CHARACTERS OF THE VILLAGE

Jeannine Kiely, District and Community Leader-Problem-Solver Extraordinaire!

By Brian and Joy Pape

In a November 23, 2025 City & State NY article, Celia Bernhardt wrote that Assemblymember Deborah Glick (District 66, who is not running again) is backing local District Leader Jeannine Kiely to fill her seat saying that Kiely has “not just the intelligence but the experience and commitment and the knowledge of the neighborhood” needed to take over the job. District Leader Arthur Schwartz also supports Kiely, “She’s wonderful–a community-oriented, activist-to-her-bones person.”

Kiely has been active in the community long before Brian got to know her and see her dedication on Community Board 2 Manhattan (CB2). Now that Kiely is campaigning for District 66 State Assembly seat, we asked her to fill us in on her background and qualifications.

Tell us about yourself.
I was born and raised in Santa Clara, CA, where my parents were public school teachers. This instilled a lifelong love of education that I carry with me as both a parent and public servant. I am the oldest of four daughters, raised by a single dad. My mom passed away when I was 12, and my sisters were 11, 5 and 3. My dad’s favorite word was “initiative” which ingrained in me the desire to find solutions and take action whenever I see an opportunity to improve our community.

I graduated from UCLA with a degree in international economics and moved to NYC in 1990 to attend Columbia Business School. Graduating with a master’s in finance, I worked in public finance at Citi, advising on nonprofit healthcare and higher education financings.

What do you think is important for our community to know about you?
I’m an activist with a deep proven record of action in our community.

In 1995, I moved to West 9th Street for a decade before moving to SoHo and now NoHo. My husband and I raised our two sons, who are now 20 and 18 years old, in the Village, where they attended nursery school at Children’s Aid Society on Sullivan Street. That’s where I first became active in local issues. After an announcement that the school would close on extremely short notice, I organized with other families to keep the school open for a full year to find new seats at new schools. I later served as the PTA co-president and on the student leadership team at my son’s middle school, PS/IS 276 in Battery Park City.

My boys played Greenwich Village Little League, Steady Buckets, DUSC soccer and flag football through the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center. I remain active in Champions, an affiliation of youth sports leagues seeking to improve and expand field space downtown. We successfully advocated for improved fields at Pier 40, for the governor to veto legislation that would have permitted office development on Pier 40, and to plan new fields on Gansevoort Peninsula.

In 2010, I joined Green Below 14, a non-profit dedicated to improving parks and playgrounds below 14th Street, and worked to fund a $2 million renovation of DeSalvio Playground in Little Italy. We then turned our efforts to Elizabeth Street Garden (ESG). I am thrilled that the city has designated ESG as a public city park, and committed to building more than 620 affordable units nearby.

I’ve been a member of CB2 for nearly 14 years. I chaired the Schools and Education Committee from 2014 until I was elected board chair in 2021. I now chair the Traffic and Transportation Committee and remain active on the Parks and Land Use Committees. As part of CB2, I have supported building affordable housing in our district.

Tell us more about your community involvement.
I co-founded Literacy Academy Collective (LAC) with six other extraordinary women, which to date has opened the first two, free, district public schools for students with dyslexia. LAC seeks to break the cycle of illiteracy for students with dyslexia, language-based learning disabilities, and other struggling readers. I currently serve as board chair to support our mission to build and support a network of NYC public schools to allow struggling readers achieve academic success by bringing culturally relevant, structured literacy to students at the intersection of race, poverty, and disability. The documentary Left Behind chronicles our efforts to open the first school in 2023. We never took no for an answer when it came to serving these kids.

In 2019 I was elected Democratic district leader for the 66th Assembly District, Part B, which gave me a wider platform to advocate for our community.

I believe that rezonings must include zoning and financial incentives to build affordable housing, otherwise that housing will not be built. In 2013, CB2 supported mandatory affordable housing for the Hudson Square rezoning, but the city only approved optional zoning bonuses. As a result, in 10 years, Hudson Square only produced 17% of the projected affordable units as many developers opted to build office space instead, a loss of 2,682 total units and 562 affordable units.

In the 2016 rezoning of 550 Washington Street development, nearly 1,000 housing units including 298 affordable units were lost to text changes, while 598 housing units including 178 senior housing were saved.

In the 2021 SoHo NoHo Chinatown rezoning, CB2 pushed for many changes that would reduce incentives for office space and eliminate dormitory construction, but the city pushed through its version. To date, no housing has been built.

I strongly support building 100% affordable housing on government-owned property – at Gansevoort Plaza, 5 World Trade Center and 2 Howard Street. The city recently selected a developer to build 280 affordable apartments and a state-of-the-art recreation center at 388 Hudson Street.

We need to build both workforce and deeply affordable housing so the next generation can afford to live in and enjoy our amazing public schools, parks and culture.

Do you have a favorite spot in the Village?
I love the Christopher Street Pier at the western tip, for the sunsets, the calm, peaceful views and the lush lawn. I frequently meet friends for coffee at Merriweather on Hudson Street or Hungry Llama on Washington Street.

What is your favorite accomplishment?
Joining parent and community activists and our elected officials for a dozen years of advocacy to open 75 Morton in 2018. The state-of-the art gut renovated building now serves District 2 and District 75 middle school students. This is a reminder that change takes time, persistence and relentless advocacy.

Any parting words?
I’m humbled by the outpouring of support from our local leaders. I am proud of what I have been able to achieve with colleagues and the Village community. Serving as Assemblymember will allow me to continue this work at a greater scale.