Kevin Riley: Legislative Record
Committee Assignments
Riley currently chairs the Committee on Land Use, one of the Council's most powerful bodies overseeing the City Planning Commission, the Department of City Planning, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission 1. He also sits on the committees on Economic Development, Housing and Buildings, Oversight and Investigations, Rules Privileges and Elections, Rules Privileges Elections Standards and Ethics, Technology, and the Subcommittee on Early Childhood Education 1. Previously, under Speaker Adrienne Adams, he chaired the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises and, upon first entering office, chaired the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions .
Sponsored Legislation: Current Session (2026)
In the current legislative session beginning in January 2026, Riley has introduced 13 bills as primary sponsor 1. Among the enacted measures, Intro. 409-2026 addresses bus lane restrictions 1. Other bills introduced include Intro. 404-2026 on cleaning and maintenance of city property, Intro. 405-2026 on nutrition standards and beverage options for children's meals in food service establishments, Intro. 406-2026 establishing a cooperative apartment board member training program, Intro. 407-2026 on structurally unsound privately-owned trees, Intro. 408-2026 establishing a pilot program to match small businesses with social media content creators for marketing and advertising assistance, Intro. 414-2026 creating a three-digit gun violence intervention hotline, Intro. 415-2026 establishing a youth entrepreneurship and business development program, Intro. 660-2026 requiring a study and report on in-person altercations among youth, and Intro. 715-2026 on pharmaceutical supply chain resilience and industry development 1. He has also co-sponsored 50 bills introduced by other council members in the current session 1.
FDNY Diversity Legislative Package (2022)
Riley sponsored two of the five bills in the Council's landmark FDNY Diversity package, which was passed by the Council on November 3, 2022, and signed into law by Mayor Eric Adams on November 28, 2022 . Intro. 552-A requires the FDNY to submit an annual report on the number of employees assigned to each firehouse or special operations unit, disaggregated by gender, race, and ethnicity, along with demographic data on the surrounding neighborhoods . Intro. 553-A requires the FDNY, in consultation with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, to develop and implement a plan for ongoing diversity and inclusion training for all employees, including training on anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies, with targeted sessions required at firehouses where violations have been documented . The remaining three bills in the package were sponsored by Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Member Joann Ariola, and Council Member Nantasha Williams .
City of Yes for Housing Opportunity (2024)
As Chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, Riley presided over the committee hearings and votes on Mayor Eric Adams' City of Yes for Housing Opportunity proposal . The plan passed Riley's subcommittee by a 4-3 vote on November 21, 2024, before advancing through the full Land Use Committee 8-2 and ultimately passing the full Council 31-20 on December 5, 2024 . Riley negotiated modifications to the original proposal, including amendments to parking mandates that created a three-zone system with varying requirements based on transit access, and affordability incentives requiring buildings with over 50 units to include 20 percent permanently affordable housing . He also secured protections for one-family zoned districts in the lowest-density areas .
Land Use Applications
Riley's campaign and official materials credit his work on the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee with shepherding over 40 land use applications across the city, resulting in the approval of more than 12,000 new housing units, with a claimed 63 percent designated as affordable . He has continued this work as Chair of the full Land Use Committee under Speaker Menin, overseeing projects including the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan .
Capital and Discretionary Funding
Riley's office reports having directed over $130 million in combined discretionary and capital investments to District 12 since taking office in 2021 . His campaign materials separately cite over $97 million in capital investments for parks, public housing, senior centers, youth services, and public schools . He championed $79.4 million in funding for the citywide expansion of the Summer Youth Employment Program to reach 100,000 young people .