Mark D. Levine

Mark Levine
Member of the New York City Council from the 7th District
Assumed office
January 1, 2014
Preceded by Robert Jackson
Personal details
Born (1969-04-30) April 30, 1969
Chicago, Illinois
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Ivelisse Suarez
Children 2
Alma mater Haverford College (B.A.)
Harvard University (M.A.)
Religion Jewish
Website Official website

Mark D. Levine (born April 30, 1969) is the Council member for the 7th District of the New York City Council. He is a Democrat. The district includes Morningside Heights, West Harlem, part of the Upper West Side and Washington Heights in Manhattan.

Life and career

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Levine grew up in Columbia, Maryland. He majored in physics[1] at Haverford College and the University of Seville, Spain. He received a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1995.

Levine taught bilingual math and science at Junior High School 149 in the South Bronx from 1991 to 1993.[2] He was a Teach For America corps member in the program’s early years.[3]

In 1994 he founded Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union, a cooperatively-owned financial institution serving low-income families in the Washington Heights section of Northern Manhattan.[4] Levine ran for the New York City Council in 2001, finishing second in a ten-way Democratic field.

In 2007 Levine was elected Democratic District Leader in the 71st Assembly District, Part A, representing parts of Hamilton Heights/West Harlem and Washington Heights. He was an early supporter of Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, and ran on Obama’s delegate slate that year in New York’s 15th Congressional District. In 2009 Levine founded the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan,[5] a progressive, reform-oriented local political club. In 2010 he ran for New York State Senate in the 31st District, finishing second in a four-way race with 39% of the vote.[6]

New York City Council

Levine took office in January, 2014.[7] He chairs the City Council's Parks Committee,[8] and is a member of the following committees: finance; education; housing and buildings; government operations; and rules. He is chair of the New York City Council Jewish Caucus,[9] is a member of the Progressive Caucus, and is founder and co-chair of the Council's Affordable Housing Preservation Taskforce.[10]

Issues Levine has focused on in his first term include: legal representation for tenants in housing court,[11][12][13] greater equity for parks in low-income neighborhoods,[14][15] improved police-community relations,[16][17] safer streets and expanded mass transit,[18][19] expanded access to medical marijuana,[20] and acceptance of bitcoin for payment of NYC fines and fees.[21][22]

Election history

New York City Council: District 7
Election Candidate Party Votes Pct Candidate Party Votes Pct Candidate Party Votes Pct Candidate Party Votes Pct
2013 Primary election Mark Levine Dem 7,454 41.40% Joyce S. Johnson Dem 3,108 17.26% Luis Tejada Dem 2,561 14.22% Other (4) Dem 3,511 19.41%
2013 General election Mark Levine Dem 19,273 87.47% Christina Gonzalez Gre 1,700 7.72%

References

  1. ↑ Levine, Mark; Paschalidis, Nicholas; Sarris, Emmanuel (May 1994). "Energetic ion distributions on both sides of the Earth's magnetopause". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 99 (A5): 8687–8703. Bibcode:1994JGR....99.8687P. doi:10.1029/93JA03563.
  2. ↑ Appelbaum, Aliza (May 13, 2010). "Community organizer vies for state Senate". Riverdale Press. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Kopp, Wendy (2003). One Day, All Children... PublicAffairs. p. 155. ISBN 978-1586481797.
  4. ↑ Lii, Jane (Mar 30, 1997). "Building a Nest Egg and a Community". New York Times. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Large turnout for new Democratic Club" (PDF). Manhattan Times. Mar 19, 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Voting Results -- 2010 Primary". Gotham Gazette. Sep 15, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Prend, Channing (Jan 27, 2014). "At Levine inauguration, thoughts of finding common ground in diverse district". Columbia Spectator. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Chiwaya, Nigel (Jan 23, 2014). "Ydanis Rodriguez and Mark Levine Tapped to Lead Council Committees". DNAinfo. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Donn, Yochonon (Mar 5, 2014). "New 'Jewish Caucus' Chair Wants to Revitalize Council Group". Hamodia. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Anuta, Joe (May 23, 2015). "City Council to take more aggressive role in cataloging and preserving affordable housing". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Bekeimpis, Victoria (Dec 11, 2014). "Housing: The Other Civil Rights Movement". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Navarro, Mireya (Dec 16, 2014). "Push to Provide Lawyers in New York City Housing Court Gains Momentum". New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "The Tale of Two Housing Courts". WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show. Mar 28, 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Parks Equity, Big and Small". WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show. Mar 13, 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa (May 6, 2014). "Focusing on Lesser-Known Open Spaces in New York". New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Jorgensen, Jillian (Feb 12, 2015). "With Push for More Desk Appearance Tickets, Council Bill Would Track Racial Data". New York Observer. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  17. ↑ Levine, Mark (Jan 9, 2015). "Learning to See Each Other". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Barkan, Ross (Nov 26, 2014). "City Council Passes Bill Tripling Traffic Signals Accessible to Blind". New York Observer. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  19. ↑ Miller, Stephen (Jan 8, 2014). "New CM Mark Levine Will Push NYC DOT for Full 125th Street SBS Route". Streetsblog. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Green, Johnny (Feb 4, 2015). "Major Concerns Raised About New York's Medical Marijuana Program". The Weed Blog. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Martucci, Chris (Feb 16, 2015). "New York City Councilman Mark Levine Proposes Accepting Bitcoin for Fines and Fees". JET Law. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Rizzo, Pete (Feb 16, 2015). "New York Councilman: Bitcoin Could Save City Millions". CoinDesk. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
Political offices
Preceded by
Robert Jackson		 New York City Council, 7th District
2014–present 		Incumbent
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