We Have a New Assembly Member

David Siffert Wins By 15 Votes!

By Arthur Schwartz

After 35 years of Deborah Glick holding the Assembly District seat which covers Greenwich Village (west of First Avenue), Noho, Soho, Hudson Square and Tribeca, we have a new nominee in the State Assembly ─ David Siffert. (Note: Siffert has to win in the November election to be formally crowned. Right now their only opponent is pro-developer candidate Ryder Kessler, who came in third in the Democratic Primary).

I have to admit a deeply personal connection with David. In 2023 I was lead counsel in a lawsuit to keep Beth Israel Hospital from closing. Its parent, Mt. Sinai Hospital, was represented by Paul Weiss, a top notch white shoe super-firm, now allied with Donald Trump. Sometimes Paul Weiss would come to court with eight lawyers. I always had one co-counsel at my side ─ David Siffert ─ who worked tirelessly to keep us on track and to take on the dozens of filings Paul Weiss dropped. Together we kept the hospital open for 13 extra months. Only when Governor Hochul blessed the closure did we lose. Siffert, who self describes as gender non-binary, kept going even when they had their first child.

I never thought Siffert could win. I tried to talk them out of it. I thought that they and Jeanine Kiely (the top expert in the Beth Israel litigation and a marvelous community leader) would split the vote and let Ryder Kessler slip in. But Siffert insisted ─ working, it seemed like 20 hours a day ─ knocking on doors with volunteers, making phone calls, and they did it.

It is interesting that our community, considered one of the most left-leaning in the U.S.A., elected three progressives to office ─ Siffert, Brad Lander (Congress), and Grace Lee (NY State Senate), and none had the label “DSA.” They all taught a lesson to the Democratic Party (which I discuss elsewhere in this issue). It’s the issues that matter, not the label. None “ran to the center.” All support Medicare for All and the NY Health Act. All are critical of corporate and billionaire-mogul money in elections. All want limits on AI, greater government efforts to make housing affordable, the fight against climate change, and less expensive and more accessible public transportation.

Siffert, who is 42 years old, was born and raised in Manhattan, went to high school in the Bronx, and graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006 and NYU Law School in 2009. In law school Siffert was a research assistant for Prof. Burt Neuborne, one of the top constitutional lawyers in the U.S. After that, they worked for a year at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, then two years as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones, then one year as a clerk at the NY Court of Appeals, followed by three years at Boies, Schiller & Flexner.

In 2016, Siffert became director of research and projects at the Center on Civil Justice, NYU School of Law, an initiative that advocates for more efficient procedures in local and federal courts and broader access to legal services for all Americans.

In 2022, Siffert became litigation director at NYU’s Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, and started as an adjunct professor of clinical law at NYU Law School. They also began teaching a course which pairs law students with state legislators who teach them how to write bills and introduce legislation. Siffert said the students have collectively worked on more than 80 bills. Last year, Siffert founded the law school’s State Government Initiative, which hosts panel discussions on topics like developing AI policies and becoming an elected official.

During the first Trump administration, Siffert helped incarcerated mothers and children in a Texas detention center gain entry into the United States. Now, they routinely visit the West Village to help business owners prepare for potential encounters with immigration officers. Siffert is also part of an advocacy group called New York for All, which drafted a bill that would designate New York as a sanctuary state.

In 2025, Siffert helped pass the Responsible AI Safety and Education Act, establishing transparency and safety regulations for the state’s leading AI developers.

They also previously worked as a legal director for a nonprofit that aims to combat excessive government surveillance and served as president of the Village Independent Democrats from 2019 to 2020.

In 2026, Siffert left to run for Assembly. The rest is now history.

Siffert is married, lives on East 10th Street, and has a two-year-old child.

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David Siffert on the Issues

Here’s an excerpt from a recent article by Rebecca C. Lewis of City & State that provides insight into David Siffert’s take on the issues facing New York.

“Attorney David Siffert is set to make history next year as the first out nonbinary member of the state Legislature. But their race, and plans for Albany, go beyond just their trailblazing identity. After finally winning following a lengthy post-election process of counting mail-in ballots, affidavits and curing ballots, Siffert is now set to head to Albany to represent the district including historic gay bar the Stonewall Inn as the first nonbinary state legislator. The title means a lot to Siffert, as well as keeping the seat’s representation within the LGBTQ+ community. But they also bring a long track record of advocacy and experience in drafting legislation at the state level.”

Read the full article at cityandstateny.com/personality/2026/07/david-siffert-talks-nonbinary-identity-and-bill-drafting/414883