Corey Johnson

Corey David Johnson (born April 28, 1982) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been Speaker of the New York City Council since 2018.

Johnson was first elected to the New York City Council as the member for the 3rd district in 2013. The district includes Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, the West Village, as well as parts of Flatiron, SoHo, and the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He briefly served as Acting New York City Public Advocate in 2019. Before being elected to the speakership, Johnson was frequently named as a potential candidate and perceived as a leading contender. In mid-December 2017, with the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the concession of other front runners, and backing of the Bronx and Queens Democratic Party, Johnson corralled the requisite number of votes to become the presumptive favorite for the position, and was elected by the members of the City Council on January 3, 2018.

Johnson was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, and raised in neighboring Middleton, in a union household by his mother, Ann Queenan Richardson, a homeless services provider, and his stepfather, Rodney Richardson, a Teamster. Johnson's birth father, David Johnson, was born to an American father and Korean mother in South Korea.

Johnson made national headlines in 2000 when, as captain of his high school football team at Masconomet Regional High School, he publicly came out as gay. His story was reported by major national news outlets, including The New York Times and 20/20.

Shortly after graduating from high school, Johnson moved to New York City and engaged in LGBT rights activism, after spending less than one semester at George Washington University. He was a contributor and eventually the political director of the LGBT blog Towleroad.

In 2005 Johnson joined Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4), to which he said in 2014, “You don’t spend eight years on the community board because it’s sexy; you’re on the community board because you care about the community.” In 2011 Johnson was elected Chair of CB4, becoming the youngest Community Board Chair in New York City at the time. Also in 2011 City & State profiled him as a "rising star" in New York City politics.

In 2013 Christine Quinn ran for mayor of New York City as her term in the City Council was expiring. Johnson, then Chair of Community Board 4, ran to succeed Quinn in Council District 3 and was elected in November 2013 with 86% of the vote. He took office on January 1, 2014. As of December 2016 Johnson had passed 18 pieces of legislation.

Among Johnson's areas of focus have been strengthening rent regulation and tenant protection and enhancing services for New Yorkers with HIV and AIDS. As of December 2017 Johnson, who is HIV-positive, is the only openly HIV-positive politician in the state of New York.

In the Council, Johnson serves as Speaker as well as Chair of the Committee on Health, and is a member of the Contracts, Finance, General Welfare, Waterfronts and Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services committees. He is Co-Chair of the Manhattan Delegation to the City Council with Council Member Margaret Chin and the former Chair of the LGBT Caucus.

Health

As Chair of the City Council’s Committee on Health, Johnson has overseen a number of hearings on major health issues affecting New York City, including the Legionnaires’ outbreak of 2015 and the proliferation of synthetic marijuana, known as K2, in New York.

On April 6, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Johnson’s bill prohibiting the use of smokeless tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco, at sports stadiums and arenas that host events that require a ticket for admission. The legislation effectively banned chewing tobacco from professional baseball in New York City. A similar ban was previously enacted in cities including San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Johnson’s legislation to require transparency regarding health services administered at Rikers Island was signed into law on June 16, 2015.

Johnson’s legislation requiring automated external defibrillators to be present at public ballfields in New York City, which was co-sponsored by Minority Leader Steven Matteo, was passed by the City Council on April 20, 2016, and signed into law on May 10, 2016.

Criminal justice reform

On August 16, 2016, the City Council passed legislation introduced by Johnson and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to create a City office responsible for the coordination of social and healthcare services for individuals who have been released from the New York City Department of Correction.

LGBT rights

In 2014 Johnson introduced legislation to remove surgical requirements for transgender New Yorkers to correct their birth certificates. The legislation passed the City Council on December 8, 2014, and was adopted on January 8, 2015.

In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, sparking the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, Queerty named Johnson one of the Pride50 “trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".

Women's issues

Johnson’s first legislation to pass the City Council was a bill granting a presumption of eligibility for people transitioning from domestic violence shelters to Department of Homeless Services shelters. The bill allows these individuals to bypass extensive intake procedures they already underwent during their first shelter placement.

Education

Johnson introduced legislation with Council Member Vanessa Gibson to require the New York City Department of Education to report on the use of disciplinary measures in public schools. The legislation passed on September 30, 2015, and was signed into law on October 13, 2015.

Johnson later introduced legislation requiring the Department of Education to regularly report on student health services in public schools, to ensure that such services are adequately serving New York City students. Mayor de Blasio signed this legislation into law on February 8, 2016.

Environment

In October 2015 the City Council passed Johnson’s legislation requiring the City to conduct regular air quality surveys that identify the major local and regional sources of air pollution.

Rent regulation

Johnson was the prime sponsor of legislation declaring a housing shortage emergency in 2015, which allowed rent stabilization laws to be extended.

On June 3, 2015, he was arrested in Albany in an act of civil disobedience while protesting for the extension of rent regulation and the reform of New York's rent laws. Fifty-five protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to Governor Andrew Cuomo's office.

Seniors

Johnson passed legislation in collaboration with Council Members Margaret Chin and Paul Vallone to create oversight for all of New York City’s social adult day care centers. The bill requires all social adult day care centers operating in New York City to register with the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) and requires them to adhere to state regulations. The legislation also creates a DFTA ombudsman to take complaints regarding any lack of compliance with these requirements.

Animal welfare

Johnson worked with Council Member Elizabeth Crowley in 2014 to introduce a set of bills to regulate the sale of pets in New York City, with the purpose of animal protection. The bills regulate irresponsible breeders, combat overpopulation, provide for the safe accounting of animals and ensure that known animal abusers are unable to obtain animals. The package of legislation passed on December 17, 2014.

In 2015 Johnson introduced legislation mandating that either fire sprinklers or supervision be present in all establishments that house animals for more than 24 hours. The bill was signed into law on September 2, 2015, after more than a decade of advocacy by animal rights activists.

In 2016 Johnson co-sponsored legislation by Council Member Rosie Mendez to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. In October 2016 Johnson held a hearing in the Health Committee and spoke passionately in support of the legislation, saying to the media that "trucking wild animals in and out of the city strictly for entertainment purposes is not a humane way to be treating them.” On June 15, 2017, Johnson chaired a meeting of the Health Committee and passed the bill by a vote of 7-0. The bill headed to the full City Council for a vote on June 21, 2017.

Transportation

On May 27, 2015, the City Council passed Johnson’s legislation requiring all heavy-duty vehicles in New York City’s fleet to be equipped with sideguards, devices meant to reduce casualties that large trucks often cause to pedestrians and cyclists. In December 2018 Transportation Alternatives presented the first-ever Vision Zero Leader of the Year Award to Johnson.

Labor

In response to a growing trend of hotel rooms being converted into luxury condominiums, Johnson introduced legislation to limit the number of condo conversions hotel owners can make. The legislation's goal was to protect jobs in the hotel industry. It was passed by the City Council on May 14, 2015, and signed into law on June 2, 2015.

District improvements

Johnson’s district includes all or part of the West Side neighborhoods of Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Hudson Square, the Upper West Side, Times Square, FlatIron, Hudson Yards, the High Line, the Theater District, and the Garment District.

Since taking office Johnson has allocated $10 million in capital funding to improve schools, parks, libraries and other neighborhood institutions. He has allocated a further $1.35 million to support local nonprofit institutions through discretionary funding.

Johnson introduced participatory budgeting to his district, funding items such as the creation of a park on West 20th Street, a new library for City Knoll Public Middle School, and new bathrooms for the NYC Lab High School.

Endorsements

On May 21, 2018, Johnson endorsed Public Advocate Letitia James in her campaign to become Attorney General of New York. On June 24, 2018, he endorsed Andrew Cuomo in his bid for reelection as governor of New York.