# New York City's 38th City Council district

New York City's 38th City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It is currently represented by Democrat Alexa Avilés, who assumed office in 2022.

## Geography

District 38 is based largely in Sunset Park along Brooklyn's western shoreline, also covering Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and small parts of Windsor Terrace, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park. Green-Wood Cemetery and Sunset Park proper are also located within the district.
The district overlaps with Brooklyn Community Boards 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12, and with New York's 7th, 9th, and 10th congressional districts. It also overlaps with the 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 44th, 48th, 49th, 51st, and 52nd districts of the New York State Assembly.

## Members representing the district

| Members | Party | Years served | Electoral history |
| District established January 1, 1992 ||||
| Joan G. McCabe (Park Slope) | Democratic | January 1, 1992 – December 31, 1997 | Elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Retired. |
| Angel Rodriguez (Sunset Park) | Democratic | January 1, 1998 – August 28, 2002 | Elected in 1997. Re-elected in 2001. Resigned due to corruption charges. |
| Vacant | Vacant | August 28, 2002 – November 6, 2002 | |
| Sara M. Gonzalez (Sunset Park) | Democratic | November 6, 2002 – December 31, 2013 | Elected to finish Rodriguez's term. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Re-elected in 2009. Lost renomination. |
| Carlos Menchaca (Red Hook) | Democratic | January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021 | Elected in 2013. Re-elected in 2017. Retired to run for Mayor of New York. |
| Alexa Avilés (Sunset Park) | Democratic | January 1, 2022 – | Elected in 2021. Re-elected in 2023. |

## Recent election results
### 2023 (redistricting)

Due to redistricting and the 2020 changes to the New York City Charter, councilmembers elected during the 2021 and 2023 City Council elections will serve two-year terms, with full four-year terms resuming after the 2025 New York City Council elections.
2023 New York City Council election, District 38 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alexa Avilés | 4,363 | |
| | Working Families | Alexa Avilés | 1,548 | |
| | Total | Alexa Avilés (incumbent) | 5,911 | 66.3 |
| | Republican | Paul Rodriguez | 2,558 | |
| | Conservative | Paul Rodriguez | 381 | |
| | Total | Paul Rodriguez | 2,939 | 33.0 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 69 | 0.7 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,919 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2021

In 2019, voters in New York City approved Ballot Question 1, which implemented ranked-choice voting in all local elections. Under the new system, voters have the option to rank up to five candidates for every local office. Voters whose first-choice candidates fare poorly will have their votes redistributed to other candidates in their ranking until one candidate surpasses the 50 percent threshold. If one candidate surpasses 50 percent in first-choice votes, then ranked-choice tabulations will not occur.
2021 New York City Council election, District 38 Democratic primary :
| Party | Candidate | Maximum round | Maximum votes | Share in maximum round | Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes |
| Democratic | Alexa Avilés | 5 | 6,857 | 65.1% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Yu Lin | 5 | 3,683 | 34.9% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Rodrigo Camarena | 4 | 1,619 | 14.0% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Jacqui Painter | 4 | 1,462 | 12.6% | ​​ |
| Democratic | César Zuñiga | 3 | 1,154 | 9.7% | ​​ |
| Democratic | Victor Swinton | 2 | 491 | 4.1% | ​​ |
| Write-in | | 1 | 33 | 0.3% | ​​ |
2021 New York City Council election, District 38 general election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alexa Avilés | 9,228 | 80.4 |
| | Conservative | Erik Frankel | 1,943 | |
| | Libertarian | Erik Frankel | 266 | |
| | Total | Erik Frankel | 2,209 | 19.2 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 45 | 0.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 11,482 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2017

2017 New York City Council election, District 38 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Carlos Menchaca (incumbent) | 4,176 | 48.5 |
| | Democratic | Félix Ortiz | 2,828 | 32.8 |
| | Democratic | Chris Miao | 775 | 9.0 |
| | Democratic | Sara Gonzalez | 524 | 6.1 |
| | Democratic | Delvis Valdes | 292 | 3.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 20 | 0.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 8,615 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Carlos Menchaca | 8,541 | |
| | Working Families | Carlos Menchaca | 1,294 | |
| | Total | Carlos Menchaca (incumbent) | 9,835 | 82.3 |
| | Conservative | Allan Romaguera | 839 | 7.0 |
| | Green | Carmen Hulbert | 782 | 6.5 |
| | Reform | Delvis Valdes | 460 | 3.8 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 39 | 0.4 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 11,955 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

### 2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 38 :
| Primary election |||||
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Carlos Menchaca | 4,306 | 58.8 |
| | Democratic | Sara Gonzalez (incumbent) | 3,017 | 41.2 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 3 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 7,326 | 100 |
| General election |||||
| | Democratic | Carlos Menchaca | 8,265 | |
| | Working Families | Carlos Menchaca | 1,121 | |
| | Total | Carlos Menchaca | 9,386 | 90.2 |
| | Conservative | Henry Lallave | 1,002 | 9.6 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 18 | 0.2 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,406 | 100 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |