Shaun Abreu

Shaun Abreu
Abreu in 2025
Majority Leader of the New York City Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2026
Preceded byAmanda Farias
Member of the New York City Council
from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byMark Levine
Personal details
Born (1991-01-08) January 8, 1991
New York City, New York, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Tulane University (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

Shaun Abreu (born January 8, 1991)[1] is an American politician and attorney from New York City. He is a member of the Democratic Party serving as the city councilman for the 7th district of the New York City Council.

Early life and education

Abreu was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan, the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. At nine years old, his family was evicted from their home, forcing them to stay with neighbors.[2] His mother is a clerk at Zabar's, and his father is a union member and a janitor at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.[3]

Abreu graduated from George Washington High School in Washington Heights, and went on to receive a degree in political science and government from Columbia University and a J.D. degree from Tulane University Law School. After graduating law school in 2018, he became an attorney with Genova Burns, LLC, a law firm that primary represents employers in labor disputes.[4] In August 2020, shortly before announcing his run for City Council, he became a tenant's rights lawyer with the New York Legal Assistance Group.[5][6]

While still a student at Columbia, Abreu worked as Mark Levine's deputy campaign manager during Levine's successful 2013 campaign for the New York City Council. He also served as a member of Manhattan Community Board 9 and as board director for Friends of Morningside Park.[5][7]

Career

New York City Council

Elections

2021 Election Cycle

In November 2020, Abreu announced his 2021 campaign to succeed the term-limited Levine in the City Council's 7th district, which covers Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, Hamilton Heights, and parts of the Upper West Side, Harlem and Washington Heights.[8] Garnering endorsements from Levine, U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat, and most of the city's major unions, Abreu was regarded as the frontrunner in the race.[9] Abreu endorsed Eric Adams in the 2021 mayoral primary.

Five of Abreu's eleven opponents – Maria Ordoñez, Stacy Lynch, Marti Allen-Curmmings, Dan Cohen, and Corey Ortega – sought to counter this advantage through ranked-choice voting and formed a coalition, wherein each of the five candidates advised their own voters to rank the other four coalition members on their ballot.[10]

On election night on June 22, Abreu led the field with 27 percent of the vote, with four members of the opposing coalition coming in second through fifth. When ranked-choice votes and absentee ballots were taken into account two weeks later, Abreu maintained his lead, with 63 percent of the vote to Ordoñez's 37 percent; Abreu formally declared victory on July 2, and his opponents conceded in the succeeding days. In the November general election, Abreu won with over 88% of the vote.[11]

2023 Election Cycle

In 2023, Abreu was reelected to the City Council from the 7th district. In the November 7 general election, he received 13,061 votes; the remaining votes cast in the contest were write-in votes.[12]

2025 Election Cycle

In 2025, Abreu won the Democratic primary for the 7th Council District, defeating Edafe Okporo and Tiffany Khan in the first round of ranked-choice voting with 20,927 votes (63.0%).[13] He then won reelection in the November 4 general election, receiving 37,859 votes on the Democratic line and 7,584 on the Working Families line, ahead of Republican Manual Williams and West Side United candidate Edafe Okporo.[14]

Chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management

From the beginning of 2024 until the end of 2025, Abreu served as the Chair of the Sanitation Committee.[15] While on the committee, he worked with the New York City Department of Sanitation to create a trash containerization pilot program in West Harlem to remove trash bags off the streets and reduce the rat population.[16] Following the pilot program's success, the sanitation committee and council voted to expand on-street trash containerization citywide for larger residential buildings.[17]

Beginning in the 2026 legislative session, Abreu chairs the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

Legislation

In 2022, Abreu voted with other Democratic members of the City Council to cut $215 million from the Department of Education—a vote for which many members later expressed regret.[18] After initially joining the Progressive Caucus, Abreu left in 2023 after refusing to sign onto the group's statement of principles.[19]

Abreu sponsored a bill passed in 2023 that banned weight and height discrimination in hiring and housing across New York City, adding them to a list of protected classes.[20] In 2024, the council passed a bill banning forced brokers fees which was originally co-sponsored by Abreu.[21] In 2025, Uber and DoorDash sued the City of New York over two laws introduced by Abreu that regulate food-delivery app tipping options intended to protect consumer transparency and worker pay.[22]

In 2024, Abreu opposed a ballot measure introduced by Mayor Eric Adams to expand the authority of the Department of Sanitation's enforcement against unlicensed street vendors in New York City.[23]

Tenure

Abreu is a member of the Vote Blue Coalition, a progressive group and federal PAC created to support Democrats in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania through voter outreach and mobilization efforts.[24] He is on the board of governors of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club.[25]

Personal life

Abreu lives in Washington Heights.[26] He is a member of UAW Local 2325, an association for legal aid attorneys.[2]

Electoral history

2025

2025 New York City Council Democratic primary, District 7[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shaun Abreu (incumbent) 20,927 63.0
Democratic Edafe Okporo 8,238 24.8
Democratic Tiffany Khan 3,890 11.7
Write-in 162 0.5
Total votes 33,217 100.0
2025 New York City Council election, District 7[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shaun Abreu 37,859 71.9
Working Families Shaun Abreu 7,584 14.4
Total Shaun Abreu (incumbent) 45,443 86.3
Republican Manual Williams 4,674 8.9
West Side United Edafe Okporo 2,477 4.7
Write-in 90 0.2
Total votes 52,684 100.0
Democratic hold

2023

2023 New York City Council election, District 7[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shaun Abreu (incumbent) 13,061 97.4
Write-in 355 2.6
Total votes 13,416 100.0
Democratic hold

2021

2021 New York City Council Democratic primary, District 7[30]
Party Candidate Maximum
round		 Maximum
votes		 Share in
maximum
round		 Maximum votes
  First round votes   Transfer votes
Democratic Shaun Abreu 13 10,491 63.0%
​​
Democratic Maria Ordonez 13 6,165 37.0%
​​
Democratic Stacy R. Lynch 12 4,180 22.7%
​​
Democratic Daniel M. Cohen 10 3,393 17.4%
​​
Democratic Marti Gould Allen-Cummings 9 2,973 14.7%
​​
Democratic Luis Tejada 8 2,605 12.0%
​​
Democratic Keith L. Harris 7 1,375 6.2%
​​
Democratic Corey Ortega 6 1,283 5.7%
​​
Democratic Miguel Estrella 5 860 3.8%
​​
Democratic Carmen R. Quinones 4 818 3.6%
​​
Democratic Raymond Sanchez Jr. 3 502 2.2%
​​
Democratic Lena Melendez 2 392 1.7%
​​
Write-In 1 73 0.3%
​​
2021 New York City Council election, District 7[31]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shaun Abreu 20,206 88.9
Black Women Lead Carmen R. Quinones 1,646 7.2
Black Live Matter Jomo Manual Williams 747 3.3
Write-in 131 0.6
Total votes 22,730 100.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. ↑ @ShaunAbreu (January 8, 2021). "Today is my 30th birthday, and I have one special request!". Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Meet Shaun". Shaun Abreu, Democrat for City Council. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  3. ↑ "District 7". Shaun Abreu. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  4. ↑ "Genova Burns LLC, Labor & Employment". Chambers USA.
  5. 1 2 Nick Garber (June 15, 2021). "NYC Council District 7 Election: Shaun Abreu Seeks Uptown Seat". Patch.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Shaun Abreu". LinkedIn.
  7. ↑ Hou, Aili. "District 7 looks ahead to Shaun Abreu's tenure as City Council member". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  8. ↑ Sheena, Jasmine (2021-05-04). "It's crowded in the race for the City Council District 7 seat". City & State NY. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  9. ↑ Santiago, Amanda Luz Henning; Coltin, Jeff (2021-07-14). "The game-changing endorsements of the primaries". City & State NY. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  10. ↑ Garber, Nick; src="https://patch.com/img/cdn/assets/layout/badges/verified-patch-staff.svg"/>, Patch Staff<img alt="Verified Patch Staff Badge" class="styles_Badge__np_hU" (2021-06-10). "5 Harlem Council Candidates Endorse Each Other In Unusual Move". Harlem, NY Patch. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  11. ↑ "Election Results Summary 2021 | NYC Board of Elections". www.vote.nyc. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  12. ↑ "Statement and Return Report for Certification: General Election 2023 – 11/07/2023, New York County, All Parties and Independent Bodies, Member of the City Council (7th Council District)" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ "DEM Council Member 7th Council District". New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Statement and Return Report for Certification: General Election 2025 – 11/04/2025, New York County, All Parties and Independent Bodies, Member of the City Council (7th Council District)" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  15. ↑ Banerjee, Isha. "Shaun Abreu, CC '14, and Yusef Salaam named City Council committee chairs". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  16. ↑ "The Next Phase of New York City's 'Trash Revolution' Is Here". 2025-06-02. Archived from the original on 2025-10-25. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  17. ↑ QuigleyShare, Liam (2025-11-15). "NYC Council ensures trash revolution will continue after Mayor Adams leaves office". Gothamist. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  18. ↑ Donaldson, Sahalie (18 July 2022). "New York City Council members apologize for school budget vote". City & State NY.
  19. ↑ "Fifteen council members leave the Progressive Caucus". City & State. February 10, 2023.
  20. ↑ Fitzsimmons, Emma (April 6, 2023). "You Can Be Fired for Being Overweight. Should New York Change That?". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Marich, Melanie (2024-06-11). "What to Know About New York's Latest Attempt to End Forced Broker Fees for Renters". THE CITY - NYC News. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  22. ↑ "Uber and DoorDash Try to Halt N.Y.C. Law That Encourages Tipping". 2025-12-16. Archived from the original on 2025-12-18. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  23. ↑ QuigleyShare, Liam (2024-10-14). "NYC ballot measure would expand trash pickup — and street vendor crackdowns". Gothamist. Retrieved 2026-01-02.
  24. ↑ "Coalition". Vote Blue. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  25. ↑ "Leadership". Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
  26. ↑ PIX11 News (2025-10-31). PIX on Politics Daily: NYC Council Member Shaun Abreu on Riverside Drive Construction Project. Retrieved 2026-01-02 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ "DEM Council Member 7th Council District". Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. July 22, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  28. ↑ "00101100007New York Member of the City Council 7th Council District Recap.pdf" (PDF). Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. December 2, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  29. ↑ "00101600007New York Member of the City Council 7th Council District Recap.pdf" (PDF). Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. December 5, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  30. ↑ "DEM Council Member 7th Council District". Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. July 20, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  31. ↑ "00100700007New York Member of the City Council 7th Council District Recap.pdf" (PDF). Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. November 30, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
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