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New York City's 31st City Council district
New York City's 31st City Council district
Government
• Councilmember	. Selvena Brooks-Powers ; . D–Rockaway Beach
Population (2010)
• Total	160,123
Demographics
• Black	68%
• Hispanic	16%
• White	11%
• Asian	2%
• Other	3%
Registration
• Democratic	77.4%
• Republican	5.2%
• No party preference	14.7%
	Registered voters (2021) 102,579

New York City's 31st City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been represented by Democrat Selvena Brooks-Powers since a 2021 special election to succeed fellow Democrat Donovan Richards.^[3]

Geography

District 31 covers the farthest southeastern neighborhoods of Queens as well as the eastern section of the Rockaways, including the neighborhoods of Far Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale, Arverne, Edgemere, and parts of Springfield Gardens.^[4] Rockaway Community Park, Idlewild Park, much of John F. Kennedy International Airport, and some of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge are all located within the district.

The district overlaps with Queens Community Boards 12, 13, and 14, and is contained entirely within New York's 5th congressional district. It also overlaps with the 10th, 14th, and 15th districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 23rd, 29th, 31st, and 32nd districts of the New York State Assembly.^[5]

List of members representing the district

Members	Party	Years served	Electoral history
District established January 1, 1974
Angelo J. Arculeo (Bay Ridge)	Republican	January 1, 1974 – December 31, 1982	Redistricted from the 22nd district and re-elected in 1973. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1977. Lost re-election.
Sal Albanese (Bay Ridge)	Democratic	January 1, 1983 – December 31, 1991	Elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1985. Re-elected in 1989. Redistricted to the 43rd district.
Juanita E. Watkins (Springfield Gardens)	Democratic	January 1, 1992 – December 31, 1991	Elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Re-elected in 1997. Termed out.
James Sanders Jr. (Far Rockway)	Democratic	January 1, 1992 – December 31, 2012	Elected in 2001. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Re-elected in 2009. Termed out and ran for New York State Senate.
Donovan Richards (Rosedale)	Democratic	January 1, 2013 – December 2, 2020	Elected in 2013. Re-elected in 2017. Resigned to become Queens Borough President.
Vacant		December 2, 2020 – March 19, 2021
Selvena Brooks-Powers (Rockaway Beach)	Democratic	March 19, 2021 –	Elected to finish Richard's term. Re-elected in 2021. Re-elected in 2023.

Recent election results

2023 (redistricting)

Due to redistricting and the 2020 changes to the New York City Charter, councilmembers elected during the 2021 and 2023 City Council elections will serve two-year terms, with full four-year terms resuming after the 2025 New York City Council elections.^[6]

2023 New York City Council election, District 31^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Selvena Brooks-Powers (incumbent)	8,868	89.2
	Republican	Daniella May	972
	Parent Party	Daniella May^[8]	81
	Total	Daniella May	1,053	10.6
	Write-in		25	0.2
Total votes			9,946

2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented ranked-choice voting in all local elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur.^[9]

An interactive map of District 31

2021 New York City Council election, District 31^[10]^[11]
Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Selvena Brooks-Powers (incumbent)	10,807	67.4
	Democratic	Nancy Martinez	3,049	19.0
	Democratic	Nicole Lee	2,039	12.7
	Write-in		136	0.8
Total votes			16,031	100
General election
	Democratic	Selvena Brooks-Powers (incumbent)	18,070	88.9
	Republican	Vanessa Simon^[12]	1,902
	Conservative	Vanessa Simon	324
	Total	Vanessa Simon	2,226	11.0
	Write-in		27	0.1
Total votes			20,323	100
	Democratic hold

2021 special

In 2020, Councilmember Donovan Richards was elected as Queens borough president, triggering a February 2021 special election for his seat. Like most municipal special elections in New York City, the race was officially nonpartisan, with all candidates running on ballot lines of their own creation. It was also the first in the city's history to utilize ranked-choice voting (although an earlier special election in the 24th district was nominally ranked-choice, one candidate won with a majority in the first round).

2021 New York City Council special election, District 31^[13]
	Candidate	Maximum round	Maximum votes	Share in maximum round
Nonpartisan	Selvena Brooks-Powers	9	3,841	59.0%
Nonpartisan	Pesach Osina	9	2,674	41.0%
Nonpartisan	Manny Silva	8	1,059	15.2%
Nonpartisan	LaToya Benjamin	7	570	8.0%
Nonpartisan	Sherwyn James	6	386	5.4%
Nonpartisan	Shawn Rux	5	234	3.2%
Nonpartisan	Nancy Martinez	4	181	2.5%
Nonpartisan	Latanya Collins	3	120	1.6%
Nonpartisan	Nicole Lee	2	77	1.0%
Write-in		1	24	0.3%

2017

2017 New York City Council election, District 31^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donovan Richards	19,396
	Working Families	Donovan Richards	807
	Total	Donovan Richards (incumbent)	20,203	98.8
	Write-in		125	0.6
	Write-in	Derek Hamilton	109	0.5
Total votes			20,437	100
	Democratic hold

2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 31^[15]^[16]
Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Donovan Richards (incumbent)	6,762	51.6
	Democratic	Michael Duncan	4,696	35.8
	Democratic	Ricardo Brown	1,648	12.6
	Write-in		2	0.0
Total votes			13,108	100
General election
	Democratic	Donovan Richards (incumbent)	18,182	91.8
	Republican	Scherie Murray	1,079	5.4
	Jobs & Education	Ricardo Brown	530	2.7
	Write-in		22	0.1
Total votes			19,813	100
	Democratic hold

2013 special

In 2012, Councilman James Sanders Jr. was elected to the 10th district of the New York State Senate, triggering a February 2013 special election for his seat. Like most municipal special elections in New York City, the race was officially nonpartisan, with all candidates running on ballot lines of their own creation.

2013 New York City Council special election, District 31^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Community Unity	Donovan Richards	2,646	29.1
	Common Values	Pesach Osina	2,567	28.2
	The Forward	Jacques Leandre	1,216	13.4
	Organize Now	Michael Duncan	1,016	11.2
	Rebuild Now	Selvena Brooks^[18]	1,013	11.1
	Better Service	Marie Adam-Ovide	189	2.1
	Grand Coalition	Saywala Kesselly	170	1.9
	People's Relief	Allan Jennings	153	1.7
	Write-in	Earnest Flowers III	105	1.2
	Write-in		16	0.1
Total votes			9,091	100