Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, right, appointed Bronx Council Member Amanda Farías, left, as the body’s new majority leader on Jan. 3, 2024. Pictured, the pair visit the Ghetto Film School in Mott Haven on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.
Photo Camille Botello
Bronx City Council Member Amanda Farías made history last week when she was tapped as the first Latina to serve as majority leader of the council.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — a southeast Queens Democrat and the first Black speaker on the council — appointed Farías at the body’s Jan. 3 charter meeting. She replaces Manhattan Council Member Keith Powers.
“I am confident that in this new position, I will be able to deliver tangible results for my constituents, colleagues, and all New Yorkers alike as we work to strengthen the city we all love,” Farías, the Council District 18 rep, said in a statement Tuesday.
CD-18 encompasses the southeast Bronx neighborhoods of Castle Hill, Clason Point, Harding Park, Parkchester, Unionport, Shorehaven and Soundview.
The now-majority leader’s journey to the podium began in 2017 when she was just 27 years old when she unsuccessfully attempted to oust career politician Ruben Diaz Sr. for the CD-18 seat.
It wasn’t until 2021 that Farías won the Democratic primary over her seven opponents. Diaz Sr. vacated his seat that year and he and his son Ruben Diaz Jr. backed then-Bronx Community Board 9 District Manager William Rivera, but Farías emerged victorious by less than a 1% margin, according to prior Bronx Times reporting. She went on to beat her Republican challenger in the November 2021 General Election to secure her spot on the council, and was re-elected for her second term in this past November’s 2023 General Election.
The 2021 City Council election cycle wasn’t just a defining political moment for Farías individually, but it was historic for the whole legislative body. That’s because 31 women, 86% of them women…
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