Brooklynites Back Incumbents, Including City Council Member Who Carried Gun to Protest

By Isabel Song Beer, Brooklyn Paper

The polls have officially closed in the 2023 general election in New York City — and the (unofficial) results are in.

In Brooklyn, voters decided who will represent them in the City Council and cast their votes for non-city offices depending on where they live and their political party — selecting new judges, district leaders, and members to the county committee. Also on the ballot were two new proposals.

All of New York City’s 51 City Council seats were up for grabs, with key races in District 47, where current Council Members Justin Brannan and Ari Kagan fought to represent the newly drawn district, and District 43, where Democrat Susan Zhuang, Republican Ying Tan and Conservative Party candidate Vito LaBella faced off.

As of 6 p.m. on November 7, 140,629 Brooklynites had placed their votes during early voting and on Election Day — and unlike in past elections, when results took days to be finalized, some outcomes became clear mere hours after the last vote was cast.

Shortly after the polls closed at 9 p.m., Brannan declared victory in District 47 with nearly 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial Board of Elections results.

“We ran with our hearts because we’d rather lose being who we are than win being someone we’re not,” Brannan told supporters at his Bay Ridge victory party. “And these days, it’s easy to divide people up. It takes really hard work to bring people together, but that’s the hard work that everyone in this room is committed to.”

In District 43, Zhuang appeared to have won the election handily, also with nearly 60 percent of the vote.

And, in a less competitive but closely watched race in District 48, incumbent Republican Inna Vernikov won reelection with more than 67 percent of the vote, handily outperforming Democrat Amber Adler and third-party candidate Igor Kazatsker just weeks after she was arrested for allegedly illegally carrying a gun to a protest at Brooklyn College.

“Don’t mess with our values,” Vernikov said at her Election Day celebration. “We don’t want any Democratic Party runs in the area. We won’t stand for the left’s ways.”

Below is a rundown of election results as of 11:30 p.m. on November 7. Numbers will be updated periodically as the state and city Boards of Elections make them available, and current leaders will be bolded.

Note: Projected winners, as called by other outlets such as the Associated Press and The New York Times, will have a √ in front of their names. All vote totals are preliminary and subject to change. Some races may also be too close to call on election night.

City Council Districts:

33rd Council District – Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill

Democrat: Lincoln Restler (incumbent)
Republican: Martha Rowen

34th Council District – Williamsburg, Bushwick and Ridgewood

Democrat: Jennifer Gutiérrez (incumbent)
Medical Freedom: Marguerite Chandler

37th Council District – Cypress Hills, Bushwick, City Line, Ocean Hill, Brownsville, East New York

Democrat: Sandy Nurse (incumbent)
Republican: Isaiah Orlando Vega

38th Council District – Red Hook, Sunset Park, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Boro Park.

Democrat: Alexa Avilés (incumbent)
Republican: Paul A. Rodriguez

39th Council District: Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington

Democrat: Shahana Hanif (incumbent)
Republican: Arkadiusz T. Tomaszewski

40th Council District: Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Prospect Park South, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Democrat: Rita Joseph (incumbent)
Medical Freedom: Daniel B. Lally

43rd Council District: Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Sunset Park

Democrat: √ Susan Zhuang
Republican: Ying Tan
Conservative: Vito J. LaBella

44th Council District: Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Midwood, Ocean Parkway

Democrat, Republican, Conservative: Kalman Yeger (incumbent)
Boro Park Flatbush: Heshy Tischler

46th Council District: Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, and Sheepshead Bay

Democrat: Mercedes Narcisse (incumbent)
Republican: Michael J. Moran

47th Council District: Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach

Democrat: Justin Brannan
Republican: Ari Kagan (incumbent)

48th Council District – Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Homecrest, Trump Village, Luna Park, Brightwater Towers, Midwood

Democrat: Amber Adler
Republican: Inna Vernikov (incumbent)

Non-City Offices:

Judge of the Civil Court – District 2nd Municipal Court District – Kings
Democrat: Lola Waterman
Democrat: Babatunde Akowe

Ballot Proposals:

Proposal 1: An amendment: Removal of Small City School Districts From Special Constitutional Debt Limitation

Yes
No

Proposal 2: An amendment: Extending Sewage Project Debt Exclusion From Debt Limit

Yes
No

Additional reporting by Lloyd Mitchell & Kirstyn Brendlen

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here to see the original story.

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