Meet The West Village Figures Among Manhattan's Most Powerful

WEST VILLAGE, NY — City & State published Monday its annual list of the 100 most powerful people in Manhattan. The ranking is littered with people who hold prominent positions within the West Village and Greenwich Village communities.

The power list features public officials, business executives, hospital CEOs, community leaders, and consultants.

The top-ranked West Village figure on the list is State Senator Brad Hoylman, who finished just outside the top 10 at No. 11. Here's what City & State had to say about the long-time West Village elected official.

"State Sen. Brad Hoylman has passed over 60 bills since taking office in 2013, and he has been particularly prolific in passing progressive policy proposals since Democrats seized control of the state Senate in the 2018 election," wrote the City & State staff. "The openly gay lawmaker spearheaded legislation to outlaw conversion therapy, which aims to change one’s sexual orientation, and more recently led the effort to pass a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for schoolchildren."

Hoylman finished second this summer to Council Member Mark Levine in the Manhattan Borough President Democratic primary.

The only other West Village figure to finish in the top 25 of the ranking was New York City Speaker Corey Johnson. Johnson oversees Manhattan's District 3, which includes Chelsea, the West Village, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Hell's Kitchen, and more.

Johnson was ranked as the 17th most powerful person in Manhattan.

Johnson fell short in his push to become city comptroller, but has told reporters that he looks forward to taking a break from elected office when his term in the Council is over at the end of the year.

Here are the other West Village figures that made the power list:

39. Deborah Glick: Assembly Member

Glick is one of the longest-tenured members in the Assembly, and also a Greenwich Village resident. She was the first openly gay state legislator in New York and has worked to pass the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, the Women’s Health and Wellness Act and the Reproductive Health Act.

56. Erik Bottcher: NYC Council Primary Winner For District 3

Bottcher will most likely be replacing his former boss Johnson as the representative in the Council for the West Village. Before becoming chief of staff for Johnson, Bottcher worked as the LGBTQ Community Liaison for then Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

95. Darren Bloch: CEO of Greenwich House

Bloch served as a senior advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio before joining the West Village-based Greenwich House at the beginning of 2020. He now leads the massive social services nonprofit that serves more than 12,000 New Yorkers annually.

Here is the overall top 10 list from the 2021 Manhattan power ranking:

1. Jerry Nadler: Member of Congress
2. Adriano Espaillat: Member of Congress
3. Liz Krueger: State Senator
4. Brian Benjamin: Lieutenant Governor
5. Richard Gottfried: Assembly Member
6. Carolyn Maloney: Member of Congress
7. Al Sharpton: Founder and President of National Action Network
8. Gale Brewer: Manhattan Borough President
9. Kathryn Wylde: President and CEO of Partnership for New York City
10. Michael Dowling: President and CEO of Northwell Health

You can check out the full list on the City & State website.