“City Council member and Upper West Side fixture Gale Brewer has endorsed Stephanie Ruskay in the race for an open state Assembly seat covering the vote-rich enclave.”
“We need leaders who are smart, compassionate, and deeply rooted in the communities they serve,” Brewer said in a statement shared exclusively with Playbook. “That’s why I’m proud to support Stephanie Ruskay for State Assembly.”
“Ruskay, a mom of twins in a local public school, and a rabbi engaged in multifaith organizing, was speaking into a microphone to a dozen or so neighbors, laying out her opposition to ICE and talking up her affordability agenda.
“We need to elect Stephanie,” Abreu declared, after Ruskay finished her brief remarks. She would be the first woman to represent the district in 50 years, and the first female rabbi ever elected statewide. Abreu called her positions on housing and immigration “prominent” and said her organizing efforts in opposition to “our fascist federal government” were “resonating with neighbors in this district.“
“Ms. Ruskay, 51, is seeking to become the first female rabbi to be elected to state office. Her candidacy for a State Assembly seat has been backed by unions, veteran political leaders in the district and establishment Democratic groups.”
“She said her faith leadership inspired her to run for office on moral grounds, citing the separation of families under President Trump and affordability challenges that have pushed more people out of the city.”
“In her closing statement, Ruskay said she had a lifelong commitment to democracy and a ‘track record of organizing, of making institutional change, of bringing coalitions together, staying with them for the long term, and agitating really when things aren’t working.’ “
“Ruskay has a long-standing history of involvement in the Upper West Side. For the last decade, she has organized with faith leaders from the Riverside Church Union, Interfaith Center of New York, and Episcopal Diocese of New York. Ruskay has also spearheaded weekly vigils for democracy at Columbus Circle, which have been happening for over a year.
‘Part of why I feel so passionately about immigration and a part of why I’m so distraught — aside from being human, by the way — is that our government is currently kidnapping people and disappearing them,’ Ruskay said.
“Communities do better when there are different perspectives represented. I am raising my children here. My kids are in public school. I am planning to age here. I lived here as a child. I’ve lived here as a college student. I know what it’s like to want to stay in this community after getting an education and to know it’s not the same if you graduate today. I know the lifespan. I know it as a mom. Diversity helps. People bring their whole selves to leading, and if we haven’t had a woman in 50 years in this district, having a woman will bring a valuable perspective. It matters to me because it will help me do the job.”
“Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal is endorsing Stephanie Ruskay for State Assembly, becoming the latest high-profile local elected official to lend his hand to the first-time candidate. Ruskay has racked up a number of other high-profile endorsements in the past few weeks, including from City Comptroller Mark Levine, Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu, former Planning Commission Chairperson Dan Garodnick and 32BJ SEIU, the influential property service workers’ union.”
“Ex-City Council Member and former Planning Commission Chair Daniel Garodnick today will endorse Democrat Stephanie Ruskay for a West Side Assembly seat.
‘Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay will be a leader in Albany helping to deliver more housing for New Yorkers, funding for universal child care, and the necessary support of our public transit system,’ Garodnick said. ‘She also brings a moral clarity to our politics that is sorely needed.’
The Assembly seat is being vacated by Assemblymember Micah Lasher, who is competing in the crowded primary to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler“
“Ruskay might be a first-time candidate, but she’s generated a significant amount of support in her inaugural run for political office. She announced her campaign in November of 2025 and said at the time that she was ‘humbled that so many community leaders have urged me to step up and run for this seat.’
Ruskay has landed endorsements from Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who represents the majority of blocks within Assembly District 69 in the New York City Council, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine, former Upper West Side elected officials Ruth Messinger and Scott Stringer, a trio of non-local assemblymembers, and the labor union 32BJ SEIU.”
“Influential labor union 32BJ SEIU is announcing another round of endorsements today and shared them first with City & State…in an open seat, it’s endorsing Stephanie Ruskay for State Assembly in Micah Lasher’s Upper West Side district.”
“I can’t bear to live in a country where mass agents of the government pick up people and disappear them, and not do more than I’m already doing,” Stephanie Ruskay, GS/JTS ’96, JTS ’08, rabbi, and associate dean of the Rabbinical School at Jewish Theological Seminary, who is running for New York State Assembly District 69, said at the event. “So if there’s a gathering of people who are saying they care about this, I’m gonna be here.”
“New York City Comptroller Mark Levine today will endorse Democratic Assembly candidate Stephanie Ruskay. Levine said in a statement: “Democrat Stephanie Ruskay is the real deal — a public school parent, tenant, and multifaith organizer who personally understands the issues impacting Upper West Side and Morningside Heights families.” Ruskay is running for the seat held by Democrat Micah Lasher, who is vying for the House seat being vacated by Rep. Jerry Nadler.“
“I especially support creating affordable access for everybody to be able to prepare for the test. If someone is going to a specialized school, it should be because they excel, not because they have money for a tutor and someone else doesn’t.”
As the race to represent District 69 in the New York State Assembly heats up, Columbia alumna Stephanie Ruskay has scored a sizable financial lead. Looking ahead, Ruskay added that she is excited to “continue building a broad coalition who wants an Assemblymember who delivers results on housing and affordability, while standing up against ICE and MAGA extremism that threatens the values shared by New Yorkers.”
“On a daily basis, I feel disappointed and angry,” Stephanie Ruskay, an alum of the School of General Studies and the Jewish Theological Seminary and a candidate running for New York’s 69th State Assembly seat, said at the rally. “I feel annoyed at how much of the sidewalk all of the guards take up and the people waiting to get in. I know people who get their health care at Columbia, and they lose an enormous amount of time and emotional energy worrying about whether they’ll be able to get in.”
Ruskay’s Fundraising Haul (Jan. 14, 2025)
Manhattan Democratic Assembly hopeful Stephanie Ruskay today will report raising $130,305 in the two months since launching her campaign. “The outpouring of support from across the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights has been humbling and overwhelming,” Ruskay said in a statement. “Meeting local residents at their doors, at house parties, and subway stops across the district has shown me that voters are ready to elect strong women leaders who will stand up to Trump and fight for safety and a more affordable city for our families.”
In an interview with Emily Frances, Stephanie said: “"With the changes we are seeing in Washington and the challenges facing our city, we need a fighter who understands that housing, education, and safety are moral imperatives. I am running because my faith teaches me that we cannot stand idly by.”
In a profile, Stephanie said: “If I take seriously the things that I teach about and preach about related to caring for the poor and making a community that is safe for people and where people can thrive — that is some of what our texts teach, and the way you do that is you go be involved in how their lives unfold and be partners.”
“Ruskay, a first time candidate, describes herself as a public school mom, rabbi, tenant, and community organizer. She spent part of her childhood on the Upper West Side, specifically growing up in a Mitchell-Lama building on West 97th Street.”
In an interview, Ruskay said: “I know this district, I know its families, and I am ready to go to Albany to make sure that the real problems we are facing are addressed by our state government, and that we don’t miss opportunities to make society more connected and resilient.”
“Democrat Stephanie Ruskay will launch her bid for a West Side Assembly seat today. If successful, she would be the first woman to represent the district in a half century and the first female rabbi to hold state office in New York history. She’s already received her first endorsement with the backing of former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger.”
