Helen Rosenthal

Helen Rosenthal (born October 24, 1960) is a New York City community activist and candidate for the New York City Council.

On September 10, 2013, Rosenthal won the Democratic nomination for the District 6 City Council seat, and will move on to the general election, in which she is heavily favored.

Education and Career
Rosenthal received a B.A. in socio-economic policy and political theory from Michigan State University in 1982, and a Masters in Public Health from Yale University in 1987.

From 1988 to 1995, Rosenthal served as an Assistant Director of the New York City Office of Management and Budget, where she managed the city's healthcare budget under Mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudy Giuliani.

Rosenthal is a board member of numerous organizations, including WomenCare, Broadway Malls Association, and NARAL Pro-Choice America. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Participatory Budgeting Project, an organization which advocates having community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.

In addition, Rosenthal is the board chair of ParentJobNet, an organization that sets up free ESL classes, job training, computer training, and career counseling in local elementary schools for parents of school-age children.

City Council Candidacy
In March 2012, Rosenthal announced her candidacy for District 6 of the New York City Council, whose incumbent, Gale Brewer, is term-limited out of office. Rosenthal has focused her campaign on issues including public school education, affordable housing, budget expertise, and mass transit improvements.

Her bid has been endorsed by organizations including the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women-NYC, and TenantsPAC, a group which advocates for rent-regulated tenants. Other supporters include Gloria Steinem, Michael Moore, former City Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge, State Senator Liz Krueger, and State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.

Community Board 7
Rosenthal is a longtime member of Community Board 7, having served as Strategy and Budget Committee Chair, Vice Chair, and eventually board chair from 2007 to 2009. During this time, she advocated for additional public school seats on the Upper West Side, using data collection to dispute the city's assertion that the district had 1,500 empty school seats. This resulted in the creation of P.S. 452 in 2010.

In 2009, Rosenthal negotiated with Extell Development Company to build a 150,000 square foot K-8 public school at the Riverside Center development.