New York City's 51st City Council district is one of 51 districts in 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 Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. It has been represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Joe Borelli Joseph Charles Borelli (born July 27, 1982) is an American politician and the New York City Council member for the 51st district and Minority Leader of the New York City Council. He is a Republican. The district encompasses much of Staten Is ...

since a 2015 special election to replace fellow Republican

Vincent Ignizio Vincent M. Ignizio (born October 2, 1974) is an American politician and former member and Minority Leader of the New York City Council representing Staten Island's 51st district. Before being elected to the City Council, he was a member of the ...

. The district holds a number of distinctions. It is by far the most Republican-leaning Council district in the city; it is the only Council district to have more registered Republicans than Democrats; and, at 84% white, it is the city's whitest and most politically conservative Council district.

Geography

District 51 covers the South Shore of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

, including the neighborhoods of

Great Kills Great Kills is a neighborhood within the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located on the island's South Shore, and according to many local geographers, it is the South Shore's northernmost community. It is bordered by Richmondtow ...

Tottenville Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...

, Annadale,

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

, Rossville, Pleasant Plains, Eltingville, Bay Terrace, Charleston, Prince's Bay, Richmond Valley, Woodrow, Arden Heights, Greenridge, and parts of Heartland Village and

New Springville New Springville is a neighborhood in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. History Located near the island's geographical center, the neighborhood was founded in 1680 in Karle's Neck, so it was later named Karle's Neck V ...

. The district includes a large number of parks, among them

Great Kills Park Great Kills Park is a public park in Great Kills, Staten Island, New York City. Originally named Marine Park, it is a part of the Staten Island unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Administered by the National Park Service, it covers an area ...

Blue Heron Park Blue Heron Park is a nature refuge on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York. It has various natural areas including meadows, kettle ponds, freshwater streams and marshes, and woodlands. The park, maintained by the New York City Department o ...

Wolfe's Pond Park Wolfes Pond Park is a large public park located on Staten Island's South Shore. It is bounded on the south by Holton Avenue, on the east by Raritan Bay, on the west by the Staten Island Railway, and on the north by Chisholm Street, Luten Avenue, ...

, Long Pond Park,

Conference House Park Conference House Park is a park in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York City. The park is located along the Arthur Kill coast where the kill opens into Raritan Bay. It contains clay bluffs, part of the terminal moraine, formed when the Wisconsin ...

, Bloomingdale Park,

Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve is state park located near the southwestern shore of Staten Island, New York. It is the only state park located on Staten Island. History The park was the site of extensive mining of white kaolin clay in th ...

, and the southern parts of

Freshkills Park Freshkills Park is a public park being built atop a former landfill on Staten Island. At about , it will be the largest park developed in New York City since the 19th century. Its construction began in October 2008 and is slated to continue in p ...

and the Staten Island Greenbelt. The district overlaps with Staten Island Community Boards 2 and 3, and is contained entirely within

New York's 11th congressional district New York's 11th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. The 11th district includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of B ...

. It also overlaps with the 24th district of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

, and with the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th districts of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

Recent election results

2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-w ...

in all local primary and special elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur.

2017

2015 special

In 2015, Councilman

resigned his seat to take a job in the nonprofit sector, leaving his seat vacant. A special election was called to fill his seat; like most municipal special elections in New York City, the election was officially nonpartisan, with candidates running on ballot lines of their own creation.

2013

Previous Councilmembers

* Alfred Cerullo (created 1992–1994) *

Vito Fossella Vito John Fossella Jr. (born March 9, 1965) is an American politician serving as the Staten Island Borough President since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Fossella previously represented the state's 13th congressional district in the U.S ...

(1994–1997) * Stephen Fiala (1998–2001) *

Andrew Lanza Andrew Joseph Lanza (born March 12, 1964) is an American lawyer and Republican politician. He currently serves as a member of the New York State Senate, representing the 24th district, which encompasses most of Staten Island. He was first elec ...

(2002–2006) *

(2007–2015) *

(2015–present)

References

{{New York City Council New York City Council districts