Helen Rosenthal

Helen K. Rosenthal
Member of the New York City Council
from the 6th district
In office
January 1, 2014 – January 1, 2022
Preceded byGale Brewer
Succeeded byGale Brewer
Personal details
BornHelen K. Rosenthal
(1960-10-24) October 24, 1960
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
Alma materMichigan State University (BA)
Yale University (MPH)
WebsiteOfficial website

Helen K. Rosenthal (born October 24, 1960) is a former American politician who served as a member of the New York City Council for the 6th district from 2014 through 2021. The district included the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Early life and education

Rosenthal was born in Detroit, Michigan, and received a B.A. in socio-economic policy and political theory from Michigan State University in 1982. She earned a Masters in Public Health with distinction from Yale University in 1987.[1] She is Jewish.[2]

Career

From 1988 to 1995, Rosenthal served as an Assistant Director of the New York City Mayor's Office of Management and Budget, where she managed the city's healthcare budgets under Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani.[3] She worked with a team to bring the Primary Care Development Corporation to fruition by leveraging city bonds for primary care capital financing.

Rosenthal was a longtime member of Community Board 7, having served as Strategy and Budget Committee Chair, Vice Chair, and eventually Board Chair from 2007 to 2009. During this time, she advocated for additional public school seats on the Upper West Side, using data collection to dispute the city's assertion that the district had 1,500 empty school seats. This resulted in the creation of P.S. 452 in 2010.[4]

New York City Council

In March 2012, Rosenthal announced her candidacy for District 6 of the New York City Council, whose incumbent, Gale Brewer, was term-limited out of office.[5] Rosenthal focused her campaign on issues including public school education, affordable housing, budget expertise, and mass transit improvements. Her bid was endorsed by organizations including the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women-NYC, and TenantsPAC, a group which advocates for rent-regulated tenants. Other supporters included Gloria Steinem, Michael Moore, former City Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge, State Senator Liz Krueger, and State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.[5][6]

In September 2013, Rosenthal won the Democratic nomination for the District 6 City Council seat, defeating six other candidates.[7] She went on to win the November general election with 78% of the vote, which was the highest of any candidate running for City Council throughout New York City.[8]

While her initial focus was on constituent services and fiscal responsibility,[9] pedestrian safety emerged as a key issue for Rosenthal when three pedestrians were struck and killed on the Upper West Side over a ten-day period in January 2014.[10] She passed Coopers Law in response to his death crossing West End Avenue with the right of way;[11] and advocated for better transportation services meeting the needs of all New Yorkers.[12] Drawing on her budget expertise, she became a leading voice for MTA fiscal accountability.[13][14][15][16][17]

As Chair of the Committee on Contracts she and then Public Advocate Leticia James were alerted to a NYC DOE $1.1 billion computer contract which had been approved by the Panel for Education Policy. Their call for an Oversight Hearing resulted in cancellation of the contract and a rebid. The final cost of the contract was $472 million [18] saving more than half a billion dollars on that contract alone.[19]

In 2017, Rosenthal was re-elected for a second term with 87% of the vote—again with the highest total of any candidate running for City Council throughout NYC[20]—after securing the Democratic nomination again in the primary with two opponents. Rosenthal's support of a controversial school desegregation plan in her district was cited in endorsements received from The New York Times, the New York Daily News, and the Amsterdam News.[21][22][23]

Rosenthal was ranked top lawmaker on New York City Council in City and State 2019.[24]

At the end of her term in 2021, and with advocacy from PowHer and Legal Momentum, Rosenthal sponsored and passed 2022/32 which requires salary range transparency for all NYC jobs. PowHer's post NYC Salary Transparency Law Hailed as Transformative Step Toward Wage Equity, included a quote from Rosenthal, “Our new law shines a light on pay inequity…. Its goal is to level the playing field and restore dignity to those seeking employment…. A brighter light would include full compensation – in addition to salary – and a look-back window for employees to see the salary range for all employees with the same title.”[25] According to the New York City Council 2025 Report, New York City Strives for Pay Equity: The Salary Transparency Law, salary transparency rose by 138% within a year of enactment.

References

  1. ^ "Helen Rosenthal – New York City Council Candidate on the Upper West Side, 6th District". linkedin.com. LinkedIn Corporation. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Agency, Julia Gergely is a former National Desk Intern at The Forward She now reports for the Jewish Telegraphic (April 13, 2022). "Meet the Jewish woman behind NYC's groundbreaking gender pay equity bill". The Forward. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  3. ^ Chen, Daphne. "Three vying for UWS City Council seat". columbiaspectator. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  4. ^ "About Face for DOE: District 3 Needs New School". nypress.com. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Albrecht, Leslie. "Filmmaker Michael Moore Adds Star Power to City Council Race". dnainfo.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  6. ^ "NOW-NYC Endorses Helen Rosenthal, Candidate For NY City Council". helenrosenthal.com (Press release). Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  7. ^ "Statement and Return Report for Certification, Primary Election 2013 - 09/10/2013, New York County - Democratic Party, Democratic Member of the City Council, 6th Council District" (PDF). New York City Board of Elections.
  8. ^ "New York City Council - 2013 Election Results". The New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  9. ^ Rosenthal, Helen. "Preliminary Budget Questions Remain". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  10. ^ "No Traffic Fatalities on UWS So Far This Year After 8 Killed in 2014". DNAinfo New York. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  11. ^ "Judge Issues Cab Driver Ticket In 2014 Upper West Side Crash That Killed 9-Year-Old Boy - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. April 14, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  12. ^ Gioino, Catherina; McShane, Larry (August 3, 2017). "Pols hop aboard city subways to hear commuter complaints right from the source ". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  13. ^ Rosenthal, Brian M. (February 5, 2018). "M.T.A. Construction Costs 'Threaten to Strangle' Growth, Report Warns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  14. ^ https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/uptown-council-member-rosenthal-says-enough-games-mta-budget-proposal/
  15. ^ Rosenthal, Helen; Rodriguez, Ydanis (August 21, 2017). "The MTA's multi-billion dollar question". City & State NY. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  16. ^ Toure, Madina (October 16, 2017). "NYC Pols Want MTA to Be More Transparent About Its Spending". Observer. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  17. ^ "City, state lawmakers call for investigation of MTA's spending to cut down on wasting money". New York Daily News. October 16, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  18. ^ Khurshid, Samar. "Calls for More Transparency, Oversight in Department of Education Contracting". Gotham Gazette. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  19. ^ Gonzalez, Juan (19 March 2015). "https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/03/19/department-of-education-does-an-about-face-cancels-firms-637m-contract-to-provide-computer-services-to-public-schools/". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  20. ^ "Election Results Summary 2017 | NYC Board of Elections". vote.nyc. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  21. ^ "Opinion - Democratic Primary Choices". The New York Times. September 12, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  22. ^ Editorials (September 3, 2017). "The Daily News' City Council picks: Manhattan - NY Daily News". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  23. ^ "New York Amsterdam News Endorsements Part One". August 31, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  24. ^ i_beebe (January 26, 2020). "The Best & Worst New York City Lawmakers". CSNY. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  25. ^ "NYC Salary Transparency Law Hailed as Transformative Step Toward Wage Equity | PowHer™ New York". January 17, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
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