New York City's 44th City Council district

New York City's 44th City Council district
Government
• Councilmember	Vacant
Population  (2010)[1]
• Total	164,339
Demographics
• White	71%
• Asian	17%
• Hispanic	10%
• Black	1%
• Other	1%
Registration
• Democratic	54.5%
• Republican	20.3%
• No party preference	22.9%
Registered voters (2021) 79,916[2]

New York City's 44th City Council district is one of 51 districts in the New York City Council. It has been vacant following then-incumbent councilman Kalman Yeger's election to the New York State Assembly, pending a special election in early 2025. Yeger was among the Council's most conservative members and has run for office on both Democratic and Republican party lines.

Geography

District 44 is based in the heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Borough Park in southwestern Brooklyn, also covering Ocean Parkway and parts of Bensonhurst and Midwood.[3]

The district overlaps with Brooklyn Community Boards 11, 12, 14, and 15, and with New York's 9th, 10th, and 11th congressional districts. It also overlaps with the 17th and 22nd districts of the New York State Senate, and with the 44th, 45th, 47th, 48th, and 49th districts of the New York State Assembly.[4]

Members representing the district

Members	Party	Years served	Electoral history
District established January 1, 1992
Noach Dear (Borough Park)	Democratic	January 1, 1992 – December 31, 2001	Redistricted from the 32nd district and re-elected in 1991. Re-elected in 1993. Re-elected in 1997. Termed out.
Simcha Felder (Borough Park)	Democratic	January 1, 2002 – February 1, 2010	Elected in 2001. Re-elected in 2003. Re-elected in 2005. Retired to become Deputy Comptroller.
Vacant		February 1, 2010 – March 24, 2010
David G. Greenfield (Midwood)	Democratic	March 24, 2010 – December 31, 2017	Elected to finish vacant term. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2013. Retired.
Kalman Yeger (Borough Park)	Democratic	January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2024	Elected in 2017. Re-elected in 2021. Re-elected in 2023. Resigned at the end of 2024 to serve in the New York State Assembly.
Vacant		January 1, 2025 – March 25, 2025

Recent election results

2025 special

Following Kalman Yeger's resignation to serve in the New York State Assembly, a special election was triggered for this seat. Like all municipal special elections in New York City, the race is officially nonpartisan, with all candidates running on ballot lines of their own creation. Following Ballot Question 1's approval in 2019, special elections will also utilize ranked-choice voting.[5]

2025 New York City Council special election, District 44

Party		Candidate	Maximum round	Maximum votes	Share in maximum round	Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes
	Nonpartisan	Simcha Felder	1	0	0%	​​
	Nonpartisan	Moshe Friedman	1	0	0%	​​
	Nonpartisan	Heshy Tischler	1	0	0%	​​
	Write-in		1	0	0%	​​

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.[6]

2023 New York City Council election, District 44[7][8]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kalman Yeger (incumbent)	395	51.2
	Republican	Heshy Tischler	365	47.3
	Write-in		12	1.5
Total votes			772	100.0
General election
	Republican	Kalman Yeger	3,936
	Democratic	Kalman Yeger	2,779
	Conservative	Kalman Yeger	785
	Total	Kalman Yeger (incumbent)	7,500	80.0
	Borough Park Flatbush	Heshy Tischler	1,732	18.4
	Write-in		148	1.6
Total votes			9,380	100.0
	Democratic hold

2021

An interactive map of District 44

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.[9]

2021 New York City Council election, District 44[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kalman Yeger	6,868
	Democratic	Kalman Yeger	4,514
	Conservative	Kalman Yeger	973
	Total	Kalman Yeger (incumbent)[12]	12,355	97.8
	Write-in		278	2.2
Total votes			12,633	100.0
	Democratic hold

2017

In 2017, Councilman David Greenfield left the Council in order to lead the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. Because his departure occurred after the filing deadline for his seat, local political leaders – among them Greenfield himself – could bypass a regular primary election and instead choose the Democratic nominee for the seat. The chosen candidate was Kalman Yeger, who had previously been set to run against Councilman Chaim Deutsch in a neighboring district. The process was roundly criticized by good government groups, and eventually drew an unsuccessful general election challenge from Yoni Hikind, the son of then-Assemblyman Dov Hikind.[13]

2017 New York City Council election, District 44[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kalman Yeger	8,277
	Conservative	Kalman Yeger	3,057
	Total	Kalman Yeger	11,334	66.9
	Our Neighborhood	Yoni Hikind	4,854	28.6
	School Choice	Heshy Tischler	670	4.0
	Write-in		93	0.5
Total votes			16,951	100
	Democratic hold

2013

2013 New York City Council election, District 44[15][16]

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Greenfield (incumbent)	6,688	90.4
	Democratic	Jacob Flusberg	707	9.5
	Write-in		6	0.1
Total votes			7,401	100
General election
	Democratic	David Greenfield	11,494
	Conservative	David Greenfield	2,624
	Independence	David Greenfield	264
	Total	David Greenfield (incumbent)	14,382	81.5
	Republican	Joseph Hayon	3,147	17.8
	Write-in		125	0.7
Total votes			17,654	100
	Democratic hold

References

1. "Census Demographics at the NYC City Council district (CNCLD) level". NYC Open Data. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
2. "Council District Summary Report" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. February 21, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
3. "Council Members & Districts". New York City Council. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
4. "NYC Boundaries Map". BetaNYC. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
5. "Ranked Choice Voting". New York City Campaign Finance Board. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
6. Pazmino, Gloria (January 15, 2020). "Why the Census Means NYC Lawmakers Will Serve 2-Year Terms Instead of 4". www.ny1.com. New York 1. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
7. "Primary Election 2023 - Republican Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
8. "General Election 2023 - Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
9. Rachel Holliday Smith (January 18, 2021). "How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work in New York City?". The City. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
10. "Primary Contest List" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
11. "General Election 2021 - Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
12. Yeger ran on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative Party lines.
13. Erin Durkin (July 18, 2017). "Democrat Councilman David Greenfield locks in colleague to run for his Brooklyn seat, sparking backlash". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
14. "General Election 2017 - Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
15. "Primary Election 2013 - Democratic Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
16. "General Election 2013 - Member of the City Council, 44th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections. Retrieved July 4, 2021.