| New York City's 42nd City Council district | |
| Leader Title: | Councilmember |
| Leader Name: | Chris Banks D–East New York |
| Population As Of: | 2010 |
| Population Total: | 165,150 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Footnotes: | Registered voters (2021) 109,090[2] |
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 73% |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 19% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Hispanic |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 4% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 2% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | Asian |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 2% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics Type2: | Registration |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 79.9% |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Democratic |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 3.6% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Republican |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 14.2% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | No party preference |
New York City's 42nd City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been represented by Democrat Chris Banks since 2024, succeeding Charles Barron who lost in the Democratic Primary.
District 42 is based in the easternmost neighborhoods of Brooklyn, covering most of East New York (including its New Lots, Spring Creek, and Starrett City subsections) and part of East Flatbush.[3] Shirley Chisholm State Park is also located within the district, as are many of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge's western islands.
The district overlaps with Brooklyn Community Boards 5, 16, 17, and 18, and with New York's 8th and 9th congressional districts. It also overlaps with the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 54th, 55th, 58th, and 60th districts of the New York State Assembly.[4]
| Members | Party | Years served | Electoral history | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established January 1, 1992 | |||||
Priscilla A. Wooten | Democratic | January 1, 1992 – December 31, 2001 | Redistricted from the 24th district and re-elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Re-elected in 1997. Termed out. | ||
Charles Barron | Democratic | January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013 | Elected in 2001. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Re-elected in 2009. Retired to run for U.S. House of Representatives. | ||
Inez Barron | Democratic | January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021 | Re-elected in 2013. Elected in 2017. Termed out. | ||
Charles Barron | Democratic | January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2023 | Elected in 2021. Lost renomination. | ||
| Chris Banks | Democratic | January 1, 2024 – | Elected in 2023. | ||
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.[5]
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.[6]