Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez has endorsed civil rights attorney Shekar Krishnan’s candidacy for City Council in District 25, which represents Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, less than a week after he announced his campaign.
Krishnan is vying for the City Council seat currently held by longtime Councilman Daniel Dromm, who is term limited.
Velázquez, who represents Congressional District 7 which includes the Queens neighborhoods of Maspeth, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven, said Krishnan will be the community’s “champion” in City Council due to his years of advocacy and commitment to uplifting working families.
“I am so proud to endorse Shekar Krishnan to represent the 25th District on the City Council. For over a decade, I have worked closely with Shekar to fight for working families and have seen firsthand his unwavering dedication to our city’s most vulnerable residents,” said Velázquez. “From protecting tenants against harassment and housing discrimination by holding predatory landlords accountable, to organizing alongside community groups to preserve cherished institutions that serve working families such as the Nuestros Niños daycare in Williamsburg, Shekar understands the struggles of working families and will be their champion on the City Council.”
Krishnan received the endorsement of several other community leaders when he announced his candidacy, including trans advocate Cecilia Gentili, women’s rights advocate Paula Avila Guillen, Jackson Heights community activist Rhoda Dunn and union leader Milan Rahman.
Krishnan is the co-founder of Communities Resist, a legal services organization that believes in a community-rooted, intersectional approach to addressing housing and racial justice in north Brooklyn and Queens. He also co-founded Friends of Diversity Plaza.
He is one of seven current candidates running for City Council District 25.
“We are so honored to have Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez’s support in our campaign,” said Krishnan. “She tirelessly fights for low-income communities of color each day, for immigrants, and for working families. Congresswoman Velázquez is fearless in standing up to powerful interests and an example of true independence from machine politics. She is La Luchadora in every sense of the word.”
