New York City's 38th City Council district

New York City's 38th City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It is currently represented by Democrat Alexa Avilés, who assumed office in 2022.^[3]

New York City's 38th City Council district
Government
• Councilmember	. Alexa Avilés . D–Sunset Park
Population  (2010)[1]
• Total	157,282
Demographics
• Hispanic	44%
• Asian	33%
• White	17%
• Black	5%
• Other	2%
Registration
• Democratic	64.0%
• Republican	8.1%
• No party preference	25.3%
Registered voters (2021) 82,999[2]

Geography

District 38 is based largely in Sunset Park along Brooklyn's western shoreline, also covering Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and small parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park.^[4] Green-Wood Cemetery and Sunset Park proper are also located within the district.

The district overlaps with Brooklyn Community Boards 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12, and with New York's 7th, 9th, and 10th congressional districts. It also overlaps with the 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 44th, 48th, 49th, 51st, and 52nd districts of the New York State Assembly.^[5]

Members representing the district

Members	Party	Years served	Electoral history
District established January 1, 1992
Joan G. McCabe (Park Slope)	Democratic	January 1, 1992 – December 31, 1997	Elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Retired.
Angel Rodriguez (Sunset Park)	Democratic	January 1, 1998 – August 28, 2002	Elected in 1997. Re-elected in 2001. Resigned due to corruption charges.
Vacant		August 28, 2002 – November 6, 2002
Sara M. Gonzalez (Sunset Park)	Democratic	November 6, 2002 – December 31, 2013	Elected to finish Rodriguez's term. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Re-elected in 2009. Lost renomination.
Carlos Menchaca (Red Hook)	Democratic	January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021	Elected in 2013. Re-elected in 2017. Retired to run for Mayor of New York.
Alexa Avilés (Sunset Park)	Democratic	January 1, 2022 –	Elected in 2021. Re-elected in 2023.

Recent election results

2023 (redistricting)

Due to redistricting and the 2020 changes to the New York City Charter, councilmembers elected during the 2021 and 2023 City Council elections will serve two-year terms, with full four-year terms resuming after the 2025 New York City Council elections.^[6]

2023 New York City Council election, District 38^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alexa Avilés	4,363
	Working Families	Alexa Avilés	1,548
	Total	Alexa Avilés (incumbent)	5,911	66.3
	Republican	Paul Rodriguez	2,558
	Conservative	Paul Rodriguez	381
	Total	Paul Rodriguez	2,939	33.0
	Write-in		69	0.7
Total votes			8,919	100.0
	Democratic hold

2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented ranked-choice voting in all local elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur.^[8]

2021 New York City Council election, District 38 Democratic primary^[9]

Party		Candidate	Maximum round	Maximum votes	Share in maximum round	Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes
	Democratic	Alexa Avilés	5	6,857	65.1%	​​
	Democratic	Yu Lin	5	3,683	34.9%	​​
	Democratic	Rodrigo Camarena	4	1,619	14.0%	​​
	Democratic	Jacqui Painter	4	1,462	12.6%	​​
	Democratic	César Zuñiga	3	1,154	9.7%	​​
	Democratic	Victor Swinton	2	491	4.1%	​​
	Write-in		1	33	0.3%	​​

An interactive map of District 38

2021 New York City Council election, District 38 general election^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alexa Avilés	9,228	80.4
	Conservative	Erik Frankel	1,943
	Libertarian	Erik Frankel	266
	Total	Erik Frankel	2,209	19.2
	Write-in		45	0.4
Total votes			11,482	100
	Democratic hold

2017

2017 New York City Council election, District 38^[11][12]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Menchaca (incumbent)	4,176	48.5
	Democratic	Félix Ortiz	2,828	32.8
	Democratic	Chris Miao	775	9.0
	Democratic	Sara Gonzalez	524	6.1
	Democratic	Delvis Valdes	292	3.4
	Write-in		20	0.2
Total votes			8,615	100
General election
	Democratic	Carlos Menchaca	8,541
	Working Families	Carlos Menchaca	1,294
	Total	Carlos Menchaca (incumbent)	9,835	82.3
	Conservative	Allan Romaguera	839	7.0
	Green	Carmen Hulbert	782	6.5
	Reform	Delvis Valdes	460	3.8
	Write-in		39	0.4
Total votes			11,955	100
	Democratic hold

2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 38^[13][14]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carlos Menchaca	4,306	58.8
	Democratic	Sara Gonzalez (incumbent)	3,017	41.2
	Write-in		3	0.0
Total votes			7,326	100
General election
	Democratic	Carlos Menchaca	8,265
	Working Families	Carlos Menchaca	1,121
	Total	Carlos Menchaca	9,386	90.2
	Conservative	Henry Lallave	1,002	9.6
	Write-in		18	0.2
Total votes			10,406	100
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Census Demographics at the NYC City Council district (CNCLD) level". NYC Open Data. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
2. "Council District Summary Report" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. February 21, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
3. "District 38 – Alexa Aviles". New York City Council. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
4. "Council Members & Districts". New York City Council. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
5. "NYC Boundaries Map". BetaNYC. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
6. Pazmino, Gloria (January 15, 2020). "Why the Census Means NYC Lawmakers Will Serve 2-Year Terms Instead of 4". www.ny1.com. New York 1. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
7. "General Election 2023 - Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
8. Rachel Holliday Smith (January 18, 2021). "How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work in New York City?". The City. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
9. "2021 Primary Official Ranked Choice Rounds, DEM Council Member 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
10. "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
11. "Primary Election 2017 - Democratic Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
12. "General Election 2017 - Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
13. "Primary Election 2013 - Democratic Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
14. "General Election 2013 - Member of the City Council, 38th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 1, 2021.