Julie Menin

Although Julie Menin has clashed with real estate in the past, her ascension to City Council speaker, which became official Jan. 7, was a win for the industry.

By the progressive standards of her chamber, Menin is a moderate. Not only that, but she’s married to a successful developer, Bruce Menin. She also happens to be the first Jewish speaker of the Council, another piece of common ground with many New York real estate players.

Given the body’s left-leaning membership and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor, Menin is expected to be a voice of reason should any radical proposals bubble up within the chamber or be foist upon it by City Hall. No legislation comes to a vote without the speaker’s consent.

That said, Menin is more political and ambitious than she is a champion of business interests. The Upper East Sider was the de Blasio administration’s Consumer Affairs commissioner and chaired the Council’s worker protection committee, putting her across the table from employers rather than on their side.

But she is a negotiator, not an ideologue. She made substantial changes in 2024 to a bill she had introduced at the request of the hotel workers union, turning a measure that initially outraged hotel owners into one that their leader said “will allow the hotel industry and its workers to thrive in New York City for years to come.”