Staten Island’s three seats on the New York City Council are held by Kamillah Hanks in District 49 (North Shore), David Carr in District 50 (Mid-Island), and Frank Morano in District 51 (South Shore). All three won in the November 2025 general election, began their current terms in January 2026, and are next up for reelection in 2029.1NYC Board of Elections. Election Results Summary 2025 Staten Island City Council members carry the same vote on citywide legislation as any of the other 48 members, even though the borough has the fewest seats of the five.
Who Represents You
Each Staten Island member runs a district office where staff handle constituent problems with city agencies. If you are unsure which district covers your address, the council maintains a lookup on its official site.2New York City Council. Council Members and Districts
District 49 — Kamillah Hanks (North Shore)
District 49 covers the island’s northern waterfront and interior hills: St. George, New Brighton, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, Clifton, Fox Hills, Rosebank, Shore Acres, Park Hill, West New Brighton, Silver Lake, Grymes Hill, Port Richmond, Mariner’s Harbor, Arlington, Graniteville, and Snug Harbor. It also reaches into Todt Hill, Emerson Hill, Manor Heights, and Westerleigh-Castleton Corners, and includes Fort Wadsworth at the base of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.3New York City Council. District 49 – Kamillah Hanks This is the borough’s most urbanized district, with dense residential blocks, commercial corridors, and ferry-adjacent waterfront.
District 50 — David Carr (Mid-Island and Parts of Brooklyn)
District 50 runs through much of central Staten Island: South Beach, Midland Beach, Dongan Hills, New Dorp, Oakwood, Grant City, Grasmere, Richmondtown, Lighthouse Hill, Todt Hill, Egbertville, Bulls Head, Travis, Willowbrook, and Castleton Corners. After the 2023 redistricting, the district also picked up parts of Brooklyn — Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Dyker Beach Park, and Fort Hamilton.4New York City Council. District 50 – David Carr The cross-borough split is unusual and means Carr answers to constituents in two boroughs.
District 51 — Frank Morano (South Shore)
District 51 takes in the southern half of the island: New Springville and Willowbrook down through Great Kills, Eltingville, Arden Heights, Rossville, Annadale, Huguenot, Prince’s Bay, Woodrow, Tottenville, and Charleston. Freshkills Park and Great Kills Park sit inside its boundaries.2New York City Council. Council Members and Districts Tottenville is the southernmost point in New York City, and the district as a whole runs to lower density and larger lots than the rest of the borough.
Terms and When Seats Come Up Next
Council members serve four-year terms, and under Chapter 50 of the New York City Charter no one can serve more than two consecutive full terms in the same office. After sitting out a full term, a former member can run again.5NYC Charter. Chapter 50 – Term Limits The three Staten Island seats were all on the ballot in November 2025 and are next scheduled for the November 2029 general election.1NYC Board of Elections. Election Results Summary 2025
Vacancies mid-term are filled by special election on a faster timeline. District 51, for example, held a special election in April 2025 outside the regular November cycle.1NYC Board of Elections. Election Results Summary 2025
What Staten Island’s Council Members Actually Do
The council is the city’s legislative body, with full legislative power under the New York City Charter.6NYC Charter. Chapter 2 – Council Hanks, Carr, and Morano can each introduce bills on any subject affecting the city, sit on committees that hold hearings and shape legislation, and question city agency leaders about how the borough is being served. When a Staten Island resident’s building inspection stalls or a pothole complaint goes nowhere, a council member has the standing to bring the responsible commissioner before a committee to answer for it.
Land Use and the Local Veto
The most concrete power a council member holds over their own district is over land use. Major development proposals, rezonings, and dispositions of city-owned property run through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure under Section 197-c of the Charter.7American Legal Publishing. New York City Charter – Section 197-c – Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Every ULURP application eventually gets a vote of the full 51-member council, but a longstanding informal norm called “member deference” means the rest of the body almost always follows the lead of whichever member represents the district where the project sits. In practice, that makes Staten Island’s local member the gatekeeper for development in their district, and it is why representatives negotiate community benefits — affordable units, park improvements, infrastructure upgrades — as a condition of their support.
Budget and Discretionary Funding
Each year the council reviews the mayor’s proposed expense and capital budgets and must adopt the final budget.8New York City Council. The Budget Process For Staten Island’s three members, this is where a lot of the borough-level fight over schools, roads, parks, and emergency services actually happens. Beyond the citywide budget, each member controls discretionary funds they direct to local nonprofits, senior centers, youth programs, and cultural organizations, along with capital discretionary dollars for physical work like playground upgrades, school technology, and library renovations.
Some members put a slice of their capital funds up to a direct vote by residents through Participatory Budgeting. Neighbors propose projects, volunteer committees turn them into concrete plans, and residents vote on which get funded. Projects have to cost at least $50,000, last at least five years, and involve physical infrastructure in a public space such as a school, park, library, or street. For the 2026 cycle, voting runs April 11 through 19, and winning projects are folded into the fiscal year budget in June.9New York City Council. Participatory Budgeting Whether this option is available to you depends on whether your specific member takes part.
How to Reach Them and Be Heard
You do not need to wait for an election. The council offers several direct ways to engage between votes.
District Offices and Town Halls
Each Staten Island member keeps a district office staffed with aides who handle constituent services — problems with city agencies, service failures, or questions about how a pending bill would affect your street. That office is the right first call. Members also hold town halls through the year that are less formal than City Hall hearings and often the best forum for a local issue that does not map onto a specific bill.
Testimony at Council Hearings
Any city resident can testify at a council hearing, regardless of immigration status, in person at City Hall, over Zoom, or by phone. Register in advance through the council’s online testimony portal; you can also submit written testimony through the same form up to 72 hours after the hearing closes.10New York City Council. Hearing Testimony Registration The committee chair gives each speaker two minutes, and the Sergeant-at-Arms runs the clock.11New York City Council. Testifying at the New York City Council Land use matters are handled separately by the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises or the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions rather than the general testimony process.
If you need ASL interpretation, CART services, or another accommodation, contact the council’s EEO Officer at least three business days ahead of the hearing. Non-English interpretation is available on the same three-business-day notice through the council’s translation service.10New York City Council. Hearing Testimony Registration Two minutes is short: pick one or two specific points and make a concrete ask.