Andrea isn’t a politician.

She’s an outsider and an activist who knows the only way to tackle the issues facing our communities is to roll up her sleeves and get to work. 

Having lived in and served Lower Manhattan for over a decade, she is the only candidate who CAN merge the need for change with a record of success here in the district. 

About Andrea

All her life, Andrea Gordillo has been a tireless community leader and advocate. From helping unionize dining workers at her university to organizing post-Occupy, she’s always believed change begins from the ground up.

The proud daughter of Peruvian immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking a better life, Andrea was shaped by her parents’ perseverance—her mother’s quiet resilience and her father’s path from taxi driver to public health worker. Their sacrifices instilled in her a lifelong commitment to justice, care, and community.

A resident of Manhattan’s Lower East Side for the past 13 years, Andrea has spent over a decade organizing, leading, and fighting for policies that put Lower Manhattan communities first. While leading prominent cultural and community institutions like Loisaida Inc., Fourth Arts Block, The Public Theater, Coalition for a District Alternative, The Clemente, serving on the community advisory board of the Union Square Tech Hub, and currently as Chair of Manhattan Community Board 3, she’s been on the front lines of major neighborhood challenges—from our hospital closure to immigration crises—offering steady leadership and bold solutions. 

Andrea is also a worker’s advocate, a coalition builder, and has been a trusted voice in citywide efforts. While attending NYU Gallatin for her masters, she organized with the United Auto Workers Union. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped prevent budget cuts to cultural institutions and secured millions in funding for District 2’s critical cultural economy. 

She’s a champion for dignified housing, climate resilience, cultural preservation, and true public safety, informed not only by her policy expertise, but by her own lived experience with housing insecurity, income inequality, and systemic neglect.

With grit, heart, and deep roots in Lower Manhattan, Andrea is grounded in her neighborhood and the people who power it. If elected to the City Council, she will continue fighting for a future where working families not only survive—but thrive.

Andrea’s achievements

  • Leading Community Board 3, Andrea:

  • Secured hundreds of deeply affordable and supportive housing units

  • Expanded Community Land Trusts

  • Secured additional sanitation and homeless services to local parks

  • Ensured access to jobs and scholarships for low-income youth at the new Union Square Tech Hub

  • Andrea played a key role in advocating for the needs of artists of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped oversee the City Artists Corps, helped prevent the budget cuts to cultural institutions, and secured millions in funding to District 2’s critical cultural economy.

  • Andrea served as President of Coalition for a District Alternative for 5 years where she spearheaded initiatives to promote various policies, like advancing affordable housing, workers’ rights, quality education, and sustainable economic development. She convened dozens of forums designed to mobilize community residents into civic life.

  • Andrea supported the New Girl City program at the LES Girls Club, helping to support our city’s young women to develop skills and make change in their own communities.

  • In 2017, Andrea spearheaded efforts for a community-based cultural plan. She conducted extensive outreach efforts, hosted workshops and public forums, where she put resident and artists voices at the forefront.