NEW YORK — Julie Menin, a Jewish moderate, was confirmed on Wednesday as the speaker of the New York City Council, assuming a powerful position in the city government that can act as a counterweight to Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Menin, a Democrat and the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, is the city’s first Jewish speaker.
Menin, 58, has represented the city’s District 5, covering parts of the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, since 2022. She is a member of the council’s Jewish Caucus and a supporter of Jewish community issues.
She won the speakership with unanimous support in the 51-member council.
In her acceptance speech, Menin described her family’s Holocaust history, their finding refuge in New York, and her efforts to combat Islamophobia in New York City after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack.
“We live in a day when the first Muslim mayor of New York City and the first Jewish speaker of this council are serving at the same time. This moment truly is historic,” Menin said in her acceptance speech. “What will write this interfaith leadership into the history books is if it can act as an opportunity for all of us to come together — to calm tensions, to bridge divides, and to recognize we are one city, no matter the religion we practice or the language we speak.”
“As the first Jewish speaker, I want my vision of leadership to be as focused on dissolving division as it is on uniting all coalitions. And most of all, I want to be a speaker for every single member of this council,” she said.
Menin said in November that she had secured enough support from the council to become its next speaker.
The council handles local legislation, negotiates the city’s budget with the mayor, monitors city agencies, and reviews land use.
The council is a separate governmental branch from the mayor’s administration, but interacts with the mayor and serves as a check on City Hall on issues like legislation.
The speaker is elected by council members and heads the legislative body in setting priorities, passing laws, and handling public funds.
Menin did not endorse a candidate for mayor, and Mamdani did not issue any endorsements in the speaker’s race.
Mamdani’s team had quietly attempted to scuttle Menin’s campaign for the speakership in favor of a more progressive candidate, Politico reported.
Menin told The New York Post that she called Mamdani after he revoked the city’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism last week to express her concerns about the move.