This Tuesday downtowners in District 1 will be selecting their choice for City Council, a seat that is held for four years. District 1

includes the Financial District, the Seaport, Tribeca, the South Village, Soho, Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Four years ago Margaret Chin became the first Chinese American to represent Chinatown in the City Council, making history. Chin is seeking re-election after a tumultuous first term which included dealing with complex issues such as NYU’s expansion proposal, large land re-developments such as Seward Park and South Street Seaport initiatives.

Due to the contentiousness of some of these issues and some upcoming ones like creating business improvement districts in Soho and Chinatown, a challenger to Chin has arisen, Jenifer Rajkumar.

Rajkumer is thirty years old and moved to the Financial District from Washington DC in 2010. She grew up in Westchester and is the daughter of immigrants from India. Rajkumer attended Stanford University Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and entered the New York Bar in 2009. She was elected to the post of district leader in Lower Manhattan in 2011.

The Primary Election is this coming Tuesday when you will have a chance to choose between these two candidates for City Council.