Pesach Osina, a longtime Queens political staffer and former New York City Council candidate, announced on Jan. 13 that he is running for New York State Assembly in Queens’s 23rd District, seeking to succeed Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato, a Democrat who is retiring.
Pheffer Amato is backing Osina’s candidacy, calling him a “commonsense legislator” and praising his focus on public safety and neighborhood quality of life. His announcement highlighted his response to Superstorm Sandy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osina, an Orthodox Jew and active board member of the Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula, has worked in multiple city government roles, including the New York City comptroller’s office and the City Council speaker’s office as senior community liaison. He said he is running “not for a title, but to serve, to lead with humility.”
New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger welcomed Osina’s bid, posting on X: “Looking forward to greeting Pesach Osina in Albany. Excelsior.”
“Albany can use all the common sense legislators it can get,” said Yaakov Kaplan, vice chair of Brooklyn Community Board 12. “A candidate like Pesach, who is well-versed in the Rockaway community’s needs, would be a home run.”
Osina is running in a Democratic primary against attorney Mike Scala. The winner is expected to face Republican Thomas Sullivan in elections this November.
