Shahana Hanif represents the 39th Council District, which includes parts of Kensington, Borough Park, Windsor Terrace, Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and the Columbia Waterfront.

Born and raised in District 39 to Bangladeshi immigrant parents, Shahana has spent her life fighting for working-class families and a City rooted in care, equity, and justice for all. Her diagnosis at 17 with Lupus, an incurable chronic illness, and her subsequent experiences navigating the costly, nebulous healthcare system, and inaccessible City, were the catalysts for her organizing and commitment to public service.

Before being elected to the City Council, Shahana served as the Director of Organizing and Community Engagement in former District 39 Council Member Brad Lander’s office, where she led grassroots initiatives like Participatory Budgeting, a process that gives New Yorkers a say in how to spend City dollars in their neighborhoods. She has also served as a tenants’ rights organizer, a gender justice organizer, and an interfaith organizer. Shahana is the first Muslim woman elected to the New York City Council and the first woman to represent the 39th District.