Shekar Krishnan
American politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shekar Krishnan (born June 5, 1985)[1] is an American attorney and politician who is a member of the New York City Council for the 25th district, which covers the northwestern Queens neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, parts of East Elmhurst, and a small piece of Woodside.[2]
Shekar Krishnan | |
|---|---|
Krishnan in 2015 | |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 25th district | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Dromm |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 5, 1985 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Cooper Union (BS) University of Michigan (JD) |
| Website | Official website Campaign website |
Early life
Krishnan was born to immigrant parents from Kerala, India.[3]
He received a Bachelor of Sciences in engineering from The Cooper Union and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School.[4]
Career
Krishnan worked as an associate for law firms Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.[5] He was also an attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, directing the organization’s fair housing and tenant advocacy divisions.[4] He is the co-founder of Communities Resist, a legal services organization that represents tenants and neighborhood coalitions in fair housing litigation and anti-displacement advocacy in gentrified neighborhoods.[6][7]
2021 City Council campaign
Krishnan announced his candidacy in the 2021 Democratic primary for the 25th District of the New York City Council on November 17, 2020.[6][8] Incumbent Councilmember Daniel Dromm was term-limited and could not run for reelection. He was endorsed by Dromm, U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez, and State Senators Julia Salazar and John Liu.[9] He centered his campaign on immigrant rights, the taxi medallion crisis, affordable housing, and climate justice.[10]
Krishnan won the ranked-choice primary with 53.4% of all votes cast.[11] He won the general election with 60% of the vote.[12] Along with Shahana Hanif, Krishnan is one of the first South Asians to serve in the New York City Council.[13][10] Days after being elected, Krishnan was arrested along with Hanif and Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani for protesting alongside taxi drivers.[14]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Maximum round |
Maximum votes |
Share in maximum round |
Maximum votes First round votes Transfer votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Shekar Krishnan | 7 | 6,352 | 53.4% |
| |
| Democratic | Yi Chen | 7 | 5,549 | 46.6% |
| |
| Democratic | Carolyn Tran | 6 | 3,045 | 23.6% |
| |
| Democratic | Alfonso Quiroz | 5 | 1,986 | 14.5% |
| |
| Democratic | Fatima Baryab | 4 | 1,687 | 11.8% |
| |
| Democratic | Liliana Melo | 3 | 1,041 | 7.1% |
| |
| Democratic | Manuel Perez | 2 | 513 | 3.4% |
| |
| Democratic | William Salgado | 2 | 282 | 1.9% |
| |
| Write-in | 1 | 35 | 0.2% |
| ||
On City Council
Krishnan introduced a bill to decriminalize street vending without a license.[16] The City Council overrode a mayoral veto to approve the bill in September 2025.[17]
Krishnan endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 mayoral general election.[18]