Zellnor Myrie: Career Timeline
Zellnor Myrie's career has moved through academic training, corporate law, city government staffing, and elected office at the state level, culminating in a 2025 run for Mayor of New York City.
Education and Early Career
Myrie graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School before attending Fordham University, where he completed both a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Master of Arts in Urban Studies . His graduate work focused on urban policy, setting the groundwork for the housing and tenant protection advocacy that would define his later legislative career.
From approximately 2010 to 2012, Myrie served as Director of Legislation and Press for the New York City Council, working under Council Member Fernando Cabrera . In that role, he contributed to the drafting of the Tenants' Bill of Rights, an early signal of his commitment to housing policy 3. He also worked as a Graduate Assistant at Fordham University from 2012 to 2013 during his master's program .
Law School and Legal Practice
Myrie enrolled at Cornell Law School in 2013 and earned his Juris Doctor in 2016 . While at Cornell, he held multiple leadership and academic roles: He served as student government president, taught as a prison law instructor, and participated as a pro bono scholar . He also completed a legal internship at the United States Attorney's Office in the summer of 2014 and a summer associate position at Davis Polk and Wardwell in 2015 .
After graduating from Cornell, Myrie returned to Davis Polk and Wardwell as a full-time associate from September 2016 to January 2018 . During his time at the firm, he devoted over 600 hours in a single year to pro bono legal work, much of it related to affordable housing and community advocacy 9.
2018 State Senate Campaign and Election
In 2018, Myrie entered electoral politics by challenging incumbent State Senator Jesse Hamilton in the Democratic primary for the 20th Senate District . Hamilton was a member of the Independent Democratic Conference, a breakaway group of Democrats who had formed a controversial alliance with Senate Republicans . Myrie's candidacy drew endorsements from Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, among others . He defeated Hamilton in the September primary with approximately 54 percent of the vote . Hamilton remained on the general election ballot under the Independence and Women's Equality party lines, but Myrie defeated him again in November with over 92 percent of the vote .
First Term in the State Senate (2019 to 2020)
Myrie took office in January 2019 as part of a new Democratic supermajority that ended years of effective Republican control over the State Senate 15. In his first legislative session, he was part of a wave of reforms that included the Reproductive Health Act, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, the Child Victims Act, and new climate legislation 16. Myrie was a vocal supporter of the tenant protection package and was visibly emotional at the bill's passage .
In 2020, Myrie sponsored legislation to ban most evictions during New York's COVID-19 state of emergency . On May 29, 2020, he was pepper-sprayed and handcuffed by NYPD officers while attending a George Floyd protest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, an incident that drew significant media attention .
Leadership and Legislative Achievements (2021 to 2023)
Myrie was elevated to chair of the Senate Elections Committee, a post from which he advanced multiple voting rights reforms 20. In 2021, he authored the Community Violence Intervention Act, which declared gun violence a public health crisis and directed funding to hospital-based and community-based violence intervention programs . That same year, he authored the nation's first state-level gun industry liability law, which classified illegal gun sales as a public nuisance and opened gun manufacturers to civil lawsuits . The law was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July 2021 and subsequently upheld in federal court . For these achievements, Myrie received the Gun Sense Lawmaker of the Year designation from Everytown for Gun Safety and the Founders' Award from New Yorkers Against Gun Violence 24.
In 2022, Myrie authored and secured passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, which was signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul at Medgar Evers College on Juneteenth . The NAACP and the Brennan Center both characterized it as the strongest state-level voter protection law in the country .
In 2023, Myrie achieved passage of the Clean Slate Act, which he had championed for several legislative sessions . Governor Hochul signed the bill into law in November 2023, making New York the twelfth state to enact clean slate legislation . The law automatically seals certain criminal records after designated waiting periods, and it went into effect in November 2024 .
SUNY Downstate Advocacy (2024)
In early 2024, Myrie led a public campaign against Governor Hochul's proposal to close SUNY Downstate University Hospital in East Flatbush, Brooklyn . He organized rallies, testified about the hospital's importance to communities of color, and helped galvanize a legislative effort that resulted in a budget compromise keeping the hospital open . Myrie cited the facility's role as Brooklyn's only kidney transplant center and its significance during the COVID-19 pandemic .
2024 Reelection and Codes Committee Chair
Myrie won reelection to the State Senate in November 2024 without a contested primary . He transitioned from chairing the Elections Committee to chairing the Senate Codes Committee, one of the chamber's most powerful posts 34.
2025 Mayoral Campaign
On May 9, 2024, Myrie announced the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential run for Mayor of New York City . He officially launched his campaign on December 3, 2024 . During his mayoral bid, Myrie proposed building 700,000 new housing units, a universal afterschool guarantee, expanded Pre-K hours, and a plan he titled Black Agenda for NYC . He received the endorsement of Congressman Dan Goldman in February 2025 . Myrie placed sixth in the first round of the June 2025 Democratic primary and was eliminated from the ranked-choice voting process . He subsequently endorsed Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic nomination and the general election .