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Crystal Hudson

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Crystal Hudson
Member of the New York City Council
from the 35th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byLaurie Cumbo
Personal details
Born (1983-04-14) April 14, 1983 (age 41)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationSpelman College (BA)
George Washington University (MA)
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

Crystal R. Hudson (born April 14, 1983) is an American politician from New York City. A Democrat, she represents the 35th district of the New York City Council, which covers parts of central Brooklyn.

Early life and education

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Born and raised in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, Hudson graduated from Spelman College with a degree in economics and later received a Master's degree in Tourism Administration from George Washington University.[1]

Career

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Hudson began her career working for the Washington Mystics, a WNBA team based in Washington, D.C. In 2011, she joined Amtrak as a marketing executive.[2]

After moving back to New York City to care for her mother, Carole Kay,[3] Hudson switched to public policy work, joining Brooklyn Community Board 8[4] and later working for Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo as her chief of operations. Hudson was chosen in 2019 to be a Deputy Public Advocate under Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a position she held until the beginning of her campaign for New York City Council.[5]

2021 City Council campaign

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In 2020, Hudson announced her 2021 campaign to succeed the term-limited Cumbo in the City Council's 35th district. She was quickly regarded as a frontrunner in the race, raising the most money of any candidate in the field and receiving influential endorsements from Congressmembers Hakeem Jeffries and Yvette Clarke, neighboring Councilman Brad Lander, and most of the city's major unions.[6][7]

Hudson's main competition came from tenant organizer Michael Hollingsworth, who was backed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America and politicians from the city's leftmost flank.[8] The race was characterized by Gotham Gazette as "split[ting] the city's left," as Hudson similarly claimed "progressive" policy positions and endorsements, but was put on the defensive about her establishment ties and work for the controversial Cumbo.[9][10] Hudson worked to distance herself from Cumbo during the campaign, writing an op-ed for Bklyner.com calling one of Cumbo's key policy achievements a "disgrace."[11]

On election night on June 22, Hudson led Hollingsworth 38–34% in first-place votes, with minor candidates taking the remainder; when absentee ballots and ranked-choice votes were counted, Hudson expanded her lead to 54–46%.[12][13] She declared victory, and Hollingsworth conceded defeat, on July 6.[14][15] Hudson faced minimal opposition in the November general election, and won.

City Council tenure

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In February 2024, Hudson led an effort to block the construction of a 150-unit apartment building (which dozens of apartments set aside for affordable housing) at a vacant lot in Crown Heights in her district.[16][17][18] She has said that she will not support new rental housing unless somewhere between 20-80% of the units are set aside for income-restricted housing.[18] By the end of 2024, the lot for the proposed building remained a dirt lot.[16]

Personal life

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Hudson is openly gay, and lives in Prospect Heights with her partner, political strategist Sasha Neha Ahuja.[2] Hudson served as the primary caregiver for her mother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, until she died in April 2021.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Meet Crystal". Crystal for BK. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Matt Tracy (July 23, 2020). "Crystal Hudson Brings Diverse Experience to Historic Brooklyn Council Run". Gay City News. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "@crystalrhudson | Liinks".
  4. ^ "Community Board No. 8" (PDF). brooklyncb8.org. April 13, 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Crystal Hudson Makes History as the 1st Openly Gay First Deputy Public Advocate". Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn. August 22, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Matt Tracy (July 23, 2020). "Hakeem Jeffries Endorses Crystal Hudson in Crown Heights Council Race". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  7. ^ "Endorsements". Crystal for BK. Archived from the original on July 10, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Ross Barkan (June 15, 2021). "How Far Left Will These Two Centrist City Council Seats Go?". Gothamist. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Amanda Salazar (April 26, 2021). "Competitive Central Brooklyn Council Race Splits City's Left". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  10. ^ Ben Verde (April 26, 2021). "City Council Candidate Takes Heat over Cumbo's Legacy". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Crystal Hudson (November 30, 2020). "OPINION: The Bedford Union Armory Project Is A Disgrace. We Can't Let It Happen Again". Bklyner. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Anna Quinn (June 22, 2021). "BK City Council District 35 Race: Crystal Hudson Takes Early Lead". Patch.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  13. ^ "Unofficial Ranked Choice Rounds, Member of the City Council 35th Council District - Democratic". New York City Board of Elections. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  14. ^ @crystalrhudson (July 6, 2021). "We won! Together, we built the biggest, broadest, & most diverse coalition to champion a vision of equity, justice, and dignity for all of our neighbors. We are now more than 16K strong having received one of the highest number of votes of any Council candidate citywide". Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  15. ^ @mike4brooklyn (July 6, 2021). "Thank you to all of our volunteers, supporters, and voters for fighting alongside us on this campaign and in the work that lies ahead. We'll see you again really, really soon". Retrieved July 11, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b Zaveri, Mihir; Weingart, Eden; Lieberman, Rebecca; Kim, June (2024-11-19). "Two Affordable Housing Buildings Were Planned. Only One Went Up. What Happened?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  17. ^ "Council rejects 150-unit Brooklyn rezoning, citing conflict with city plan". Crains. 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Building in Brooklyn Council District 35? Here's What the Rep—And Community Members—Want in New Development". City Limits. 2024-05-08.
  19. ^ @crystalrhudson (April 23, 2021). "My mother transitioned last night. She passed one wk & two days before her birthday, so I'm sharing this video of us dancing to one of our favorite songs—Native New Yorker—on her birthday last year. I'll be taking some time to bask in her glory and spend time with loved ones". Retrieved July 11, 2021.
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