On November 2nd, 2021, Vanessa L. Gibson was elected to be the 14th Bronx Borough President to serve the over 1.4 million residents and families that call the Bronx home.

A native New Yorker, Ms. Gibson began her career serving the people of the west Bronx. Beginning in January 2001, while a student at the University at Albany, Ms. Gibson joined the New York State Assembly Intern Program and was assigned to then-Assemblywoman Aurelia Greene.  As an Intern, she worked on legislation for the Member, attended meetings and met with constituents and community groups on behalf of the office.  

Upon graduation, Ms. Gibson served as Legislative Aide then would rise to District Manager overseeing the Bronx office and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the district office, supervising the staff and all administrative and constituent services.  Ms. Gibson would serve as the District Manager for several years until Assemblywoman Aurelia Greene would resign from office in May 2009 after twenty-eight years in the Assembly.  With community and family support, Ms. Gibson decided to run for the New York State Assembly and was elected to this position in a special election on June 2, 2009 to represent the residents and families of the 77th District in the Bronx. 

Ms. Gibson would serve for two terms in the NYS Assembly and then decided to run for an open seat in the New York City Council in 2013, to replace the term limited Council Member Helen Diane Foster.  Ms. Gibson was elected to the New York City Council in November 2013. 

As a Council Member, Ms. Gibson was a leader on education, affordable housing, criminal justice reform, public safety issues and an advocate for alternatives to incarceration, tenant protections, increased training for our police officers and held the distinction of being the first African-American woman chair of the New York City Council Public Safety Committee.

In 2017, she joined then-Council Member Mark Levine in passing the landmark Right to Counsel Legislation, which provides free legal representation for income-eligible tenants facing eviction in Housing Court. Ms. Gibson has also championed legislation related to food equity and policy by mandating the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy create a ten-year food strategy for the City of New York that identifies food policies, access to healthier options, using community gardens, urban agriculture and access to Health Bucks to address food deserts.  

In 2020, she announced her run for Bronx Borough President with a mission to move the Bronx forward with a focus on public safety, food equity, housing insecurity, health and wellness, gender equity, support for the LGBTQIA+ community and a myriad of other issues. Ms. Gibson won her primary election in June, general election in November, and now proudly represents the borough of the Bronx as the first woman and African-American Bronx Borough President. Despite several challenges during the beginning of her first term, Ms. Gibson is optimistic for better days ahead in the Bronx, and is honored and thankful for the opportunity to serve for such a time as this in elected office.