-vaunted Democratic machine in the borough is currently leaderless and has lost many of its longtime fixtures in recent years, with more on their way off the political stage. This comes at a time when progressive and anti-establishment forces are gaining momentum across the city, though in some ways less so in the

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  • Looking Back, and Ahead, with Women Who Lost City Council Races

    pia raymond

    Pia Raymond at the West Indian Day Parade (photo: @piaraymondnyc)


    This fall, in races around the city, several qualified female candidates ran in hotly-contested Democratic primaries for open seats being left by term-limited City Council members, while others attempted to unseat incumbents seeking reelection. The September votes -- largely determinative in an overwhelmingly Democratic city -- took place against the backdrop of new and intense attention on the gender imbalance in the City Council, where men greatly outnumber women.

    Elections results signal that the January

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  • Former Hillary Clinton Email Director Tells Young Democrats to ‘Run For Something’

    amanda litman voted twitter

    Amanda Litman (via @amandalitman)


    Gripping two drinks, Amanda Litman, co-founder of a political action committee dedicated to helping young people run for office, arrived at a New York University classroom with a kick in her step. The 27-year-old political campaign veteran-turned-author walked in holding an iced coffee with soy milk and three Splendas in one hand and a tiny bottle of San Pellegrino water in the other.

    “The quickest way to age is to work on a political campaign,” said Litman, former email director for

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  • We Need to Do More - Not Less - to Elect Women to Office

    sonia ossorio

    Sonia Ossorio, the author, is president of National Organization of Women – New York


    Across the country, women are working to reclaim their power on the front lines of the resistance against the misogyny and xenophobia of the Trump administration. Yet when women decide to run for office themselves, they continue to face significant barriers — and in one local City Council race — those barriers have become starkly clear.

    In the Bronx, Amanda Farias is running to represent District 18, which includes the neighborhoods of Soundview, Castle Hill, Parkchester,

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  • The Early Money Race in ‘Open’ City Council Seats

    City Council chambers

    City Council chambers (photo: Sofie Hecht/Gotham Gazette)


    With seven sitting New York City Council members facing term limits and one having left the Council to join the state Assembly, this year’s municipal elections will feature a number of competitive open races and will bring fresh blood into the city’s legislative body.

    While the vast majority of those in the Council’s 51 seats can run for another term this year, and most are, the open seats will see the bulk of the electoral competition for the City Council.

    Come January, the Council will

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