Brian A. Benjamin is an American politician and businessman who was
lieutenant governor of New York from September 2021 until his resignation on April 12, 2022. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, he previously represented the
30th district in the
New York State Senate from 2017 to 2021.
A political
progressive,
Benjamin was first elected to the New York State Senate in a May 2017 special election. He represented
New York's 30th State Senate district
New York's 30th State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Cordell Cleare since 2021.
Geography
District 30 is primarily based in Harlem in northern Manhattan, but also includes ...
from 2017 to 2021. During his Senate tenure, Benjamin was the senior assistant majority leader of the Senate and as chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Revenue.
On August 26, 2021, Governor
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...
appointed Benjamin to the post of lieutenant governor of New York. Hochul had vacated the position when she was sworn in as governor of New York following the resignation of Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
. On April 12, 2022, Benjamin resigned his position as lieutenant governor after having been indicted earlier that day on federal bribery charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Early life and education
Benjamin was born in
Harlem Hospital
Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887.
The hosp ...
in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
, New York City, the son of
Caribbean immigrants who worked union jobs. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public policy from
Brown University and a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
from
Harvard Business School.
Career
Business
Benjamin interned in the office of Bill Lynch & Associates. He is an alumni-elected trustee of
Brown University. He spent three years at
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...
as an investment advisor.
Benjamin was an early supporter of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
's
presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
in 2007. It has falsely been alleged that he was a co-founder of "Harlem4Obama," which helped encourage Harlem support for the then-Senator. Although Benjamin hosted a fundraiser for him in 2008, Harlem4Obama was co-founded by Michael Washington and Julius Tajiddin in the spring of 2007. Benjamin has said that after Obama's election, the infrastructure of "Harlem4Obama" contributed to Benjamin's organization, called "Young Professionals United for Change (YP4C)," which instituted a mentoring program at the
Wadleigh School and organized young people. In 2012, Benjamin was an Obama delegate to the
Democratic National Convention and raised money for his reelection.
In 2010, Benjamin became a managing partner at Genesis Companies, a
minority business enterprise
Minority business enterprise (MBE) is an American designation for businesses which are at least 51% owned, operated and controlled on a daily basis by one or more (in combination) American citizens of the following ethnic minority and/or gender (e ...
building affordable housing in Harlem. Involved in the purchase and redevelopment of deteriorating buildings from Abyssinian Development Corporation, Benjamin helped steer redevelopment and repair work to as many vendors as possible. He was also involved with partnerships with First Corinthians Baptist Church in creating the Dream Center on 119th and the Hope Center on 114th.
In 2016, Benjamin became the Chair of
Manhattan Community Board 10
The Manhattan Community Board 10 is a New York City community board encompassing the neighborhoods of Harlem and Polo Grounds in the borough of Manhattan. It is delimited by Fifth Avenue and Mount Morris Park on the east, Central Park on the so ...
in
Central Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Har ...
in Manhattan. In that capacity, he opposed a redevelopment plan that included towers, two-story retail spaces, an underground garage, and a community park.
In 2017, when Benjamin was the managing partner of the Genesis Companies real estate firm in Harlem, and at the same time on the verge of becoming the New York State Senate Democratic nominee, his firm was sued by its co-investor in a legal dispute over an alleged scheme to divert revenue from a fire sale by Abyssinian Development to the investors of 31 properties.
A
Manhattan Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
judge issued a
preliminary injunction, freezing the assets until the dispute was settled.
Genesis Companies denied the allegations, and the case went to arbitration.
New York Senate
In 2017, New York State Senator
Bill Perkins ran for and won a vacant seat on the
New York City Council. Benjamin then ran to succeed Perkins in Harlem's
District 30
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in the NY State Senate.
![Brian_Benjamin_Rikers_PC_(cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Brian_Benjamin_Rikers_PC_%28cropped%29.png)
New York law provides that special elections for state seats do not have open primaries; instead, party candidates are chosen by the local county committees.
Three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination—district leaders Rev.
Al Taylor and John Ruiz and activist Joyce Johnson—wrote a letter criticizing New York County Chairman
Keith L. T. Wright, a close ally of Benjamin, accusing him of "voter suppression" in his bid to install Benjamin in office.
Benjamin was at the time the fiancé of a woman who had worked in Wright's office.
Critics alleged that the process was controlled by Benjamin's allies, including the Manhattan Democratic Party chairman.
Benjamin won the Democratic nomination, receiving 170 out of 263 votes (63%) at a convention in March.
With the district being overwhelmingly Democratic, Benjamin defeated Republican Dawn Simmons and Reform candidate Ruben Dario Vargas with over 91% of the vote in the May 24, 2017, special election. There was very low voter turnout (4%) for the election. He was sworn into the seat on June 5, 2017, and pledged to protect progressive values.
2017–2018 session
The district Benjamin represented in the Senate covered most of central
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
and included parts of the neighborhoods of
East Harlem,
Hamilton Heights
Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is the northernmost part of the West Harlem area, along with Manhattanville and Morningside Heights to its south, and it contains the sub-neighborhood an ...
,
Morningside Heights,
Washington Heights, the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
, the
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
, and
Yorkville in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
In July 2017, shortly after Benjamin's election to the State Senate, the CEO of Benjamin's former employer, Genesis Companies, filed a "reportable business relationship" form with the New York State lobbying and ethics watchdog panel (the Joint Commission on Public Ethics).
Genesis stated that it had retained Benjamin as an advisor for $60,000 a year to consult on "real estate development matters" starting in June 2017.
Benjamin said he consulted for his former firm but asserted that he was not compensated. Benjamin repeatedly denied receiving any outside income since his election.
Benjamin is known as a political progressive.
One of Benjamin's first campaign promises was to seek to close
Rikers Island. He introduced a bill to close Rikers in three years. After violence on Rikers on Thanksgiving Day 2017, Benjamin sent a letter to the
State Commission of Correction requesting a report on the state of the facility. The report found that it might be necessary to close Rikers faster to ensure that the constitutional rights of inmates and staff were protected. In addition, Benjamin was also a co-sponsor of bills to reform
discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discover ...
, end
cash bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countrie ...
, restore the voting rights of
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
es, and end
solitary confinement, many of which passed once the Democrats retook the majority.
During his campaign for the State Senate, Benjamin campaigned against the rebranding of Harlem as SOHA by real estate forms. The SoHa rebranding effort was abandoned. During his campaign, Benjamin accepted $2,500 in campaign contributions from a real estate company that owned a
South Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
condominium called "SoHa 118." When he learned they used the term "SoHa", he returned the donation and asked that they change the name.
In 2018, Benjamin urged constituents to keep warm during cold months while serving on the advisory board of Genesis; Genesis received hundreds of complaints from tenants with heating-related problems in their apartments. According to the ''Daily News'', he directed tenants to "contact his office about heat-related issues" and "bragged about holding landlords accountable."
A new purportedly
grassroots non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, "New York 4 Harlem", that actively solicited donations of $500 to $5,000 was reported in 2018 to allegedly have been a front for Benjamin and three other Harlem elected officials.
In addition, a flyer organizing a free bus trip to Albany for a conference organized by the NY State Assn. of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators with the New York 4 Harlem name on it featured a picture of Benjamin and the three other officials.
Nonprofit organizations are not allowed to take part in campaign activity.
Benjamin sponsored a bill to divest New York's Public Pension fund from private prisons. This bill helped push Comptroller DiNapoli, the sole fiduciary of the fund, to divest.
2019–2020 session
In December 2018, Benjamin was named chair of the Revenue and Budget Subcommittee. In this position, he focused on divesting public and private banks from private
for-profit prison
A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pr ...
s, sponsoring a bill that would push New York State chartered banks, which include many international banks that use New York State charters to operate in the US, to stop investments. The bill passed the Senate in the 2019 and 2020 sessions, and was part of a nationwide movement that pushed many of the largest private banking institutions to drop their investments. The Washington Post reported that Benjamin's legislation was key in getting
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
to drop their investments.
The 2019 session also saw the passage of housing reform legislation, including Benjamin's bill to protect keep
Rent Stabilized apartments affordable. This and other bills Benjamin co-sponsored where passed as a package entitled the Housing Stability And Tenant Protections Act of 2019. Also in 2019, Benjamin championed a bill that would have allowed
felon
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
s who had completed their sentences to serve on juries.
In the 2020 session, Benjamin sponsored and passed the Rainy Day Fund bill, that allowed New York City to set aside funds in a revenue stabilization fund. Legislation enacted after past fiscal crises had required the city to balance its budget, making such savings impossible, and so the city was required to cut essential services in times of financial stress. As a result of historic support for police reform, Benjamin also was able to legislation he had been championing including his bill the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act. In December 2020 he joined other senators in announcing the introduction of legislation that significantly limited police
no-knock warrant
In the United States, a no-knock warrant is a warrant issued by a judge that allows law enforcement to enter a property without immediate prior notification of the residents, such as by knocking or ringing a doorbell. In most cases, law enforcemen ...
s to only the most severe circumstances, and banned their use for drug searches.
2021–2022 session
In January 2021, Benjamin was named chair of the Committee on Revenue and Budget.
Also in January 2021, Benjamin proposed a bill to make it easier for released ex-convicts to obtain a state-issued ID when they leave jail.
He also sponsored a bill to change parole laws, so that
parole violations such as testing positive for drugs, failing to report, and failing to notify of a change in address would not lead to incarceration. He has tweeted his support for defunding the police.
In January 2021, ''
The New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...
'' reported that Benjamin was earning up to $50,000 a year as a board member of NextPoint, a company led by a Wall Street executive who came under fire for his role in the
2008 subprime mortgage crisis (Andrew Neuberger), and that Benjamin acquired up to $250,000 in NextPoint stock.
"This is not a good sign," said housing advocate Cea Weaver.
This was in addition to Benjamin earning $120,000 a year as a state senator.
That month, a coalition of 34 progressive groups hosted a protest outside Benjamin's home and sent a letter to
Majority Leader of the New York State Senate Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Andrea Alice Stewart-Cousins (née Stewart; born September 2, 1950) is an American politician and educator from Yonkers, New York. A member of the Democratic Party, Stewart-Cousins has represented District 35 in the New York State Senate since ...
calling for his removal as chair of the Senate Budget and Revenue committee.
They argued that his stock holdings and position on the board of NextPoint were unethical conflicts of interest that should disqualify him from presiding over bills dealing with taxation.
Benjamin was the Senate's senior assistant majority leader.
2021 NYC comptroller campaign
In 2021, Benjamin ran for the Democratic nomination for
New York City comptroller
The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...
. In the Democratic primary he ran against entrepreneur, non-profit founder, and former US Marine
Zach Iscol
Zach Iscol (born August 18, 1978) is an American civil servant, non-profit executive, politician, and armed forces veteran who serves as Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management. Iscol is a United States Marine veteran and was a D ...
, City Councilmember
Brad Lander
Bradford S. Lander (born July 8, 1969) is an American politician, urban planner, and community organizer who currently serves as the New York City Comptroller. A member of the Democratic Party, Lander is a progressive politician, and has been d ...
, State Senator
Kevin Parker, and Assemblymember
David Weprin
David Ira Weprin (born May 2, 1956) is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly, representing District 24 in Queens since 2010, when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes, such as a surcha ...
.
Candidates who raised at least $125,000 from at least 500 donors qualified for
matching city funds from the
New York City Campaign Finance Board
The New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) is an independent New York City agency that serves to provide campaign finance information to the public, enable more citizens to run for office by granting public matching funds, increase voter part ...
, on an 8-to-1 match basis.
As of February 16, 2021, Benjamin was one of three candidates who had qualified for matching funds.
Former Governor
David Paterson
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. ...
endorsed Benjamin, as did former U.S. Rep.
Charles Rangel
Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...
and New York State Sen.
John Liu
John Chun Yah Liu (born January 8, 1967) is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 11th district in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New Y ...
.
Lander won the primary election, while Benjamin received 11.6% of the vote.
Lieutenant governor of New York
On August 26, 2021, Benjamin was appointed by New York Governor
Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...
to the position of
lieutenant governor of New York.
Hochul, who was elected lieutenant governor in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, became governor of New York on August 24, 2021, following the resignation of her predecessor,
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...
; this event created a vacancy in the lieutenant governor position.
Benjamin was sworn in on September 9,
so that a special election to fill the vacancy in his State Senate seat could be held concurrently with the November general election. He is the second Black lieutenant governor in the history of the State of New York.
Following his swearing-in, Benjamin stated that he had reimbursed his campaign account for a large payment that was made to an event venue in October 2018, the same month he and his wife held a wedding party. The payment had been questioned by the
New York Board of Elections.
Corruption investigation and resignation
Two months after Benjamin became lieutenant governor, a real estate developer who steered campaign contributions toward Benjamin's failed bid for New York City comptroller was indicted. Federal authorities accused Gerald Migdol of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in illegally giving donations to Benjamin's campaign.
Benjamin has also been questioned about a dozen instances when Benjamin sought thousands of dollars in travel reimbursements as a state senator while using a campaign account for these expenses, including payments that were made outside the state of New York. After the New York Board of Elections investigated this matter, Benjamin repaid $3,500 in gas expenses to his campaign account. Despite this incident, he later told state police that he had never been contacted by a regulatory body while being
vetted
Vetting is the process of performing a background check on someone before offering them employment, conferring an award, or doing fact-checking prior to making any decision. In addition, in intelligence gathering, assets are vetted to determine th ...
for Lieutenant Governor.
In March 2022, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
was investigating whether Benjamin played a role in funneling fraudulent contributions to his 2021 campaign for New York City Comptroller, and that they would be issuing subpoenas to his campaign advisers. On April 12, 2022, Benjamin resigned as lieutenant governor after having been indicted earlier that day on federal charges of
bribery,
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...
to commit wire fraud,
wire fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...
, and falsification of records.
According to sources who spoke to ''The New York Times'', Benjamin allegedly directed state funds to a Harlem real estate investor and in exchange received thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions for his unsuccessful 2021 bid to become the New York City comptroller. The crimes of which Benjamin is accused were allegedly committed during his State Senate tenure. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. On December 6, 2022, the federal wire fraud and bribery charges against Benjamin were dismissed, although he still faces 2 additional charges for falsification of records.
Television
In 2014, Benjamin appeared in
Oprah Winfrey Network's reality television show ''Love in the City'' as the boyfriend of a woman who, three years later (when he was a State Senate candidate), alleged that he stole some items from her.
Personal life
Benjamin and his wife, Cathleen, live in Harlem, New York, with their two daughters.
References
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Brian
21st-century American politicians
Brown University alumni
Candidates in the 2021 United States elections
Harvard Business School alumni
Lieutenant Governors of New York (state)
Living people
Morgan Stanley employees
Democratic Party New York (state) state senators
New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes
People from Harlem
Year of birth missing (living people)