Rep. Velázquez says it's time for generational change in NY, but demurs on Schumer

Brigid Bergin

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Jimmy Vielkind

Published Nov 21, 2025

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A photo of Rep. Nydia Velázquez with Zohran Mamdani on election night.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Brigid Bergin

and

Jimmy Vielkind

Published Nov 21, 2025

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Rep. Nydia Velázquez just felt it was time — and she hopes other longtime officials will take her cue.

The 72-year-old Democrat was first elected to Congress in 1992. She’s seen the character of the neighborhoods she represents in Northern Brooklyn and Western Queens change dramatically as gentrification brought waves of newcomers and increased pressure on longtime immigrant enclaves.

But she took heart that some of the younger officials she mentored in her progressive mold are established and rising. Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is 42. State Sen. Julia Salazar is 34. Both have been immediately mentioned by Democratic strategists and in the press as possible successors.

Velázquez isn’t endorsing anyone for her seat in the 7th District yet, but says she’s certain a good candidate will emerge. That’s driving her part in a changing of the guard in the city’s congressional delegation that also includes the retirement of Manhattan U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler and, increasingly, pressure for other longtime incumbents, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to make space for newcomers.

“We have done our job and that now is, you know, it's a call for the next generation of leaders,” Velázquez told Gothamist. “ And, and to have the certainty in your heart that we are in a good place when it comes to the amount of young people that are ready.”

“No one is indispensable,” she continued. “The thing is, what do you do not only to address the issues of our country, but to prepare the next generation of leaders?”

Velázquez declined to comment on the future of the state’s senior senator, saying only that it is a “very personal decision.” Schumer’s term runs through 2028. He would be 78 at the start of another term.

Political consultant Luis Miranda has known Velázquez since they both came to New York from Puerto Rico in the 1970s. He said she remained a principled advocate for the island territory and its diaspora in the mainland United States.

He applauded Velázquez’s timing.

”I think the greatness of this country and democracy is that we could pass the baton … and continue to aspire and continue to fight,” he said. “Nydia is part of that tradition of making sure that you hope you did enough to inspire a new generation of people who are going to continue to fight for the progressive values that she stood for.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she befriended Velázquez after winning a special election to the U.S. House in 2011. She said she would support whoever won the next Democratic primary.

And the Buffalo-born governor, 67, said she didn’t see the need for a generational refresh. One of the most popular figures among Democrats is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was born just before the Pearl Harbor attacks.

“We have a party that embraces many viewpoints, but also many ages,” Hochul said after a meeting of the Democratic State Committee in Albany. “And so everybody makes their own decision.”

Velázquez said she wants her successor to have a good sense for the pulse of the district.

“People are suffering, and we need to have someone who will step up, who will fight, who is willing to come up with new ideas, a new approach that is ready to meet this moment,” she said. “And not to look for excuses that, oh, we cannot do this because of this or that.”

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Brigid Bergin

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Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.

Jimmy Vielkind

Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Jimmy led a team of reporters that won a New York Press Club award for coverage of Andrew Cuomo’s downfall and was on a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of Amazon’s HQ2 process. A native of the Capitol Region, Jimmy has two degrees in urban planning. His position is funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Reach Jimmy at [email protected].

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