Erik Bottcher Soars to Re-Election in District 3

City Council member Erik Bottcher waltzed to re-election in District 3, which spans Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, on Nov. 4. He will be serving his second, and final, four-year term.

Bottcher defeated Dominick Romeo, an independent candidate known as the “Activist Superintendent” for representing supers in their disputes with City Hall, by roughly 90 percent of votes tallied.

”Thank you, Council District 3! I’m deeply honored to have been re-elected as your Council member,” Bottcher wrote on social media. “Representing our incredible community is the greatest privilege of my life.

“I have a fundamental belief that life can be so much better than it is—and a better future is not out of reach. With the right policies and the courage to carry them out, we can make New York a place where every person has the opportunity to thrive and live a joyous life. Let’s get to work,” he added.

Bottcher, who did not hold a watch party, outlined his priorities for his latest term in his responses to a Chelsea News Q&A on Oct. 23. “Our district is facing three deeply connected challenges: housing affordability, mental health, and the quality of our shared public spaces,” he said.

He went on to outline what he believed would deliver these things, such as by expanding and streamlining affordable housing approvals and construction, as well as requiring mental-health services in family shelters and suicide-prevention resources in schools.

Bottcher, a strong proponent of expanding public green space, also boasted that he has “led efforts to containerize trash, expand composting, plant trees, and improve our parks and bike lanes.”

Indeed, Chelsea News has covered much of Bottcher’s dendrophilic (tree-loving) events during his first term, such as the unveiling of an array of young trees in front of a dismal ConEd substation—on Seventh Avenue—back in October. Bottcher has made a much-recited promise to plant 1,000 trees during his time in office, which he is likely on pace to achieve given his re-election.

Bottcher notably endorsed mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, with a majority of his district voting for Mamdani over Andrew Cuomo, the mayoral runner-up.

It does not seem that voters were at all dissuaded by news that Bottcher has filed groundwork plans to run for Congress, either. According to an Oct. 8 report in City & State, Bottcher’s filings reveal that he is “seriously considering” jumping into the crowded field to replace US Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who is retiring from his long-held Manhattan seat next year.

”I love my country and I love my city, and they’re under attack by fascist forces at the highest levels of our government. It’s time for a new generation to step up and take charge,” he told that publication.

Bottcher will likely be only one prominent local figure in a crowded primary, which already includes East Side State Assembly member Alex Bores and Upper Manhattan State Assembly member Micah Lasher, the latter of whom is Nadler’s favored successor. Jack Schlossberg, grandson of president John F. Kennedy, is also reportedly exploring a bid for the seat.

Other rumored potential candidates are: past Park Avenue Synagogue president Natalie Barth, Elisha Wiesel (son of Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel), and Chelsea Clinton.