Reformer. NY State Assemblywoman. Civil Rights Lawyer. Former NY State Director of Immigration, CUNY Professor. Stanford Law, UPenn alum.
Queens, NY
Joined August 2011
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They told me it was impossible. 🪔
New Yorkers waited decades.
But I led the fight to make Diwali a NYC school holiday…and we won!
This is my Diwali gift to the world.
We showed that Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains are part of the American story.
#HappyDiwali New York!
Welcome to the team! Today, two young women from Maspeth High School dropped by my office to join us as interns this fall. I’m overjoyed that they’ll start their journey in public service right here in my Assembly office.
My team and I are working every day until December 31st…and beyond. Public service is a calling, not just a job.
Today in Woodhaven, we brought housing help straight to the community. Homeowners fighting foreclosure, tenants facing eviction, seniors seeking subsidies, all getting real answers in my office. Government that shows up. Government that works.
A special thank you to our partners at @CHLDC. When government and community organizations join forces, families stay housed.
Tomorrow, activists will rally outside City Hall under the slogan “glory to the martyrs, victory to the resistance, and what is coming is greater” to mark the October 7th terrorist attack, in which 1,200 people were murdered. Every innocent life lost since is a tragedy. Murdering civilians is not resistance.
The glorification of terrorism has gained a foothold in our country, and we cannot enable it. It must be abundantly clear that there is no place for it in our politics, or in civilized debate.
If we don’t speak up now, history will ask where we were.
Tomorrow! Free housing help for tenants and homeowners at my Woodhaven office, 10am–3pm. Foreclosure prevention, eviction help, tax exemptions, and more. Walk in, we’ll help.
Can’t Stop! Won’t stop! 🔥
The housing crisis won’t solve itself, and I’m determined to attack it from every angle.
On October 7, we’re bringing housing help directly to Woodhaven: foreclosure prevention, home repair grants, property tax exemptions, eviction assistance, tenant organizing, housing subsidies, and more.
Homeowners deserve to keep their homes. Tenants deserve safe, stable housing. And New Yorkers deserve government that gets to work.
The nor’easter blew away my office sign, and so many of you reached out with concern. Thank you. But I’m not leaving yet! Our brand new sign went up this weekend, and we’re still here, serving New York and our country for a lifetime more.
Storms knock down signs. They don’t knock down our mission. And we are just getting started.
I couldn’t put down McCullough’s 1776. George Washington lost nearly every battle. His troops had no shoes. Almost everyone thought the revolution was a lost cause.
But he never quit. Because of his persistence, America was born.
250 years later, what a story. What a reminder.
Right now! We are out in the rain at the annual @woodhavenbid Street Fair!
Rain or shine, #TeamJenifer shows up for Woodhaven. We are under the red tent on Jamaica Avenue, meeting neighbors, answering questions, and sharing resources from our office. Even our four-legged volunteer came dressed in his finest tuxedo for the occasion.
Days like this are the heart of serving the 38th District with neighbors coming together, small businesses on display, and a community that refuses to let a little weather slow it down.
Stop by the red tent and say hello to our team. We’re here all afternoon.
Tonight begins Simchat Torah, when Jewish communities finish the annual reading of the Torah and immediately begin again from the first verse. Three years ago, this day of dancing became a day of mourning. That joy returns to synagogues across New York tonight is itself a statement of resilience. I stand with our Jewish neighbors in celebration and in remembrance, and in the work of making sure every New Yorker can worship without fear. #ChagSameach
The strength of New York has always been built in its neighborhoods, and few places tell that story like @Neirstavern in Woodhaven.
Today we marked 197 years of this Woodhaven landmark, one of the oldest taverns in New York City and a living chronicle of Queens history. Its survival is a testament to Loycent Gordon, a trailblazing entrepreneur whose vision and perseverance preserved an institution for generations to come.
It was my privilege to honor some extraordinary individuals with New York State Assembly citations. Each embodies a profound commitment to our community and an unwavering dedication to their craft:
•Advocacy Award: Charlie Vaicels
•Community Service Award: Richard Fogal
•Small Business Champion: Rachel Kellner
•History + Preservation: Carlos Varon
•Ambassador of the Year: Donna Salmon
•Ruschell Boone Legacy Award: Kristen Guglielmo
My thanks to #TeamJenifer (in red) for presenting these citations on my behalf.
To 197 years of history, and to the generations still to come.
Today, on Gandhi’s birthday, I want to talk about something that should unite every New Yorker: rejecting hate and violence.
These photos are some of the most meaningful moments of my time in public life. Gurdwaras and synagogues. Mosques and churches. Hindu mandirs and Buddhist temples. Different prayers, different languages, different histories. And in every one, I met people who wanted the same things: to be safe, to raise their children in peace, to be treated with dignity by their neighbors.
That is New York at its best. And right now, it is under threat.
We are living through a moment when too many people in our politics have decided that rage is a strategy. When slogans that glorify violence are chanted in our streets, and leaders who should know better refuse to condemn them. When “the enemy” is not an idea to be debated, but a group of people to be targeted. When synagogues need armed guards, mosques receive threats, and Sikh and Hindu New Yorkers are singled out.
This is not coming from one direction. Extremists on the far left and the far right have hijacked our public life. They feed off each other. They need each other. And they are counting on the rest of us to stay quiet.
I won’t.
Gandhi showed the world you can stand against injustice without becoming unjust yourself, and that refusing to hate takes more courage than hating.
So here is my line. Any movement that excuses, romanticizes, or winks at violence against any community has forfeited its claim to moral leadership. I don’t care which party it comes from. I don’t care how righteous the cause claims to be. If your politics needs someone to be afraid, your politics is wrong.
New York belongs to the Jewish family and the Muslim family. To the Sikh cab driver, the Hindu shopkeeper, and the Christian congregation down the block. It belongs to all of us, or it belongs to none of us.
On this Gandhi Jayanti, I’m asking every New Yorker to reject the extremes, to call out incitement even when it comes from your own side, and to choose the harder, braver path of building bridges.
The world has seen what hate builds. Let’s show it what we can build instead.
#GandhiJayanti #NonViolence #LoveOverHate
October is Italian Heritage Month, and New York wouldn’t be New York without Italian Americans. 🇺🇸 🇮🇹🗽
Millions of Italian immigrants passed through Ellis Island with little more than hope and a strong work ethic. They dug our subways, raised our bridges and skyline, and built neighborhoods from Arthur Avenue to Little Italy to communities across Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island.
That commitment to service runs through generations. Italian Americans have a long and proud tradition in the NYPD, going back to Lt. Joseph Petrosino, a pioneering detective who gave his life in the line of duty and is still honored today. Generations have followed in the FDNY, in our hospitals and classrooms, in the building trades that keep this city standing, and in courtrooms, small businesses, and public office.
Italian Americans have shaped New York at every level. Fiorello La Guardia became one of the greatest mayors in our history. Mother Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants, built schools, orphanages, and hospitals for people with nowhere else to turn. Mario Cuomo gave Albany a voice for fairness that still echoes today. And in every borough, family-run bakeries, pizzerias, and social clubs remain the heart of our neighborhoods.
Today we celebrate a community that turned struggle into strength and gave so much back to the city it calls home.
Now I want to hear from you. Who’s the Italian American in your family whose hard work paved the way for you? Which neighborhood bakery, pizzeria, or deli would you defend to the end? And what Italian tradition does your family still keep alive today? 👇
#ItalianHeritageMonth #NYC
At a time of rising hate and fear, may we build not walls that divide us, but a sukkah where we can all dwell with connection and belonging.
The sukkah reminds us that even in uncertain times, we can build with faith, hope and resilience.
Wishing a joyous Sukkot to the Jewish community in New York and around the world! Chag Sukkot Sameach!
Can’t Stop! Won’t stop! 🔥
The housing crisis won’t solve itself, and I’m determined to attack it from every angle.
On October 7, we’re bringing housing help directly to Woodhaven: foreclosure prevention, home repair grants, property tax exemptions, eviction assistance, tenant organizing, housing subsidies, and more.
Homeowners deserve to keep their homes. Tenants deserve safe, stable housing. And New Yorkers deserve government that gets to work.
As the world converges on New York for the United Nations General Assembly, let us remember that peace begins right here at home.
We must heal our divisions, not exploit them; reject a politics that sorts New Yorkers into opposing camps; and remember that progress comes from bringing people together, not turning them against one another.
Our real enemies are poverty, hate, inequality, the climate crisis, and lack of access to housing and health care. Those are the challenges worthy of our energy, and the fights that should unite us.
May we all be ambassadors of peace and unity, today and every day.
#PeaceDay #InternationalDayOfPeace
G’mar Chatima Tova to Jewish communities here at home and around the world as Yom Kippur begins tonight. To all who fast, may it be an easy and meaningful one.
May this Day of Atonement bring reflection, forgiveness, and the mending of what has been broken in our families, our communities, and our world. #YomKippur
