Maritza Davila

DINCUMBENTNY State Assembly Member, District 53 (since 2013)

Maritza Davila is the incumbent Democratic nominee for NY State Assembly District 53, running unopposed for a seventh term. A longtime Bushwick and Williamsburg community organizer, she chairs the Assembly's Social Services Committee and is a member of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.[1][2][3]

Floor votes in Albany

  • YesProvides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits · S10113 · Passed Assembly 88–53 · 2026-06-05 official record ↗Provides that a microbusiness licensee authorized to conduct retail sales may serve as a processor and cultivator for purposes of cannabis showcase event permits.
  • YesRelates to granting employees access to personnel records · S3460 · Passed Assembly 92–49 · 2026-05-19 official record ↗Grants employees access to personnel records; requires notice of negative information in such records and an opportunity for a review; permits employee to include certain information in personnel records.
  • YesConcealed Carry Improvement Act · S51001 · Passed 90–52 · 2022-07-01 official record ↗Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.
  • Yes2021–22 budget revenue bill · S2509 · Passed 88–61 · 2021-04-07 official record ↗Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.
  • YesProtect Our Courts Act · A2176 · Passed 97–44 · 2020-07-20 official record ↗Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.
  • YesClimate Leadership and Community Protection Act · S6599 · Passed 111–35 · 2019-06-20 official record ↗Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.
  • YesHousing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 · S6458 · Passed 95–46 · 2019-06-14 official record ↗Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.
  • YesExtreme risk protection orders (red-flag law) · S2451 · Passed 100–37 · 2019-01-29 official record ↗Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms.
  • YesReproductive Health Act · S240 · Passed 95–49 · 2019-01-22 official record ↗Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.

Votes on landmark laws since 2019, plus 2026 roll calls where at least five members voted on the losing side — read from the legislature’s official records.

On the record — official actions

  • actionChairs the Assembly's Social Services Committee (since January 2023) and is a member of the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Children and Families, Housing and Rules committees in the 2025–2026 session; also a member of the Assembly's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.[3]
  • billSponsors legislation on public assistance and rent-regulated housing, including A02502 (establishing home stability support supplement programs), A02538 (barring SNAP applicants from being required to submit to finger imaging) and A00989 (regulating buyout agreements within rent-regulated apartments); as of the current session these remained in committee without floor votes.[4]

Positions on the issues

  • SupportsStronger rent regulation and tenant protectionsFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on S6458 (Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, 2019-06-14): Made rent regulation permanent, ended vacancy decontrol and the vacancy bonus, and limited rent increases for major capital improvements.[6]

    What they say: Sponsors A00989, which would add tenant protections against harassment or undue pressure in landlord buyout offers for rent-regulated apartments, requiring written disclosure of tenants' rights and penalizing harassment tactics.[5]

    “This legislation provides needed protection to rent-regulated tenants from the common situation where tenants face harassment and undue pressure from landlords to surrender or waive their rights to occupancy pursuant to "buyout" agreements.”
  • SupportsFaster transition away from fossil fuelsFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on S6599 (Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, 2019-06-20): Set statewide targets of 70% renewable electricity by 2030 and an 85% cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.[7]

  • SupportsStricter gun lawsFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on S2451 (Extreme risk protection orders (red-flag law), 2019-01-29): Allows courts to temporarily bar people found to pose a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms. Voted yes on S51001 (Concealed Carry Improvement Act, 2022-07-01): Enacted after the Bruen decision: added training and character requirements for carry permits and barred guns in designated sensitive places.[8][9]

  • SupportsProtect legal access to abortionFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on S240 (Reproductive Health Act, 2019-01-22): Moved abortion from the penal code to the public-health law and protected access to abortion under state law.[10]

  • OpposesExpand immigration enforcement and deportationsFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on A2176 (Protect Our Courts Act, 2020-07-20): Bars federal civil immigration arrests of people going to, attending, or leaving New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.[11]

  • SupportsRaise taxes on high earners or corporationsFrom recorded votes

    Voted yes on S2509 (2021–22 budget revenue bill, 2021-04-07): Raised personal income tax rates on incomes above $1 million and raised the corporate franchise tax rate on large businesses, among other revenue measures.[12]

Background

  • Born in Catano, Puerto Rico, and moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn, as a young girl, where she has lived since; raised three children as a single mother in Bushwick.[2]
  • Began her public-service career as a community organizer on education, healthcare, public safety, affordable housing and economic-development issues in Bushwick and Williamsburg, and served as president of the Community School District 32 board of education.[2]
  • Was a founding member of the North Brooklyn Coalition Against Domestic Violence and founded the Northern Brooklyn Residents Association, a community advocacy group focused on affordable housing.[2]
  • Joined the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council in 1996, where she helped found a local credit union and organized tenant, merchant and block associations.[2]
  • Earned an associate's degree in Political Science from Long Island University in 2013.[2]

Sources cited in this profile

  1. 1.New York State Assembly District 53 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.Assemblywoman Maritza Davila - Biography · New York State Assembly · 2026-09-25 Official record
  3. 3.Assemblywoman Maritza Davila - Committee Membership · New York State Assembly · 2026-09-25 Official record
  4. 4.Assemblywoman Maritza Davila - Legislation · New York State Assembly · 2026-09-25 Official record
  5. 6.Assembly floor vote: S6458 — Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 · New York State Assembly · 2019-06-14 Official record
  6. 7.Assembly floor vote: S6599 — Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act · New York State Assembly · 2019-06-20 Official record
  7. 8.Assembly floor vote: S2451 — Extreme risk protection orders (red-flag law) · New York State Assembly · 2019-01-29 Official record
  8. 9.Assembly floor vote: S51001 — Concealed Carry Improvement Act · New York State Assembly · 2022-07-01 Official record
  9. 10.Assembly floor vote: S240 — Reproductive Health Act · New York State Assembly · 2019-01-22 Official record
  10. 11.Assembly floor vote: A2176 — Protect Our Courts Act · New York State Assembly · 2020-07-20 Official record
  11. 12.Assembly floor vote: S2509 — 2021–22 budget revenue bill · New York State Assembly · 2021-04-07 Official record