Lincoln Restler
American politician
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Lincoln P. Restler (born March 19, 1984) is an American politician and civil servant from New York City, who is a member of the New York City Council for the 33rd district which covers Greenpoint, parts of Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, and other Downtown neighborhoods in northern Brooklyn. Restler co-founded reform political club, New Kings Democrats, and was a New York State Democratic District Leader. He held several positions in municipal government before running for City Council.
Lincoln Restler | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 33rd district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Levin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 19, 1984 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Anna Poe-Kest |
| Education | Brown University (BA) |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Early life and education
Restler grew up in Brooklyn Heights[1] on Pierrepont Street with an older sister.[2] Restler is Jewish and attended the Reform Brooklyn Heights Synagogue in his youth.[3] His father, Peter, founded private equity firm CAI Funds and his mother, Susan, is a former managing director at J.P. Morgan & Co.[4]
He attended the Packer Collegiate Institute[5] and graduated from Brown University with a bachelor in Africana Studies and Latin American Studies in 2006.[5][6][7][8] He was schoolmates with future political opponent and eventual Council predecessor, Stephen Levin.[9]
Career
Restler became involved in politics while in undergrad with the Providence, Rhode Island City Council re-election campaign of David Segal,[7] and in the 2008 presidential primary supporting Barack Obama.[6][10]
He worked for the City of New York as an employee at the Department of Small Business Services and Department of Consumer Protection.[11] Restler co-founded reform club New Kings Democrats in 2008, and worked in the Bill de Blasio administration.[1][5][6][12] He worked on the de Blasio campaign and as senior policy advisor to the mayor.[11][13]
In 2020, Restler resigned from the de Blasio administration and joined the St. Nicks Alliance.[14]
Elected office
Restler was elected District Leader in the 50th Assembly District in 2010 when he was 26.[10][15][16] He was supported by U.S. Representative Nydia Velasquez and then-City Councilmember Tish James.[16] Restler lost the seat in 2012 to Chris Olechowski by 19 votes.[15]
In 2021, Restler ran for the New York City Council 33rd district and defeated seven other candidates to win the Democratic nomination, and ran in the November general unopposed.[17] He received endorsements from State Senators Julia Salazar and Jabari Brisport, the Working Families Party, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and Velasquez.[18] In the 7th round of ranked choice voting, he prevailed over closest candidate Elizabeth Adams 63.9%-36.1%.[19]
On the City Council, Restler is part of the Progressive Caucus.[20]
In early 2026, Restler opposed bill 175-B, which proposed to establish "buffer zones" limiting protest near educational institutions, saying that he was concerned it would limit protests on college campuses.[21] When the City Council passed the bill, he supported Mayor Zohran Mamdani's veto of it.[22]
Personal life
Restler is married to Anna Poe-Kest, the chief of staff to director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget Sherif Soliman as of May 2026.[23]
Electoral history
2021
| Party | Candidate | Maximum round |
Maximum votes |
Share in maximum round |
Maximum votes First round votes Transfer votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lincoln Restler | 7 | 16,537 | 63.9% |
| |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Adams | 7 | 9,332 | 36.1% |
| |
| Democratic | Victoria Cambranes | 6 | 2,435 | 8.6% |
| |
| Democratic | Sabrina Gates | 6 | 1,940 | 6.9% |
| |
| Democratic | Toba Potosky | 6 | 1,892 | 6.7% |
| |
| Democratic | April Somboun | 5 | 1,588 | 5.5% |
| |
| Democratic | Stu Sherman | 4 | 1,197 | 4.1% |
| |
| Democratic | Ben Solotaire | 2 | 623 | 2.1% |
| |
| Write-in | 1 | 102 | 0.2% |
| ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lincoln Restler | 21,077 | 98.3 | |
| Write-in | 344 | 2.7 | ||
| Total votes | 21,421 | 100 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2023
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Lincoln Restler | 8,199 | ||
| Working Families | Lincoln Restler | 2,726 | ||
| Total | Lincoln Restler (incumbent) | 10,925 | 87.0 | |
| Republican | Martha Rowen | 1,244 | ||
| Conservative | Martha Rowen[27] | 274 | ||
| Total | Martha Rowen | 1,518 | 12.1 | |
| Write-in | 112 | 0.9 | ||
| Total votes | 12,555 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2025
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Lincoln Restler (incumbent) | 25,697 | 75.3 | |
| Democratic | Sabrina Gates | 8,259 | 24.2 | |
| Write-in | 184 | 0.5 | ||
| Total votes | 34,140 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Lincoln Restler | 38,576 | ||
| Working Families | Lincoln Restler | 11,389 | ||
| Total | Lincoln Restler (incumbent) | 49,965 | 98.4 | |
| Write-in | 788 | 1.6 | ||
| Total votes | 50,753 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||