Julie Menin is poised to step into one of the most powerful roles in local government — declaring she now has the support to become the next City Council speaker.

What You Need To Know

Julie Menin may not be a household name just yet

New Yorkers are getting to know the City Council member who is claiming she has enough support to become the next council speaker

Menin would bring to the role decades of service to Manhattan communities

For Menin, it’s the latest chapter in a long career serving New Yorkers.

In an interview with NY1, Menin explained, “There’s a real sense of urgency about the issues ahead that New Yorkers expect the City Council and city government to deliver for them.”

The daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and a wife and mom to four, Menin began her career as a regulatory attorney.

In 2000, she opened a restaurant in TriBeCa, and when the Sept. 11 terror attacks transformed the neighborhood, Menin launched a nonprofit to help local businesses.

Next, she became chair of Community Board 1, where Menin is credited with supporting the community’s comeback.

During her time as a board chair, Menin navigated several tense, high-profile issues, including anger over a proposed Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero.

Menin fought to keep the prosecution of 9/11 suspects out of Lower Manhattan, and during the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, Menin managed relations between local residents, businesses and demonstrators.

During the de Blasio administration, Menin was tapped to serve as commissioner for the Department of Consumer Affairs, the city’s Media and Entertainment commissioner and she helped bring the Grammy Awards back to New York.

In 2020, Menin was the city’s census director, undertaking a count of city residents during the pandemic.

Representing the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island as a Democrat in the City Council since 2022, Menin has built a reputation as a moderate voice and would make history as the first Jewish speaker of the City Council.

While Menin has been described as someone who can serve as a check on the Mamdani administration, Menin told NY1 her focus as council speaker would include “the affordability agenda, we need to build more affordable housing, we clearly need to do universal child care.”