Mark D. Levine (born April 30, 1969) is an American politician and educator serving as the 28th Borough President of

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 ...

since 2022. Previously, he served as member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance o ...

from 2014 to 2021, where he represented the 7th district covering

neighborhoods of

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...

, West

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 ...

, Washington Heights, and part of 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 ...

Early life and education

Born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Levine grew up in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages ...

. His early life was greatly influenced by the social activism of his parents, Marshal and Adele Levine. His cousin on his father's side, Asher Arian, was a prominent political scientist in Israel. Levine majored in physics at

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

and the University of Seville, Spain. He received a Masters in Public Policy from the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, publi ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1995. Levine speaks fluent Spanish and Hebrew.

Career

Levine taught bilingual math and science at Junior High School 149 in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was or ...

from 1991 to 1993. He was a Teach For America corps member in the program’s early years. In 1994 he founded Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, a cooperatively-owned financial institution serving low-income families in the Washington Heights section of Northern Manhattan. Levine ran for the

in 2001, finishing second in a ten-way Democratic field. In 2007 Levine was elected Democratic District Leader in the 71st Assembly District, Part A, representing parts of Hamilton Heights/West Harlem and Washington Heights. He was an early supporter of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, and ran on Obama’s delegate slate that year in New York’s 15th Congressional District. In 2009 Levine founded the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan, a progressive, reform-oriented local political club. In 2010 he ran for New York State Senate in the 31st District, finishing second in a four-way race with 39% of the vote.

New York City Council

Levine took office in January, 2014. During his first term he served as chair of the City Council's Parks Committee, chair of the Council's Jewish Caucus, and founder and co-chair of the Council's Affordable Housing Preservation Taskforce. Levine was lead sponsor of legislation passed in 2017 which established a right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction in housing court, making New York City the first place in the nation to grant such a right. Other issues Levine has focused on include: construction of affordable housing, greater equity for parks in low-income neighborhoods, improved police-community relations, safer streets and expanded mass transit, dual-language education, historic preservation, expanded access to medical marijuana, and acceptance of bitcoin for payment of NYC fines and fees. In addition to chairing the health committee, Levine was a member of the education, transportation, economic development, juvenile justice, and hospitals committees at the end of his term. He was also member of the Progressive Caucus and the Jewish Caucus. In 2017, Levine won the Democratic primary to remain in his council seat with 75% of the vote over closest competitor Thomas Lopez-Pierre with 25%. Levine was a candidate for City Council Speaker in 2017. In his role as chair of the City Council's health committee, Levine gained wide attention during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Manhattan Borough President

Levine announced his candidacy for Manhattan borough president in January 2020. Levine was endorsed by Representatives Adriano Espaillat and

Nydia Velázquez Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano (born March 28, 1953) is a politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York, Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3, 2011. He ...

, among other elected officials, labor unions, and advocacy groups. He won the Democratic primary defeating New York State Senator Brad Hoylman by 7%, and defeated Republican Lou Puliafito in the November 2021 general election. Levine took office on January 1, 2022.

Election history

2010

2013

2017

2021

References

External links

Mark Levine’s official website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Mark 1969 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American Jews Educators from New York City Harvard Kennedy School alumni Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Living people New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Haverford College alumni Teach For America alumni