Bill de Blasio Is Officially Running For Congress In District 10

NEW YORK CITY — Bill de Blasio is back.

The former mayor announced Friday he is running for Congress in the newly-mapped 10th District, which covers Lower Manhattan and a swath of Brooklyn from Park Slope to Borough Park.

"Today I'm declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th congressional district of New York," he said on MSNBC's Morning Joe."

De Blasio, who started exploring a congressional bid earlier this week, said he will offer New Yorkers experienced leadership.

"People are hurting. They need help, they need help fast and they need leaders who can actually get them help now, and know how to do it," he said. "I do know how to do it from years of serving the people of this city."

His announcement, though, was met with mixed responses on Twitter: some people said he would "ruin America," while others said he'd be a champion for progressive policies.

De Blasio himself has (extensively) written about what an unpopular mayor he made, but still said he was eager to serve.

"Wherever I go, people ask: can things get better? I say from my heart: YES, but WE have to make them better," he wrote alongside a link to his newly-minted congressional candidacy site. "In our neighborhoods and our nation, the way to save our democracy is to be part of it."

The former mayor, though, isn't the only Democrat who wants to be a part of the democratic process in District 10.

Under draft congressional maps released Monday, the solidly Democratic seat doesn't have an incumbent, since longtime Congressman, Jerry Nadler, plans to run in the reshaped 12th District, which now includes his Upper West Side home.

State Senator Brad Hoylman, who's represented Lower Manhattan in the senate for years, announced his run in the proposed 10th District the day after the maps were released.

Assembly Members Robert Carroll and Yuh-Line Niou both admitted they are considering the seat.

The list goes on-and-on: Lower East Side City Council Member Carlina Rivera is considering a run, sources told The City, as are State Assembly Members Simcha Felder and Jo Anne Simon.

The draft maps, drawn by special master Jonathan Cervas, will be finalized by the end of the week.