BAY RIDGE — Former City Councilmember Justin Brannan declared that he is “not going anywhere” in a recent social media post reflecting on his eight-year tenure as District 47’s representative.
As for what’s on the horizon, Brannan told the Brooklyn Eagle that he plans to grow old serving the city. “I have no intentions of closing up shop and selling the farm just yet.”
When asked if he would ever consider a run for mayor or any other type of political office, Brannan said, never say never.
“I do believe, however, there are many meaningful ways to serve without having your name on the awning,” he said. “You can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. Getting involved isn’t optional anymore; it’s a responsibility.”
Justin Brannan served as councilmember from 2018 through 2025. Photo: Justin BrannanBrannan’s former chief counsel, Ohio native, civil litigation attorney and staunch Democrat, Kayla Santosuosso, was recently inducted as the 47th District’s newest councilmember. She is the first woman to represent the district.
“Justin lived and breathed this job,” Santosuosso said. According to her, despite being “wildly good” at the political component of his job, what Branna loved most was local problem-solving.
“Give the man a desktop, access to Facebook and emails, and a can of Diet Coke, and he would happily sit there for days, moving mountains with his signature intolerance for bureaucracy and laziness.”
“Getting paid to fight for the neighborhood where I grew up — what could possibly be better than that?” Brannan said of his former job. “Every day brought something new — new challenges and new knots that needed to be untied.”
Looking back on his body of work, he has no regrets. “I never made a promise I couldn’t keep, so I never broke one,” Brannan explained, adding that he never factored in his constituents’ party affiliation or even if they voted for him.
“I always went to bat for my constituents and never took a simple ‘no’ for an answer when it came to bureaucracy and red tape.”
Kayla Santosuosso, who now represents the 47th District, is the new councilmember replacing Justin Brannan and the first female representing Bay Ridge in the council. Photo: Wayne Daren Schneiderman/Brooklyn Eagle
In his tenure as councilmember, Brannan is credited with securing more than $350 million in public investments and advanced major capital projects, including seven new public schools and extensive renovations for nearly 20 parks and playgrounds. Additionally, Brannan authored over 500 pieces of legislation that became law.
“I only had the chance to represent Coney Island for a few years but got a lot done there, too,” he said. Following the 2023 redistricting based on the census, District 47 was reshaped to include Coney Island, Bath Beach and Seagate in addition to Bay Ridge.
“After we killed the casino that would have destroyed the neighborhood, we created a Coney Island Business Improvement District, got started on a ferry study and worked on securing $1 billion to repair the Coney Island Riegelmann Boardwalk, finally,” Brannan added.
‘I always loved helping people, and Brooklyn was a place where I could help people solve their problems in real time.’ Photo: Justin Brannan
Beginnings
Brannan, a Bay Ridge native, reflected on coming of age in Kings County and ascending to politics.
“If you told me one day I’d become a politician, I would have thought you were insane,” he said.
“I wasn’t one of those kids wearing a bow tie at four years old, telling everyone I wanted to be president. As a child, I thought politics was just for fancy people in Washington, D.C., old white men with white hair, and it all felt very foreign to me.”
It wasn’t until many years later that he discovered and really fell in love with the urgency and immediacy of local politics.
“I was intrigued,” he said. “I always loved helping people, and here was a place where I could help people solve their problems in real time. I was hooked!”
Brannan’s path to politics was unconventional. He delivered pizzas, worked as a bouncer and on Wall Street, and spent a decade on the road as a professional touring musician. Eventually, he was hired at a radio station where he got involved in union organizing. That was when he started thinking about politics.
“Working nine to five for a paycheck was never enough,” Brannan recalled. “I needed something rewarding beyond that, like advocating for my neighbors in the neighborhood where I grew up and making the system work for them.”
Brannan’s political career has been shaped by the belief that a good local elected official should have empathy, be responsive and genuinely care for people.
‘You either have it or you don’t’
Vincent Gentile served as councilmember for District 43 from 2003 through 2017 and was succeeded by Justin Brannan in 2018. Photo: Vincent Gentile
Vincent Gentile served as councilmember for District 43 from 2003 through 2017. Brannan succeeded him in 2018. Gentile told the Eagle that he and Brannan connected at former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s inauguration in 2009 and spent their subway ride home getting to know each other.
“At our first official sit-down, Justin said he wanted to run for State Senate, to which I replied, ‘Slow down, cowboy. Let’s first get you involved in government and some politics,’” said Gentile. “I hired him to join my staff soon thereafter, and he ultimately went on to become chief of staff. The rest is history.”
Gentile described a key quality necessary for any councilmember. “It requires exuberance,” he said. “You either have it or you don’t, and Justin has it.”
The honor of a lifetime
Brannan’s love and adulation for Kings County is unparalleled. “Nowhere else on Earth comes close to Brooklyn.”
“I feel so lucky to have been born and raised here. That world-famous New York City resilience and grit live deep within the Brooklyn marrow,” he continued. “Brooklyn breathes through every language, every hallway, every kitchen, every rhythm, every sidewalk slab and every prayer.”
The former councilmember called Kings County home to every culture, every race and every religion, “all stacked on top of one another, talking, laughing, arguing, thinking, surviving and creating.”
“Brooklyn doesn’t ask permission, and it doesn’t wait its turn. We endure, we adapt, we stick and move, no matter who doubts us or tries to divide us up.”
For Brannan, representing Bay Ridge and Coney Island at City Hall was the honor of a lifetime.
“At the end of the day, I’m just a kid from Bay Ridge who tried to leave a positive mark on my community.”
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
