Alexa Avilés kept her seat in Council District 38

City Council Member Alexa Avilés beat opponent Ling Ye by almost triple the votes in the primary race to keep her seat in Council District 38. 

Ye, a moderate Democrat, challenged the Democratic socialist incumbent in the first competitive council race since the district was redrawn in 2023. District 38 represents the southern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Red Hook, Park Slope, Sunset Park and parts of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. The area is historically progressive with a large Latino and Asian immigrant population. But after redistricting, it included whiter, more moderate areas which many anticipated would tighten the race. Evidently, it did not. 

Despite demographic changes, Avilés’ progressive coalition prevailed, beating Ye with about 72% of the vote. She has represented the district since 2021 when she beat her opponent Yu Lin with considerable margins. Beyond her incumbency advantage, Avilés secured powerful endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America, the New York Working Families Party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and labor unions including 32BJ SEIU, 1199SEIU and the United Federation of Teachers. 

The council member immigrated from Puerto Rico as a child and grew up in East New York with her family. She is known to be very engaged in the community and prides her office on their constituent services. As a member of the Progressive Caucus and chair of the council Committee on Immigration, Avilés has been a staunch advocate for immigrants in her district who are vulnerable to Trump’s enforcement policies.

Ye trailed behind Avilés with 28% despite being was well-funded with support from a pro-Israel PAC and real estate lobby PAC looking to unseat Avilés. A former staffer for former Council Member Carlos Menchaca and for Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Dan Goldman, Ye lived in Dyker Heights after immigrating to the U.S. with her mother when she was a teenager. 

Ye appealed to moderate voters, capitalizing on the less progressive constituents from the redistricting. Ye ran primarily on public safety, housing development and improving the lives of working New Yorkers and public safety. She described herself as a “pragmatic” candidate in comparison to Avilés who is “out of touch” with working-class people and the district. She also claimed the council member’s activist approach stifled progress, referencing Avilés’ multiple protest votes against the city budget. Ye also criticized Avilés’ approach to public safety.

Avilés won her first general election in 2021 with a 60-point margin, which shrunk to 33 points in 2023. The district is roughly 37% Latino, 32% Asian and 25% white, compared to 17% prior to redistricting. In 2021, Avilés performed well in Red Hook, a predominantly white, progressive neighborhood, but the increase of white voters in 2025 are primarily from Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst, more conservative areas that voted for Trump in November. 

Despite some rightward shifts in neighboring districts 63% of voters are enrolled Democrats. Avilés’ win measured the minimal impact of the 2023 redistricting on the leftist stronghold that has existed in the district for years.