Mariya Markh, Former Council Staffer, Announces Run for Southeast Brooklyn Council Seat

Mariya Markh, a political liaison who previously worked for several Brooklyn Council Members, announced her campaign for the borough’s 48th Council District seat on Monday. The District includes Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay and parts of Midwood.

Markh, who most recently worked as a Senior Community Liaison for the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, earlier served as a staffer for Council Members Lew Fidler, Alan Maisel and Chaim Deutsch, who currently holds the seat but is prevented by term limits from running again.

In a press release announcing the campaign, Markh also announced endorsements from Maisel, who represents the neighboring 46th Council District, as well as from Assembly Members Steven Cymbrowitz and Helene Weinstein, whose districts overlap with the 48th. Democratic District Leader Brad Reid also endorsed Markh.

“Mariya helped local residents get essential services back after Superstorm Sandy and organized food distributions during COVID. It is critical that our next Council Member is someone with crisis experience who can hit the ground running and lead our community through the recovery process,” Assembly Member Cymbrowitz said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “I’ve known Mariya for many years and I’m pleased to support her as Council Member for the 48th District.”

Those endorsements are the first by sitting elected officials in the increasingly crowded race for the 48th Council District. Markh joins five other candidates in seeking the seat, including nonprofit CEO Amber Adler, HRA staffer Boris Noble, teacher Steven Saperstein, radio host Heshy Tischler, and attorney Inna Vernikov.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Markh moved to southern Brooklyn as a child. She attended Edward R. Murrow High School and Brooklyn College, and has a Master’s degree in Politics from Fordham University.

“Like many Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union, my family had to uproot our lives in search of freedom,” Markh said in the press statement. “It was through hard work and perseverance, traits my parents instilled in me, that we achieved the upward mobility to reach the middle class. It is through public service that I give thanks for the opportunities we were given — and it is through public service that we ensure others have the same opportunities.”

At City Hall, Markh served as a liaison to Brooklyn Community Boards 13 and 15, and to the area’s Russian-speaking community. She also served as Executive Director to Fidler’s 41st Assembly District Democratic Club and as southern Brooklyn Vice President of the Brooklyn Young Democrats.

Last year, rumors circulated that Markh’s husband, Lenny, who works as Cymbrowitz’s chief of staff, might run for the seat, until Markh began putting out feelers for her own campaign about six months ago.