Hakeem Jeffries told his caucus to hold town halls right away. Which NY Dems followed through?

Shortly after the House began their 2025 legislative session, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave his Democratic colleagues some clear instructions. In a “Dear Colleague” letter dated Feb. 3, Jeffries shared an “update on several urgent matters that we are working on for the country.” He cited fighting back against “far-right extremism” of the recently inaugurated Trump administration as a catalyst. After outlining his fiscal, legal and messaging priorities, the final point was a call-to-action.

“Lastly, we urge all Members to once again conduct district-wide outreach today, or as soon as possible this week, in order to connect directly with our constituents and discuss the challenges we are decisively addressing on their behalf,” Jeffries wrote. “For example, I will conduct a telephone town hall meeting in my district this evening. We will track participation throughout the Caucus.” 

City & State reviewed social media and reached out to the offices of each member of the New York Democratic caucus to see if they followed Jeffries’ urging and held a town hall before Feb. 10. Including Jeffries, only four out of the 19 members of the caucus in his home state did. Rep. Ritchie Torres held a virtual town hall for his district on Feb. 9, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat hosted a virtual Know Your Rights town hall on Feb. 8 as a part of his ongoing efforts to inform the public about the rights of undocumented people. Rep. Yvette Clarke also held a immigration rights virtual forum Feb. 6. 

Reps. Pat Ryan, Nydia Velázquez, Dan Goldman, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paul Tonko and Joe Morelle held town halls after Jeffries’ deadline but before this story was published. (Velázquez was included on a flier for a Zoom Know Your Rights forum hosted by City Councilmember Sandy Nurse on Feb. 7, but held her own town hall on Feb. 19.) Reps. Tom Suozzi, George Latimer and Greg Meeks shared specific plans to hold town halls in early March. 

Some reps’ spokespeople told City & State they were planning their town halls but provided no announcements specifying dates and times. These were: Laura Gillen, Grace Meng, John Mannion and Tim Kennedy. Rep. Josh Riley’s team shared a video in which Riley commits to holding town halls “every three months.”

“House Democrats are on the frontline of the struggle to protect the people we represent in New York,” Jeffries told City & State. He continued “I am thankful for their continued engagement through local events, constituent meetings, telephone town halls and larger constituent gatherings.”

On the other side of the aisle, some House Republicans are discouraging in person town hall meetings after controversy from their constituents about the Department of Government Efficiency’s slashing of federal funds and personnel layoffs.