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Kamillah Hanks

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Kamillah Hanks
Member of the New York City Council
from the 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2022
Preceded byDebi Rose
Personal details
Born (1972-09-04) September 4, 1972 (age 52)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationCollege of Staten Island
WebsiteOfficial website

Kamillah M. Hanks (born September 4, 1972) is an American politician and New York City Council Member for the 49th District on the North Shore of Staten Island.

District 49 includes the neighborhoods of Arlington, Clifton, Clove Lakes, Concord, Elm Park, Graniteville, Livingston, Mariners Harbor New Brighton Port Richmond, Randall Manor, Rosebank, St. George, Snug Harbor, Silver Lake, Stapleton, Sunnyside, West Brighton and Tompkinsville.[1]

Life and career

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Kamillah Hanks is a lifelong resident of Staten Island and a mother of four. Hanks attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and studied marketing and finance at the College of Staten Island.[citation needed]

Prior to holding office, Hanks served on the New York City Council Districting Commission,[2] as the Interim President of the Van Duzer Civic Association in Stapleton, and was the former executive director of the Downtown Staten Island Council. She also worked as a public relations consultant at the Staten Island Museum and the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation. In 2012 she founded the Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to the upkeep and development of Tappen Park on Staten Island.[3] In 2014, Hanks was appointed by Staten Island Borough President James Oddo to the New York City Panel for Educational Policy, and served as the Staten Island representative until 2016.[4]

Hanks created the first YouthBuild program on Staten Island, which gives young adults who are unemployed and out of school access to advanced vocational education, leadership development, job training, and essential life skills.[5] In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she partnered with local small business owners and YouthBuild program participants to develop a program that produced over 5000 face shields that were given to Staten Island firefighters, first responders, and medical personnel in the larger New York City area. [6]

Hanks also helped found the Minority Women in Business Association of Staten Island in July 2020.[7]

New York City Council

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In November 2021, Kamillah Hanks was elected to the New York City Council to represent the 49th District.[8]

Hanks was appointed Chair of the Committee on Public Safety and serves as a member of the Committee on Civil Service and Labor, Committee on Education, Committee on Environmental Protection, Committee on Finance, Committee on Land Use, and the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises.[1] As Chair of the Public Safety Committee, Council Member Hanks has chaired hearings on a number of topics, including, the Mayor's Blueprint to End Gun Violence, the Citywide Response to Hate Crimes and Discrimination, and Access to Firearms: City and State Efforts to Curb Gun Violence.[9]

During Women's History Month in 2022, she hosted Staten Island's first Women in Business Expo. The Expo brought attention to women owned businesses on Staten Island and showcased over 60 vendors from local businesses.[10]

During the Fiscal Year 2023 budget season, Hanks worked with fellow Staten Island City Council Members David Carr and Joe Borelli and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to secure $7 million in funding for the expansion of Richmond University Medical Center's NICU and PICU.[11]

In 2024, Hanks opposed the City of Yes plan to increase housing supply in New York City. The plan proposed modest changes to zoning such as allowing owners of single-family homes and duplexes to add an extra unit on their lots, permit slightly more housing supply near transit stations, and ease the conversion of empty office buildings into housing. Hanks, who represents Staten Island which has produced very little housing in the last decade, said that any housing plan should "maybe use a scalpel as opposed to a hammer."[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "District 49". Kamillah Hanks.
  2. ^ Randall, Judy L. (June 15, 2012). "Staten Islander among mayor's picks to districting commission". silive. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  3. ^ Shahi, Priya (December 30, 2021). "Kamillah Hanks sworn in as North Shore's next NYC councilwoman". silive. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Wrobleski, Tom (February 11, 2014). "Staten Island BP Oddo names Kamillah M. Hanks to Panel for Educational Policy". silive. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  5. ^ Simas, Kayla (March 2, 2019). "First YouthBUILD program on Staten Island receives federal funding". silive. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Dalton, Kristin (November 22, 2020). "How a civic activist turned one idea into a way to meet many needs at height of pandemic". silive. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Kashiwagi, Sydney (July 16, 2020). "Staten Island women of color launch business association to help elevate fellow minority women in business". silive. Archived from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  8. ^ Yates, James (November 3, 2021). "Election 2021 results: A look at how Staten Island voted for NYC mayor, borough races". silive. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  9. ^ "The New York City Council - Committee on Public Safety". legistar.council.nyc.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-04-03. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
  10. ^ Shahi, Priya (March 27, 2022). "First Staten Island Women in Business Expo showcases 60 ambitious vendors, each with a success story". silive. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "New RUMC expansion of neonatal and pediatric intensive care units fueled with $7M from NYC". silive. June 14, 2022. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "NYC Council agrees housing crisis needs a fix, but many members question Mayor Adams' plan". Gothamist. 2024-10-21.
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