District 39 covers a diverse swath of central Brooklyn neighborhoods: the affluent, transit-friendly, low-rise Park Slope; a Gowanus in the midst of rezoning and environmental clean-up; and the immigrant-rich and climate-vulnerable neighborhoods of Kensington and Borough Park. The district needs a thoughtful council member who can champion forward-looking policies and skillfully navigate trade-offs among them. 

Current Council Member Shahana Hanif has shown she can do both, but she is facing a serious challenge from Brennan Center staffer Maya Kornberg in one of the most fiercely contested races this cycle. Much of the debate has been about whether Hanif has been too far left for the district on issues like policing and the war in Gaza; the issues most critical to the district’s affordability and quality of life have been less explored.

On housing, Hanif was a forceful advocate for City of Yes for Housing Opportunity in the Council, working behind the scenes to influence members of the Progressive Caucus, which she co-chairs, to support the creation of 80,000 new homes over the next decade. And recently, she ushered the contentious Arrow Linen rezoning (creating 250 homes) across the finish line, despite pressure from local NIMBY groups to reduce building heights further. Beyond housing, Hanif has fought for restored bus service, protected bike lanes, and congestion pricing. She earned a perfect score on the New York League of Conservation Voters’ legislative scorecard, supporting renewable energy deployment and resilience infrastructure—particularly in flood-prone Gowanus.

While Hanif’s early record on housing was uneven, she has shown meaningful growth in both rhetoric and action, recognizing the need for all types of housing to solve New York’s housing crisis. Her challenger, a respected democracy expert, is aligned on transit and climate policies, but she has echoed skepticism of market-rate development and sided with opponents of projects like the Arrow Linen rezoning—offering no clear improvement on housing policy.