Linda Rosenthal is leading the fight for reform and progressive change.
In the State Assembly, Linda Rosenthal has emerged as one of New York’s most effective, progressive, and forward-looking legislators. She’s now the author of 70 laws that are making a difference in the lives of New Yorkers and the quality-of-life in our neighborhoods.
Linda wrote the Child Victims Act to allow victims of sexual assault to get justice and ensure that abusers do not escape punishment. She stood up to the NRA to pass New York’s SAFE Act and ban assault weapons. A trailblazer in the fight for gender equality, Linda passed legislation to close the salary gap and wrote laws to eliminate the state’s “tampon tax”. And she led the fight to pass the Reproductive Health Act to protect a woman’s right to choose in New York State.
Recognized as a leader on tenants’ rights and affordable housing, Linda fought to pass the strongest rent laws in a generation, eliminating vacancy decontrol and protecting tenants from abusive landlords. She’s also helped seniors and people with disabilities freeze their rents through SCRIE and DRIE. And she passed legislation to rein in Airbnb and stop the spread of illegal hotels.
A champion of LGBTQ rights, Linda led the fight to ban conversion therapy and pass GENDA to add gender expression and identity to the 2002 gay rights law. And throughout her career, she has been a powerful voice for criminal justice reform—this year, helping lead the fight to eliminate cash bail.
With a perfect voting record from advocates, Linda has also led the way on the major environmental causes of our time, whether it’s banning hydro fracking or passing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that puts New York in the vanguard of efforts to stop climate change.
As Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Linda is tackling the opioid crisis head on and working to expand access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services. And she is using her position on the Tuition Assistance Subcommittee to fight to make college more affordable, strengthen SUNY and CUNY, and get our public schools the full funding they were guaranteed through the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
With the Senate Republicans swept out of power in 2018, Democrats were finally able to enact far-reaching reform legislation that Linda has long championed—from early voting to increase civic participation to strong new laws to stop sexual harassment. And last, but certainly not least, Linda wrote and passed a first-in-the-nation law that’s especially close to her heart and to animal lovers across New York: legislation that bans cat declawing.
Linda Rosenthal is a lifelong New Yorker and a graduate of the University of Rochester. She has represented Manhattan’s Upper West Side and parts of Clinton and Hell’s Kitchen since 2006.