Christopher Marte
Christopher Marte | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the New York City Council from the 1st district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Margaret Chin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 26, 1989 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Long Island University, Global (BA) |
| Signature |  |
Christopher Marte (born April 26, 1989)[citation needed] is an American politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 1st district, elected in November 2021.[1][2] He is a member of the Democratic Party.[3]
His district includes all or parts of Battery Park City, Chinatown, Civic Center, East Village, Ellis Island, Financial District, Governors Island, Greenwich Village, Liberty Island, Little Italy, Lower East Side, NoHo, Nolita, SoHo, Tribeca, and the West Village.
Early life and education
[edit]Marte was born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.[4] His father owned a bodega and his mother worked in a factory, they immigrated from the Dominican Republic.[5] He attended St. Agnes Boys High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international economics and politics from LIU Global.[6]
Career
[edit]After graduating from college, Marte worked in finance for IBM. He then joined Arena, a Democratic-affiliated political action committee that trains candidates and campaign staffers. He later co-founded Neighbors United Below Canal, a non-profit organization.[7]
New York City Council
[edit]Marte ran for City Council in 2017, losing narrowly to incumbent Margaret Chin. He ran again in the 2021 Council elections, which were the first New York City elections to use ranked-choice voting. In the Democratic primary, Marte won 34.9% of the votes in the first round of voting and 60.5% of the votes in the final round.[8] Marte won 72.1% of the vote in the general election.
In 2023, Marte voted against a proposal to allow outdoor dining structures created during the COVID-19 pandemic to become permanent. Marte argued that outdoor dining benefitted gentrifiers who like to party long into the night while harming long-term residents.[9]
In 2025, Marte's campaign website falsely claimed that he was endorsed by five groups - the United Federation of Teachers, StreetsPAC, NYIC Action, the New York Immigration Coalition's political arm, the Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Union Local #7 and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 30 - which either did not endorse him or endorsed one of his opponents.[10] He was also caught on video removing a campaign flyer from his primary opponent from an apartment complex in his district.[11]
Housing
[edit]During his campaign for the City Council, Marte criticized incumbent council member Chin for voting to upzone NoHo and SoHo to permit 3,500 additional apartments, including 900 affordable housing units.[12]
In 2022, Marte filed a lawsuit to prevent the construction of four tower developments in Downtown Manhattan on the basis that dense housing was "environmental racism" and violated people's right "to clean air and water, and a healthful environment."[13][14]
In December 2024, Marte voted against City of Yes, legislation to rezone parts of New York City to allow for the conversion and construction of 80,000 new housing units across the city over a 15-year period.[15][16] Marte was the only councilmember representing a district in Manhattan to do so. Marte said the increase in housing supply only benefitted real estate developers.[17][18]
Election history
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Maximum round |
Maximum votes |
Share in maximum round |
Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Christopher Marte | 8 | 10,785 | 60.5% |
| |
| Democratic | Jenny Low | 8 | 7,054 | 39.5% |
| |
| Democratic | Gigi Li | 6 | 4,662 | 23.9% |
| |
| Democratic | Maud Maron | 5 | 2,495 | 12.1% |
| |
| Democratic | Susan Lee | 4 | 2,020 | 9.6% |
| |
| Democratic | Sean Hayes | 3 | 928 | 4.3% |
| |
| Democratic | Tiffany Johnson-Winbush | 3 | 809 | 3.7% |
| |
| Democratic | Susan Damplo | 2 | 344 | 1.6% |
| |
| Democratic | Denny Salas | 2 | 292 | 1.3% |
| |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Christopher Marte | 16,733 | 72.1 | |
| Independent NY | Maud Maron | 3,265 | 14.0 | |
| Republican | Jacqueline Toboroff | 3,166 | 13.6 | |
| Total votes | 23,212 | 100 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "Christopher Marte". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Frederick, Pam (November 3, 2021). "Christopher Marte wins City Council seat". Tribeca Citizen. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ "The New York City Council - Christopher Marte". legistar.council.nyc.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ Pryor, Morgan (May 17, 2021). "Meet The NYC City Council District 1 Candidates: Christopher Marte". Medium. NYU Local. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Higginbotham, Emily (June 15, 2021). "Christopher Marte: 'Our District is at a Crossroads'". Our Town. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Executive Board". The Foresight Project. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ Frederick, Pam (April 16, 2021). "The Candidates 2021: Christopher Marte for CD1". Tribeca Citizen. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "2021 Primary Official Ranked Choice Rounds, DEM Council Member 1st Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. July 20, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ Brachfeld, Ben; Moses, Dean (August 3, 2023). "City Council approves permanent, scaled-down outdoor dining program | amNewYork". www.amny.com.
- ^ "It's YIMBY vs. NIMBY in Lower Manhattan's City Council Race". Hell Gate. May 20, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
- ^ "NYC Councilman Marte caught on video in suspected removal of opponent campaign flyer". New York Daily News. May 28, 2025. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
- ^ Zaveri, Mihir (December 15, 2021). "Plan to Bring More Housing to SoHo Is Approved". The New York Times.
- ^ Holtermann, Gabriele (October 22, 2022). "Lower East Side, Chinatown residents sue to stop tower developments based on 'Green Amendment'". amNewYork. Archived from the original on July 12, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ Johnson, Stephon (October 21, 2022). "LES and Chinatown Residents Sue To Halt New Towers in Two Bridges, Citing New NY Constitutional Right to Clean Air". The City. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ Schwach, Ryan (December 5, 2024). "City of Yes gets final 'yes' from City Council". Queens Daily Eagle.
- ^ Ahern, Jack (December 9, 2024). "Marte Is Sole "No" in Manhattan as "City of Yes" Gets City Council Approval". The Spirit.
- ^ Stark-Miller, Ethan (December 5, 2024). "City of Yes zoning plan to boost housing growth narrowly passes City Council". amNewYork.
- ^ Maldonado, Samantha (December 5, 2024). "Council Approves Adams' 'City of Yes' Housing Agenda, With Many 'No' Votes". THE CITY - NYC News.
- ^ "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 1st Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 1st Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
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