Shahana knows Brooklyn is at its best when workers are empowered and our beloved local establishments are thriving. She’s equally at home on picket lines with striking union workers and helping small business owners cut through bureaucratic red tape. Through both her legislative and constituent services work, she is working to build a just economy in which New Yorkers can lead lasting and fulfilling careers.

Shahana’s Accomplishments:

  • Shahana has collaborated closely with businesses owners and business improvement districts to address issues like break-ins, trash management, and low foot traffic. She coordinates with DSNY, NYPD, and SBS to help businesses get fast and effective city services.

  • Shahana has sponsored and voted for numerous laws to support small businesses, including reducing commercial vacancies, reducing unnecessary and costly fines, and improving multi-lingual services for immigrant-owned establishments.

  • Shahana partnered with the labor movement to author and pass the City’s multilingual Workers’ Bill of Rights law. This law ensures that all workers, regardless of citizenship status, have access to information about their workplace protections. 

  • She fought with immigrant taxi drivers to secure forgiveness for $450 million in debt caused by the City-created medallion crisis, even going on hunger strike for 10 days to support the cause. 

  • Shahana successfully pushed the City to implement the first minimum wage for delivery workers, improving take home pay for one of the City’s lowest earning job sectors.

  • As a Council Member, Shahana has been a vocal supporter of workers organizing in her district and helped them win union recognition and first contracts.

  • Shahana helped launch the Care Forward program to improve conditions and pay for domestic workers and nannies in her district.

  • Shahana has fought hard for our arts and culture sector, helping to stave off potentially devastating cuts that Mayor Adams proposed. She’s used her Office’s discretionary funding to support local performing arts institutions and events that bring vibrancy to our neighborhoods.

Shahana’s Vision:

  • Shahana understands that small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and she will continue to fight for policies that support their growth while ensuring fair treatment for workers. She will work to eliminate burdensome regulations that make it harder for small businesses to succeed, all while holding those businesses accountable for providing fair wages, safe working conditions, and the benefits that workers deserve.

  • Shahana authored and is pushing to pass Intro 1076, which would make Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)-owned businesses eligible for city contracts under the City’s M/WBE program. Currently, they are ineligible as MENA communities are classified as “White” under U.S. Census standards. 

  • Shahana will continue to support workers’ efforts to unionize, stand alongside striking workers on the picket line, and fight for workers to have livable wages and dignified working conditions. 

  • She will work to get her bill, Intro 204, over the finish line to extend paid sick leave for thousands of gig workers.

  • Shahana recently introduced and is organizing to pass the Tip Theft Prevention Act, which would establish new protections to ensure food service workers get all of the money they’ve earned and crack down on union-busting tactics.

  • As a co-sponsor of the Secure Jobs Act, Shahana is committed to ensuring that workers are protected from unjust and arbitrary firings, fighting for job security and economic justice for all.

  • As a co-sponsor of the Construction Justice Act, Shahana is pushing to lift up standards for construction workers.

  • Shahana will continue advocating to end 24-hour shifts for home care workers, primarily immigrant women and women of color, ensuring fair working conditions, better pay, and adequate rest for those who provide essential care to New York’s most vulnerable populations.

  • Shahana will remain a strong ally of Care Forward and is committed to introducing legislation that establishes a Worker Standards Board for domestic workers in New York City, modeled after the successful initiative in Seattle. This board will set fair labor standards, improve working conditions, and ensure better protections for domestic workers across the city, who are predominantly low-income women of color.

  • Shahana will continue to stand with immigrant workers’ movements, including those led by Los Deliveristas Unidos and the NY Taxi Workers Alliance. She has co-authored important legislation to end unjust deactivations from apps like Uber and Lyft without notice, cause, or appeal.

  • Shahana knows that arts and culture aren’t a luxury; they are essential. She will continue fighting to get artists what they need to be able to continue to create in Brooklyn. She supports policies including increasing the number of subsidized artist studios, dedicated artist housing, and the federal Living Wage for Musicians Act.