Fort Greene, Clinton Hill Election Guide: What To Know About The Races

BROOKLYN, NY — November is months away, but it's already election season in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill— and in historically Democratic New York City, the summer's primary elections tend to be more consequential than the general election.

A slew of local races are on the ballot in Tuesday's primary election — from statewide contests for governor and lieutenant governor all the way down to neighborhood-level offices like State Assembly, state committee and more.

The primary for Congress and State Senate will be held separately in August due to ongoing battles over redistricting maps.

Patch will bring you live coverage on Tuesday once the results start rolling in. (If you haven't voted yet, find your poll site or view a sample ballot here.)

In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about Fort Greene and Clinton Hill's Democratic primaries, which include an incumbent facing a challenger for State Assembly and the husband from a married couple running for Civil Court judge in two different boroughs.

State Assembly

District 57 (Fort Greene and Clinton Hill and parts of Bed Stuy, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights)

Most neighbors in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill vote in Assembly District 57, where longtime activist Olanike Alabi is facing off against first-term incumbent Phara Souffrant Forrest, who's also running on the Working Families Party line.

Both candidates are running on platforms centering affordable housing and COVID-19 recovery, but Souffrant Forrest, who worked as a nurse before starting in the Assembly, has some bigger-name progressive endorsements (the DSA and Working Families Party, specifically) whereas Alabi was endorsed by local NYCHA development presidents, unions and a district leader.

The primary winner will run unopposed in November, since the Republican primary for the district was canceled.

Patch asked both Democratic State Assembly candidates about their positions on issues like affordable housing, public safety and more — learn more about each candidate by clicking on their names below:

• Olanike Alabi
• Phara Souffrant Forrest (Assembly site only; did not complete Patch questionnaire)

State Committee

In the 57th District, Democratic voters will also be tasked with picking two candidates for state committee — an internal party position that nominates candidates and handles other party matters.

By law, the state committee is made up of one male and female from each of New York's Assembly districts, meaning Fort Greene and Clinton Hill voters will cast a ballot for one candidate of each gender.

In the race for State Committeewoman, incumbent Shaquana Boykin is facing off against small business owner and local leader Renee Collymore. Both candidates have a slate of endorsements, but Boykin (who defeated Alabi for the committee seat in 2020) has garnered support from the likes of Borough President Antonio Reynoso and State Senators Jabari Brisport and Julia Salazar — high-ranking leaders who typically don't endorse in this kind of race.

In the race for State Committeeman, former public school teacher and political advisor Michael Cox is facing Mike Boomer, a longtime district leader (who, based on endorsements, is essentially running alongside Boykin).

Delegate (and alternates) to Judicial Convention

Voters in District 28 will also be tasked with picking 10 candidates as delegates to the Judicial Convention, who choose the party's nominee for state Supreme Court judge (a name that voters will see on the general election ballot in November).

Voters will also cast ballots for 10 alternates, in case a Judicial Convention delegate can't make the convention.

In District 28, the delegates and alternates have been nominated in two groups. For more information about individual delegates, you can find their names on your sample ballot here.

Civil Court

In the more-obscure Brooklyn Civic Court judge race, Patrick Hayes Torres, a private attorney and Sunset Park BID board member, is running against Philip Grant, a Brooklyn civil court principal law clerk who formerly worked as a state attorney general prosecutor in the borough.

Grant was not rated as qualified by the New York City Bar Association (Torres was), but he was endorsed by the Brooklyn Democratic Party (Torres was not). Torres' wife, Carmen Pacheco, is running to become a Civil Court judge in Manhattan.

Civil Court judges serve 10-year terms, ruling on cases involving disputes of $50,000 or less.

For more info on the Civil Court race, check out this guide from The City. The outlet also wrote a guide for statewide races, like governor and lieutenant governor, here.

Follow Fort Greene/Clinton Hill Patch on Election Night Tuesday for live coverage as the results roll in.