Christopher Marte
NYC Council Member · Since 2022
What This Office Can Do
- Proposes and votes on city laws
- Approves or rejects the city budget
- Holds agencies accountable through public hearings
- Directs discretionary funds to local projects
Background
Christopher Marte is a Dominican-American community organizer and politician who has represented NYC Council District 1 (Lower Manhattan, Chinatown, Tribeca, SoHo) since January 2022. He grew up in the neighborhood and spent years organizing alongside working-class tenants and small businesses before entering electoral politics. He ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Margaret Chin in 2017 before winning in 2021 with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America.
- Career
- Community organizer and tenant advocate
Policy Priorities
- Tenant Protections — Championed Good Cause Eviction and opposed luxury developments that displace long-term residents in Chinatown, the Lower East Side, and SoHo.
- Community-Led Rezoning — Supported the Chinatown Working Group's community-driven rezoning plan as an alternative to developer-led upzonings in District 1.
- Small Business Preservation — Advocated for commercial rent stabilization and anti-displacement protections for small businesses, especially in Chinatown.
- Police Accountability — Pushed for stronger civilian oversight of the NYPD and community-based alternatives to policing.
- Environmental Justice — Backed climate legislation targeting air quality and waterfront resilience in Lower Manhattan.
- Immigrant Rights — Defended sanctuary city policies and pushed for city resources for immigrant communities concentrated in District 1.
Issue Stances
Sourced from public statements, council votes, and news coverage via AI research. Verify with primary sources.
Issue Stances
Legislative Record
Requiring that notices of violation issued by the department of sanitation be accompanied by a photograph of the alleged violation
Anti-discrimination training on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression for senior service providers
The establishment and maintenance of a school bus performance dashboard
Requiring agencies that issue vacate orders to provide documentation of vacate orders to affected occupants upon request
A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to the establishment and development of school gardens
The department of social services issuing replacement transit benefit cards
Resolution approving the decision of the City Planning Commission on ULURP No. C 260064 PSY (L.U. No. 37), for the site selection of real property, in connection with a proposed combined sewer overflow retention system, located in Brooklyn (Community District 1) and Queens (Community Districts 2 and 5).
Resolution approving the decision of the City Planning Commission on ULURP No. C 260063 PCY (L.U. No. 36), for a site selection and acquisition of real property, Boroughs of Queens (Community Districts 2 and 5) and Brooklyn (Community District 1). for a combined sewer overflow (CSO) retention system.
Conduct & Ethics
Marte was caught on Ring camera video removing a campaign pamphlet for a political opponent from a Lower East Side apartment complex, raising concerns about improper campaign conduct.
Source →Marte initially defended retaining aide Steven Wong after Wong launched a misogynistic verbal assault on a Chinese-language reporter, reversing course only after significant public criticism within 48 hours.
Source →A fact-check found that Marte falsely claimed a series of endorsements he did not actually earn during his 2025 primary campaign.
Source →Data sourced from NYC Legistar, NYC Campaign Finance Board, NYC Conflicts of Interest Board, and curated public records. This page is a permanent record of Christopher Marte's service in District 1.