Shaun Abreu Wins Upper Manhattan City Council Race

HARLEM, NY — A hard-fought City Council race in Upper Manhattan now has a winner: Shaun Abreu, who appears to have defeated 11 other Democrats in the race to succeed Mark Levine in District 7.

Abreu, 30, won easily in the final round of ranked-choice voting, winning about 63 percent of the vote against his closest rival, Maria Ordoñez, according to nearly complete results released on Tuesday.

District 7 includes West Harlem, Morningside Heights and parts of Washington Heights and the Upper West Side. In Central Harlem, newcomer Kristin Richardson Jordan appeared poised to upset incumbent Bill Perkins in the District 9 council race.

After initial results were posted last week, the ranked-choice tally was re-run on Tuesday, this time including more than 3,500 absentee ballots that have been returned in District 7. No one was able to catch Abreu, a tenants' rights attorney, former member of Community Board 9 and former campaign staffer for Levine.

"I have never been prouder to call District 7 my home," Abreu tweeted Friday after the initial ranked-choice results came out. "I can’t wait to get to work."

The District 7 race was among Manhattan's most competitive. Abreu, a front-runner for much of the race, also led on election night with about 27 percent of first-choice votes, but it was unclear how ranked-choice voting would shake out — especially since five of his rivals formed an alliance against him ahead of the election.

Major issues in the race included gentrification and new development, the role of Columbia University, street cleanliness during the pandemic, as well as crime and public safety.

Abreu came under attack from his competitors in the weeks before the primary due to the large amount of outside spending that flowed into the district to support his candidacy. The groups boosting Abreu included PACs affiliated with real estate developers and pro-charter school groups, though Abreu, who could not coordinate the spending, said it would not influence his work in the Council.

Several other candidates conceded the race over the weekend, including Ordoñez, a student organizer and democratic socialist; and Marti Allen-Cummings, a local activist and drag artist.

Abreu will be heavily favored in November's general election, where he will face two third-party candidates. Assuming he wins, he will take office in January — succeeding Levine, who appeared set to win the race for Manhattan Borough President.

Related District 7 City Council coverage:

• Harlem Council Candidates Attack Rival Over Outside Spending
• 5 Harlem Council Candidates Endorse Each Other In Unusual Move
• Here's Where West Harlem Candidates Stand On Your Issues
• Mark Levine Endorses Abreu In Upper Manhattan City Council Race