Antonio Reynoso, elected as the first Latino Borough President of Brooklyn, is a native of the borough, born and raised with his two sisters in South Williamsburg to Dominican immigrant parents. Antonio’s childhood was marked by financial insecurity, relying on social assistance, though he also worked to contribute to his family’s household income. Read more about the life of the current Brooklyn Borough President at brooklyn-yes.com.
An Emphasis on Education
It was Antonio’s parents who taught him that success in modern life is incredibly difficult without an education. They instilled in him a drive for knowledge. He attended La Salle Academy on a full scholarship and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, also on a scholarship.
After graduation, Antonio returned to Brooklyn and began working for an association of community organizations dedicated to advocating for low-income families.
In 2009, he joined the team of City Council Member Diana Reyna, working in constituent services, and quickly rose to the position of Chief of Staff. When the term-limited council member stepped down, Antonio Reynoso ran for public office for the first time, successfully winning the seat to replace his former mentor as the City Council representative for District 34. In that role, he represented parts of Bushwick, Greenpoint, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and Ridgewood in Queens.
As a City Council Member, Antonio Reynoso demonstrated his commitment to protecting the interests of his constituents and thousands of other residents with similar needs. He focused his energy on quality-of-life issues, including waste management, policing, tenant safety, transportation, and land use. Antonio also took the lead in championing the Bushwick community rezoning effort in Brooklyn.
Fighting for Brooklyn
Having witnessed and experienced injustice in many aspects of daily life, Antonio Reynoso has dedicated his career to championing bold, progressive legislation in the borough that improves the lives of his family, friends, neighbors, and constituents.
As the two-time Chair of the Committee on Sanitation, he gained deep expertise in the serious issues affecting both the environment and the health of New Yorkers. He led the initiative to reduce the tonnage of waste processed in North Brooklyn by 50 percent.
When the NYPD was indiscriminately stopping and frisking thousands of Black and Latino New Yorkers, Reynoso played a key role in passing the Right to Know Act. After witnessing a rise in tenant harassment from unscrupulous landlords using construction and repairs as a means of making living conditions impossible, Reynoso was crucial in passing the Tenant Safety Act to protect their rights.
Reynoso has always served Brooklyn with a vision to transform the borough into a progressive capital of the world, drawing on his extensive experience in the City Council. The core principle guiding Reynoso throughout his life has been the concept of equity, and he has vowed to fight every day to give all Brooklynites the opportunity to thrive and succeed. Antonio Reynoso lives in Williamsburg with his wife and two sons.
Achievements and Future Plans
In its first year, the Reynoso administration made history with a bold maternal healthcare agenda and by launching Brooklyn’s first-ever comprehensive planning process. The plans for the second year are no less ambitious.
The Borough President has planned to allocate a portion of his Fiscal Year 2024 capital budget to help Brooklyn’s nonprofit organizations purchase permanent spaces, allowing them to spend less time negotiating with landlords and more time serving the community. The initiative aims to create jobs, increase Black ownership, and ensure that organizations can focus on delivering services and advancing their missions.
Additionally, Borough President Reynoso is implementing a large-scale solar energy project to reduce monthly utility costs for low-income tenants and encourage Brooklyn’s transition to renewable energy. According to a 2019 Mayor’s Office report, 32 percent of Brooklyn families were “utility-burdened” in 2017, spending over 6 percent of their income on utilities.
The Borough President is collaborating with the Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation and JobsFirstNYC to incubate Black-owned businesses in Brownsville, a neighborhood with one of the highest Black unemployment rates in the city at 11.2 percent. After an incubation period, during which the Borough President and partners will support each entrepreneur in developing a solid business plan, the Reynoso administration will identify the strongest proposals and provide them with free space in underutilized commercial properties in Brownsville. The project will create economic opportunities for Black entrepreneurs while revitalizing the local retail landscape.