{"id":274696,"date":"2026-06-23T00:55:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T00:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274696\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T00:55:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T00:55:41","slug":"2026-north-brooklyn-voter-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274696\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 North Brooklyn Voter Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n2026 North Brooklyn Voter Guide\n<\/p>\n

After more than three decades in Congress, Representative Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez is retiring, setting off a competitive race to represent New York\u2019s 7th Congressional District, which includes Greenpoint, Williamsburg and other parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.<\/p>\n

Several candidates are running for the open seat. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, a longtime North Brooklyn resident and former City Council Member, has been endorsed by Vel\u00e1zquez and Council Member Lincoln Restler. Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who represents parts of Ridgewood and Bushwick, has received support from progressive organizations and elected officials including Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher. Other candidates in the race include City Council Member Julie Won and public defender Vichal Kumar.<\/p>\n

Greenpointers invited candidates to discuss the issues facing Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and North Brooklyn. Explore our interviews to learn more about each candidate\u2019s priorities, experience, and vision for the district.<\/p>\n

Greenpointers\u00a0does not endorse candidates or accept political ads from any candidate, ensuring our independent coverage.<\/p>\n

The primary election is June 23.<\/p>\n


\n \"Antonio
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Election 2026 \u00b7 NY-7<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our Interview with Antonio Reynoso, Brooklyn Borough President<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Endorsed by Rep. Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez and Council Member Lincoln Restler, Reynoso grew up in Williamsburg and currently serves as Brooklyn Borough President. He talks housing, Newtown Creek, Monitor Point, and his small business record \u2014 including leading the outdoor dining legislation during COVID that he credits with saving over 100,000 jobs. He also makes the case for expanding SBA access and low-interest loans for small businesses beyond moments of crisis.<\/p>\n


\n \"Julie
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Election 2026 \u00b7 NY-7<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our Interview with Julie Won, District 26 City Council Member<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Won represents Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside and touts a record of 32,000 housing units approved, free internet for NYCHA residents, and the city\u2019s largest rezoning in 25 years. On small businesses, she advocates for low-interest loans, tech grants to help shops set up e-commerce, and expanding access to government contracts \u2014 including for non-English-speaking owners. During COVID, she helped local restaurants secure city contracts to deliver meals to frontline workers.<\/p>\n


\n \"Claire
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Election 2026 \u00b7 NY-7<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our Interview with Claire Valdez, District 37 Assembly Member<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Assembly Member Emily Gallagher, Valdez is a former union organizer who represents the Queens side of NY-7. On small businesses, she points to the G train weekend shutdown as hurting Greenpoint foot traffic and calls for federal investment in transit. She also advocates for commercial rent stabilization and tackling rising utility costs at the federal level.<\/p>\n


\n \"Vichal
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Election 2026 \u00b7 NY-7<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our Interview with Vichal Kumar, Candidate for NY-7<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

A public defender for 20 years, Kumar grew up the son of working-class immigrants who ran a corner store in Brooklyn. On small businesses, he wants to fix the tax code to stop incentivizing landlords to leave commercial spaces vacant and points to the G train shutdown as a direct hit to Greenpoint foot traffic. On the environment, he prioritizes completing Superfund cleanups and using federal infrastructure investment to protect flood-prone communities.<\/p>\n


\n \"Emily
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Election 2026 \u00b7 State Assembly District 50<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Another Race on Your Ballot<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

While the NY-7 congressional race has grabbed the headlines, don\u2019t overlook State Assembly District 50. Incumbent Emily Gallagher \u2014 who championed McGuinness Boulevard, secured funding for Bushwick Inlet Park, and passed the All Electric Buildings Act \u2014 faces a rematch against local attorney Andrew Bodiford, who is running on housing, transit, and keeping big developers off public land. We sent both candidates a questionnaire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2026 North Brooklyn Voter Guide After more than three decades in Congress, Representative Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez is retiring, setting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274697,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-274696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274696\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}