Ty Hankerson

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Ty Hankerson
Member of the New York City Council
from the 28th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 1, 2026
Preceded byAdrienne Adams
Personal details
Born1994 (age 31–32)
New York City, New York, U.S.
PartyDemocratic

Tyrell D. Hankerson (born 1994) is an American politician serving as a member of the New York City Council from the 28th district. The district includes the Queens neighborhoods of South Jamaica, South Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, and South Ozone Park.[1] A Democrat, he previously worked as district chief of staff to council speaker Adrienne Adams and was elected to succeed her in 2025 when she was term-limited.[2]

Early life and career

Hankerson was born in South Ozone Park, Queens and raised in South Jamaica.[3] He is a lifelong resident of Queens.[1] Hankerson worked as a pastor of the Justice Ministry at the Excelling Church.[4] He also held several positions at the Southern Queens Parks Association and was a member of the NYPD's Law Enforcement Explorers educational program.[5] Hankerson started working in New York City Councilmember Adrienne Adams' office in 2017 as a scheduler, then became her district chief of staff.[6]

New York City Council

2025 New York City Council campaign

Hankerson announced his campaign for the New York City Council's 28th district in the 2025 election, running to succeed term-limited incumbent Adrienne Adams.[6] He garnered endorsements from Adams, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, the Queens County Democratic Party, District Council 37, 32BJ SEIU, and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.[7] In April 2025, Hankerson's campaign objected to signatures filed by former exonerated councilmember Ruben Wills.[8] He defeated four other candidates in the Democratic primary with 58.8% of the vote in the fifth round of ranked choice tabulations.[9][10] He was unopposed in the general election.[11] After being elected, The New York Post reported that Hankerson was one of several incoming councilmembers "expected" to join the New York City Council Progressive Caucus, although he ultimately did not do so.[12]

Tenure

In February 2026, Hankerson worked with the New York City Department of Sanitation to install 36 new trash cans in the district.[13] Hankerson voted for a bill which would require the NYPD to implement security plans for educational facilities facing public safety threats— which was vetoed by mayor Zohran Mamdani due to its broad language and potential impact on right to protest— and "compared the harassment of Jewish students today to the Little Rock, Arkansas, civil rights crisis".[14] At a June 2026 Community Board 12 meeting, he voiced his opposition to the city's plan to build housing on top of the Rochdale Public Library.[15]

As chair of the City Council Parks and Recreation Committee, he criticized Mamdani's administration for cuts to the parks budget in March 2026.[16] Hankerson noted that Mamdani made a campaign promise to allocate 1% of the city's budget for parks, however the proposed budget fell short of this.[17]

Electoral history

2025

2025 New York City Council Democratic primary, District 28[18]
Party Candidate Maximum
round		 Maximum
votes		 Share in
maximum
round		 Maximum votes
  First round votes   Transfer votes
Democratic Ty Hankerson 5 6,528 58.8%
​​
Democratic Japneet Singh 5 4,583 41.2%
​​
Democratic Latoya L. LeGrand 4 2,803 22.6%
​​
Democratic Ruben W. Wills 3 2,096 15.5%
​​
Democratic Romeo Hitlall 2 1,240 8.8%
​​
Write-In 1 67 0.5%
​​
2025 New York City Council election, District 28[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ty Hankerson 22,258 90.6
Working Families Ty Hankerson 2,165 8.8
Total Ty Hankerson 24,423 99.4
Write-in 150 0.6
Total votes 24,573 100.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. Fleury, Orlande (January 12, 2026). "Tyrell Hankerson sworn in to lead Queens' 'Great 28'". Carribbean Life. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  2. Dawson, Athena (September 13, 2024). "Chief of staff for Council Member Adrienne Adams, Tyrell Hankerson launches campaign for District 28 seat". QNS.com. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  3. Donaldson, Sahalie; McDonough, Annie; Pretsky, Holly (January 12, 2026). "Meet the new NYC Council members". City and State. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  4. Parrott, Max (June 22, 2020). "Jamaica Juneteenth marches focus on black entrepreneurship". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  5. Rose, Naeisha (March 20, 2025). "Five battle it out for District 28 seat". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  6. McDonough, Annie (August 15, 2024). "Adrienne Adams' staffer wants to succeed her. One of his opponents is attracting GOP support". City and State. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  7. McDonough, Annie; Pretsky, Holly; Donaldson, Sahalie (June 9, 2025). "New York City Council 2025 primary races to watch". City and State. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  8. Schwach, Ryan (April 20, 2025). "Queens candidates go to court to get opponents kicked off the ballot". Queens Daily Eagle. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  9. Long, Ariama C. (July 3, 2025). "Ty Hankerson wins in Queens District 28". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  10. Dawson, Athena (July 1, 2025). "Ty Hankerson wins District 28 primary after five rounds of ranked choice voting". QNS.com. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  11. Schwach, Ryan (November 6, 2025). "Queens elects three new councilmembers, sends all incumbents back to office". Queens Daily Eagle. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  12. Calder, Rich (November 8, 2025). "Mamdani's agenda to be embraced by increasingly woke City Council as progressive members surge". The New York Post. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  13. DeLorenzo, Renee (February 3, 2026). "New trash bins installed in District 28 after CM Hankerson partners with DSNY". QNS.com. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  14. "Hudson, Joseph Help Mamdani Block School Safety Bill". Anash.org. April 27, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  15. Karpan, Andrew (June 24, 2026). "City eyed Rochdale Library housing". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  16. Berger, Brian (March 30, 2026). "Advocates Flay Mamdani over Proposed Parks Department Budget Cuts". The Spirit. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  17. "Councilman urges Mayor Mamdani to increase NYC parks funding". Spectrum News NY1. June 15, 2026. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  18. "DEM Council Member 28th Council District". Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. July 22, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2026.
  19. "00401100028Queens Member of the City Council 28th Council District Recap.pdf" (PDF). Vote NYC. New York City Board of Elections. December 2, 2025. Retrieved June 27, 2026.