By Carol Tannenhauser
With around 21,000 votes cast, New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer took 81% of them, continuing her pattern of handily beating contenders for the District 6 Council seat. Diane di Stasio earned 17% of the vote, and Barbara Simpson got .07%. According to NY1, as of now, Brewer got more votes than any other councilmember in the city.
First elected to the Council in 2002, Brewer has represented the 6th district for 13 of the past 21 years. In an eight-year hiatus from the Council, she served two terms as Manhattan Borough President.
“What really matters is what you’ve done for individual people,” she said in an interview with West Side Rag at her 4th-term victory party. “That is my trademark.”
Councilmember Shaun Abreu from District 7 ran unopposed.
New York state voters approved two ballot propositions by wide margins on Tuesday. The first relates to debt limitations for small school districts and the second to indebtedness related to sewage facilities.
For full NYC 2023 election results, click here.
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And once again voters support housing for the rich and crime and filth for everyone else. We need Term limits!
We have term limits
Well, sort of.
Brewer did her 2, er 3, terms and then became Manhattan borough president. Then went back to her old council seat.
Doesn’t help that Bloomy thought himself above the law, talk about housing for only the very well off.
In an ultra low turnout, NYers voted for-
– More incumbency (the same people have been winning low turnout elections for literally decades)
– More debt (NY has the second highest debt of any state even though we are #4 in population)
– More of the same
I voted. But the outcomes sure have not gone the way I’ve hoped.
Other than Brewer most of us have never heard of the candidates on the ballot.
Doesn’t low voter turnout cut both ways?
Could it be that very few voters were motivated to vote Brewer out.
We need well-funded and well-qualified candidates to run against the machine. Though I voted for her, Brewer’s opponent this time was neither.
Not a lot of people vote in these elections. So it doesn’t require that many votes to beat Brewer. But diStasio did a lousy job of campaigning and was far from inspiring. Perhaps someone else can step up next time.
The little I heard about diStasio was here on WSR.
Keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different result. Keep up the good work everyone.
It’s our periodic reminder that in our democracy, it is voters in elections that accurately reflect the will of the people, and not people ranting on Twitter, shouting at public meetings (and getting appointed to public boards in numbers far in excess of the voters they represent), and, ahem, writing comments in online news publications. Once again, CM Brewer has demonstrated that she (and her tolerant, progressive policies) have the approval of an vastly overwhelming number of people on the tolerant, progressive Upper West Side.
With that having been said, we can go back to reading comments from all the complainers who think they speak for a groundswell of opposition, but, as the election just showed, reflect the views of under 20% of the voting population.
I would have voted for a candidate other than Brewer, who was experienced, committed to the issues I think are important on the UWS (pedestrian safety, affordable housing, homeless and migrant shelters, etc,), Time and again no candidate has appeared who could credibly challenge Brewer. The other 2 were laughable.
Maybe, but isn’t it possible that the people who write comments are those with actual opinions, while the 80% who vote for an incumbent are merely checking whatever box has a D next to it? I.e., I wouldn’t be sure that the 80-20 split says much about the “views” of the voting population. One thing that seems likely, though, is that someone who has been on the Council for the last 20 years probably doesn’t have many new ideas to offer.
You can tell yourself that, but it’s another delusion. The voting population on the UWS is well-educated, well-informed, civic-minded, has actual opinions and knows what it’s voting for.
There was no one else to vote for on the ballot, so it’s not like these voters were also voting for Biden, Hochul, Nadler, etc.. People specifically came to vote for her & the 2 ballot proposals, which were mostly non-controversial. Di Stasio’s posters were everywhere yet people still chose to not vote for her.
For all of the people in the UWS who cry about crime, ebikes, garbage, etc. where the eff were they to vote Gale out? I voted. I made my opinion known on the ballot! Jesus H Christ! This may well be the last nail in the coffin for this neighborhood because one only knows that Gale is seemingly an eternal politician (see gespenst)
Let this be a lesson to you – the cranky comments on the WSR don’t represent our neighborhood
Does this mean you’ve changed your mind about the homeless ‘shelter’ going up across the street from the school? Wasn’t everyone blaming Brewer?!
Low voter turnout, not the majority of District 6. This is how Gale won and the rest of the useless council members. Nice to know folks in the Bronx care more about their district and voted out the woke one. Anyone who embraces Gale must love being surrounded by illegal weed shops, homeless shelters, migrant shelters, empty store fronts, and deliveristas taking up parking spaces and running through red lights. This is what they all voted for!
Regardless of what side of the fence you lean on politically, I would hope that we could be respectful towards each other.
Comments like this really create acrimony among us and don’t do anything to move the ball forward.
If you had an elderly mother, or young daughter, or a wife, perhaps you would feel differently if they had been assaulted this year- painting everybody as cranky really does a disservice to crime victims and is known as gas lighting.
Let this be a lesson to you– you deserve what you’re going to get.
You’d be surprised that there are many UWSers who don’t vote in local elections and have no clue who Gale Brewer is.
I’m surprised this mildly threatening comment was approved.
What exactly am I gonna get? Despite all the negative comments, the reality is we live in one of the best neighborhoods on the planet .
We all want law and order. While I totally agree that the order part is missing in this equation, the fact is that we live in a community that has less crime and is more safe than the vast majority of places in the US.
Monday’s Times has an article, “Behind the Gates of a Private World for Only the Wealthiest New Yorkers,” documenting the explosion of exclusive, expensive goods and services available to the rich here (and these exist in other cities as well). My point is not that this is good, my point is these are exploding. Why? Because claims that the City is being abandoned by the wealthy are more than exaggerated. Demand creates supply and the fact that supply is exploding shows that at the least there’s no slack in demand.
Look around the neighborhood. Older buildings are still being demolished or renovated and being turned into new, luxury condos. The number of restaurant openings has never been higher. Have Columbus and Amsterdam have ever had more pedestrian traffic?
The order part is the problem, I agree. But the vote yesterday shows not only that the chicken littles are wrong, it shows that most of us don’t agree that this is “the last nail in the coffin.”
The sky is not falling.
By the way, that mecca, Florida? A murder rate about 40% higher than here and a road death rate that’s about 250% higher than here. So no, there is no more law there, and judging by the way people there drive, there’s less order as well.
Very disappointing. I had high hopes for change but I think NY would vote Charles Manson into office if he had a (D) next to his name. I am a strong believer in supporting the chosen candidate as that is the will of the people. Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that given the history here. Some incumbents are untouchable.
The voter turnout was pathetic and disappointing. 🙁
OK, Ms Brewer, 316 W. 95th st, what is going on? Sure looks like a notorious shelter is being prepared to reopen.
Once again, election results show that the Westside Rag comments section are nowhere close to reflective of the actual opinions of UWS voters.
Gale Brewer is a career politician who has lived off the tax payers and circumvented the spirit of term limits. She has continually supported policies that people complain about here on The Rag and that have helped ruin this city and yet she still got over 80% of the vote. The system is broken.
I totally agree that Brewer is bad. I voted against her. But the fact that 80% of the voters think she’s ok doesn’t show that a system is broken, it shows that the naysayers here are in a minority.
I have, here and in other forums, been reading predictions of NYC’s imminent demise for over a decade. Imminent, while 1,000,000 more jobs exist here than when I started reading, and responding to the “the system is broken” crowd.
In the 20 years from 1950 – 1970 NYC lost hundreds of thousands of working age people to California. Likely more then than have left for Florida now. When Carson took the Tonight Show to Hollywood people predicted the end of entertainment here. Guess what? The Tonight Show is back, and there are about 65 Film and TV studios in the City today.
We didn’t die when California became the place to be. We aren’t dying now.
The naysayers may be a minority. The area workers are the ones who go home and vote Republican. Just look at the results in the Bronx, Queens and Long Island yesterday evening.
you think Brooklyn and Queens voted Republican yesterday? you haven’t read the returns.
Awful. Crime will continue to increase with these people.
Crime peaked a year ago at levels 25% below Giuliani’s best year- when he “made us safe.”
It’s slightly down from the year ago peak.
I think something pretty significant happened in District 6. This year, the Republican candidate (Diane DiStasio) got 17% of the vote. In 2021, the Republican candidate (Nancy Sliwa) got 13% of the vote. Support for the opposition candidate is increasing.
9 more elections and the opposition just may clinch a victory.
Seems people on the UWS are very happy. Strange though when I have many, and I mean, many people from all walks of life come into my store and say they are afraid to walk outside after dark after living here for 40 years. They tell me they have gotten approached non-stop for money or have been aggressively accosted by someone mentally ill. They are upset at how disgusting our Broadway is full of both garbage and the aggressiveness of panhandlers and unstable people that they see every day. They have seen men masturbating right on Broadway and are shocked. They tell me they wish things would change and they can’t believe what’s been happening the last several years.
And they just voted for the same. So they are happy with the way things are and it’s so strange they keep telling me all these problems they wish would go away. I will have to remind them when they tell me these things to call Gale Brewer directly as that’s the only person who has the power to help them. As Gale Brewer said herself at her 4th-term victory party:
“What really matters is what you’ve done for individual people,” Let’s see what happens when they call her directly now.
You must have the McDonald’s franchise at 95th and B’Way.
You’re correct McDonald’s has a problem in general in Manhattan. They’re too be avoided.
Oh, I basically live on Broadway and am never asked for money by anyone on the street whom I don’t recognize as a years long homeless resident of the area.
As for public Onanism on Broadway, don’t think I’ve ever seen that in the 30 years I’ve lived here.
Yes, I go out after dark.
Jay,
I have lived here my entire life.
Not opining here about if things are better worse or the same….but as far as people asking for money or appearing to be homeless – no they are not only “long homeless residents of the area”.
There is and always have been differences – some local, some longtime, some recent, some who’ve come from elsewhere, different ages, different circumstances ….
Jay,
Some people who ask for money are not homeless or unhoused.
WSR- please allow me to respond:
Of course I don’t own the McDonald’s and what an absurd thing to say. I’m a very small business who works like Hell to make it here. I’m telling you comments right out of my customers’ mouths, except for the one big fancy word you decided to use for MASTURBATION which no one used. They actually used the common word for it after they saw it.
And being a man going out after dark doesn’t represent the older women who tell me they are afraid, so good for you.
No, you used “masterbating”, which is not men specific.
And you’ve doubled down on the fact that you’re reporting second hand observations.
“older women” is a new qualification you’ve added to your claims.
You don’t appear to have witnessed any of the problems you claim exist on Broadway.
WSR – I appreciate the chance to respond:
Please. Everyone knows exactly what I meant and who uses the word Onanism? I believe every one of what my customers tell me and DEAR GOD, aside from the “Onanism”, I have observed every single one of the instances I mentioned – firsthand, every week, which is why I report it when I do to Gale Brewer or her team, directly in meetings and face to face.
If you don’t like hearing the truth, that’s your problem. I have brought all this up to Gale Brewer so now it’s everyone else’s turn since 80% voted for her. That was my point but you didn’t like it. I’m done wasting valuable time. I tried to help this neighborhood. It’s up to the neighborhood now.
I agree. How many of the 17% who voted against Brewer will now speak up and hold her feet to the fire? I wish the race were closer, even ending with Brewer winning. Enough to send a message that more and more people are unhappy with the job she is doing. 17% won’t affect the smug attitude.
It was my impression that Diane DiStasio entered the race relatively recently?
17% of the vote isn’t bad for a recent entry and many voters may not have been aware of her….
A number of people have concerns about West Side issues – some of my acquaintances said they voted for Brewer very reluctantly….
I think you’re absolutely right. In a low turn out election, almost 20% voted against Brewer.
It’s not surprising that the comments here don’t represent what people really want. Just a few very vocal people who like to complain in every article.
A handful of people voted. Would not exactly call that the majority! The minority won once again!!
This is just a variation on the “they’re cooking the books!” arguments for why we shouldn’t trust NYPD data that shows crime isn’t out of control.
Voting is how we express our policy preferences. If a majority of UWS residents truly objected to Brewer or her policies, they could have cast ballots to that effect and voted for one of her opponents. But they didn’t, so…
Our city has so much coming at us at once, I don’t know that it will ever fully recover – certainly not until the majority see that the leaders who fail us are replaced.
The UWS council districts changed for a lot of us living in the 90s.. I am on W. 95th Street and Gale Brewer is no longer my rep… Shaun Abreu is. You should see if the re-districting effects your address.
My opinion, there is way too much intolerence in the world and settling in here on the upper westside. Gayle has tirelessly responded and helped lift the quality of life for many, over many different, difficult years this part of town. Just listen to some of the 81%. Still, the entire world and times are a-changing. We’ll see how she rises to both new and timeworn challenges, and our disparate beliefs/solutions. I wish her luck with acting on the priorities voiced. Seems everything is one.
That’s great. We remain fans of Gail Brewer. But I thought Diane di Stasio had a lot of good things to say and should have a lot to contribute (especially in shoring up the arts on the UWS, which need help in these fiscally stressed times). Perhaps Ms. Brewer could graciously find a post of her, to use her energy and talent.
Not sure if that first statement is true. In my circle, the pandemic provided a view into how we handle a challenge as neighbors and a community. Discovered who is at-risk, risk-adverse, takes risks, etc., etc. Lots of hard-fought wisdom here. Just seems elements of the 81% chose not to trade in the known for the unknown at this particular time.
I believe one reason for Gail’s large win, and it’s just one reason, is that her opponents had zero relevant experience. Neither were convincing in their interviews and resumes. It was clear that a great deal of on-the-job training would be needed before either could have been at all effective. And that’s an unknown factor at best. In the end, the neighborhood would be losing someone with massive experience and clout on the Council. This is not a commercial for Gail but, if one wants to understand why she keeps winning, in addition to the fact that voters seem to like her, it’s because the opposing candidates are no match in terms of quality or really any type of relevant experience. It would have been bizarre had either of them won. In fact, Gail’s lead would have been even larger had more people voted but many didn’t because they felt she didn’t need their votes to win given the competition. If you want change, get your party to offer quality, substantive candidates.
It’s almost impossible to get someone else who has at least had some “civic” experience when the the person who is in the seat appoints half of the community board (7) and the borough president also has a hand in it – so either way if you think an opponent who is NOT a Democrat has a shot in getting any experience locally – best wishes…
If the national Republican party hadn’t gone off the rails, politicians like Gale Brewer would get serious challenges.
Why are 4 marijuana shops on one block of West 72nd street between Amsterdam Avenue and Columbus Avenue? When there are but a few licensed in the entire city. One is completely equipped with the sign of the last tenant Green Cleaners another one is down the street another is hiding behind another former tenant the same street Linda Rosenthal has her office west 72nd still between broadway and west end ave . School kids hang around Dominoes pizza and Dunkin Donuts.
They have no license but nothing is being done to shut them down. I asked a clerk do you have a license? His reply was mind your own business! Why don’t our community board people mind their business???
I am in her district and voted in the school on 93rd between Amsterdam and Columbus and was given a ballot with Sean Abreu running without opposition. What’s the story there?
https://vote.nyc/sites/default/files/pdf/maps/ccd/2023/CCD_2023_6.pdf
We used to be in her district as well, but no longer.
I’ll admit it. The people on the upper west side like the status quo. They think things are good. You can’t draw any other conclusion. But if you voted for Brewer. You no longer have the right to complain. Not anymore
Amen brother. Crime rates up? Zip it. Another shelter opening next door? Keep it to yourself. Your 4 year old child got hit my an e-bike? Bite your tongue.
81+% of the district is happy with this. The other 17+% better learn to be happy with it as well.