Chris Banks: Biography
Chris Banks is an American politician and community organizer serving as a member of the New York City Council for the 42nd district, which encompasses the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, Starrett City, Brownsville, Canarsie, Remsen Village, and East Flatbush 1. He assumed office on January 1, 2024, succeeding longtime incumbent Charles Barron . In January 2026, Banks was elevated to Deputy Leader of the Council under Speaker Julie Menin and reappointed as Chair of the Committee on Public Housing .
Early Life and Family Background
Banks was born and raised in the East New York section of Brooklyn 1. His mother was an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, and his father was from Houston, Texas 1. He grew up in what he has described as an entrepreneurial and labor-focused household 1. THE CITY reported that Banks was 28 years old in 2012 and 39 in June 2023, placing his birth year around 1983 or 1984, though no official record confirms a specific date of birth .
Education
Banks attended PS 213, PS 273, and Anointed Minds Christian Academy, all located in East New York, before graduating from Leadership Public Service High School in Manhattan 1. He later attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he studied government . He has been a congregant of East New York's Changing Lives Christian Center since 2008 1.
Community Organizing and Youth Programming Career
Before entering elected office, Banks built a career in community advocacy and youth programming. His first job was at the local Police Athletic League, where he served as an education group leader and adolescent coordinator 1. He went on to run after-school and summer youth programs for the East New York Local Development Corporation 1. He also served as Director of the Louis H. Pink Cornerstone Beacon Program and as Youth Liaison of the PAL In Step Program .
Banks founded East New York United Concerned Citizens Inc., an anti-poverty organization that provided housing advocacy, youth mentoring, senior services, and a youth scholarship fund to thousands of area residents 1. He also co-founded the East New York Collaborative alongside Rabbi Avrohom Hecht and community activist Nikki Lucas, an organization focused on building cross-community collaboration 1. The New York League of Conservation Voters noted that the Collaborative also worked to expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables in food-insecure areas .
Civic Involvement
Banks served as president of the 75th Precinct Council, where he worked to improve police-community relations in a neighborhood with a documented history of contentious policing 1. He revitalized the Van Siclen Block Association, leading block cleanups, green thumb planting initiatives, graffiti removal, public art beautification projects, and snow removal operations 1. He served as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 5, where he co-chaired the Aging, Transportation, and Education committees and sat on the Executive Committee as Sergeant at Arms 1. He additionally chaired the Board of Directors for the Boulevard Houses Nursery Day Care, overseeing city contracts exceeding one million dollars, and wrote a green jobs curriculum for the Italian American Civil Rights Group based in Starrett City and East New York 1.
Tenant Organizing
As a tenant organizer, Banks organized residents of Starrett City to block a proposed significant rent increase, rallied seniors to prevent the closure of the Theresa Moore Senior Center at Pink Houses and the Penn Wortman Senior Center, and worked with community members and elected officials to prevent the shuttering of the local NYPD Community Center 1. He has also advocated for repairs, clean drinking water, gas service restoration, and heat in multiple NYCHA buildings 1.