Nantasha Williams

Williams was born in Queens, and was raised by a single mother who worked as a social worker. She received a BA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MPA from SUNY Albany, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program at the CUNY Graduate Center.^[2]

Prior to seeking elected office herself, Williams held a number of staff roles in the office of Assemblywoman Diana Richardson, eventually rising to become Richardson's chief of staff. Williams was also appointed as the executive director of New York State's Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, which represents state assemblymembers and senators of color.^[3]

In 2016, after the death of Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, Williams announced she would run for the 33rd district of the New York State Assembly in southeastern Queens.^[4] She faced Clyde Vanel, who had run for the seat twice before, and three other candidates in the Democratic primary. Vanel ultimately defeated Williams by a narrow margin, 32-28%, and went on to win the seat in the general election.^[5]

Four years after her Assembly campaign, with incumbent City Councilman Daneek Miller term-limited, Williams launched her campaign for the 27th district of the New York City Council, a heavily overlapping constituency.^[6] Williams received endorsements from Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and nearly all of the city's major unions, but many other power players remained neutral among the crowded race's twelve contenders.^[7]

On primary election night on June 22, Williams emerged with a strong lead, earning 36 percent of the vote while her nearest competitor was far behind with 11 percent; she officially won two weeks later, after ranked-choice votes and absentee ballots were counted.^[8][9] She ran uncontested in the November general election, and was elected. She assumed office on January 1, 2022.

Shortly after being elected, Council Member Williams was appointed to Chair of the NYC Council's Committee on Civil and Human Rights, and sit on the following committees: Economic Development, General Welfare, Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions, Oversight and Investigations, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Youth Services. Council Member Williams would transition out of the Economic Development Committee, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee, and Youth Services Committee to the powerful Finance Committee overseeing the NYC budget.

During her first year in the City Council, Council Member Williams helped pass historic legislation requiring many ads for jobs in the nation’s most populous city to include salary ranges, in the name of giving job applicants — particularly women and people of color — a better shot at fair pay.^[10] During this same year, following a horrendous fire that claimed the lives of 17 people in the Bronx, the City Council passed her legislation requiring inspections for self-closing doors in residential buildings which was a major factor in this loss of life.^[11]

Council Member Williams also championed a resolution calling for the NYS Legislature to pass the Clean Slate Act - New Yorkers would be eligible to have their records automatically sealed 3 years from sentencing misdemeanors and 7 years for felonies. To be eligible for this relief, individuals must have completed probation, parole, or post-release supervision. They cannot have incurred any new convictions during the three- or seven-year waiting period.^[12] The Clean Slate Act would ultimately pass and be signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul the following year.^[13]

During her second year in office, Council Member Williams passed two resolutions in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop including a resolution recognizing August as the Hip-Hop Recognition Month and December as Hip-Hop History Month, and a second resolution recognizing Def Jam Recordings for their contributions to the genre.^[14] Council Member Williams was also able to secure major investments in the New York City budget for her district including $3.8 million to redesign a local park neighboring PS.176Q,^[15] $2.8 million for crucial resilience upgrades in the Cambria Heights Library,^[16] and $2.755 million for the reconstruction and revitalization of the playground that was heavily damaged during Hurricane Ida.^[17]

Council Member also launched the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, in partnership with New York City Department of City Planning, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Speaker Adrienne Adams, to create a grassroots vision for the future of the Downtown Jamaica and Hollis area that includes more affordable housing and investments to improve the quality of life.^[18] The Jamaica Neighborhood Plan aims to create a vision driven by the local community for Jamaica’s future where the community has more people able to live, work and play in the area. The Plan focuses on the downtown Jamaica area, around a 300-block radius and includes transportation corridors, manufacturing districts, institutions and community parks and transportation.^[19]

Nantasha Williams is a homeowner, who lives in Cambria Heights, Queens, New York.