VoterLens
New York State Assembly District 48
Data last updated 10/21/2026
Simcha Eichenstein was elected on November 6, 2018, to represent New York's 48th Assembly District, including Borough Park, Kensington, and Midwood in Brooklyn, and was appointed Assistant Majority Whip on the first day of the 2023 legislative session. Before his election, he served on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's legislative affairs team in Albany and senior intergovernmental staff at City Hall, and earlier worked for four years as a senior aide to New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. He also previously served as political affairs director at a public relations firm, special assistant in the New York State legislature, and member of Brooklyn's Community Board 12.
Committee Assignments: Chair, Subcommittee on Outreach and Oversight of Senior Citizen Programs · Member, Committee on Cities · Member, Committee on Governmental Employees · Member, Committee on Housing · Member, Committee on Insurance · Member, Committee on Real Property Taxation · Member, Committee on Social Services
Simcha Eichenstein's healthcare record emphasizes insurance coverage/access for vulnerable patients, family caregiving flexibility, and preserving local control and patient safety at Brooklyn healthcare institutions. As the Assembly member for New York Assembly District 48, he has sponsored or co-sponsored healthcare-related bills on rare-disease coverage, consumer-directed personal assistance, child medication administration at camps, and coverage for New Yorkers losing insurance.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Stated he was strongly opposed to the proposed NYC Health + Hospitals takeover of Maimonides Medical Center, citing lack of local input and concerns about independence, local interests, and patient safety.
SourceSimcha Eichenstein’s economy-and-jobs record for New York Assembly District 48 emphasizes cost-of-living relief, economic-impact review before utility rate hikes, targeted tax credits, affordable-housing tax-incentive rules, and constituent help with unemployment benefits.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Eichenstein’s Assembly office assigned staff to help thousands of constituents complete and process unemployment-benefit applications after pandemic lockdowns caused job losses and delayed economic relief.
SourceSimcha Eichenstein has little publicly available issue-specific immigration platform material. The clearest immigration-related legislative record found is support for anti-discrimination protections that include citizenship or immigration status, plus constituent-facing immigration legal counseling resources promoted through his Assembly office.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Eichenstein's Assembly office newsletter advertised free immigration counseling as a constituent service resource in the 48th Assembly District.
SourceSimcha Eichenstein’s climate-and-energy record is focused more on utility affordability and Public Service Commission oversight than on broad climate-transition policy. As a sitting Assembly member for New York Assembly District 48, he has prime-sponsored measures to cap or scrutinize utility rate increases and has received mixed environmental scorecard ratings, including a low 2023 NYLCV score and higher 2022 Environmental Advocates NY score.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Eichenstein publicly supported his A2400/S1847 proposal as a way to require PSC review of affordability impacts and prevent families from being priced out of essential utility services.
SourceThe New York League of Conservation Voters listed Eichenstein, Assembly District 48, with a 36% 2023 State Environmental Scorecard result, indicating a mixed-to-low alignment with NYLCV climate, energy, and environmental priorities that year.
SourceSimcha Eichenstein emphasizes support for nonpublic/yeshiva school autonomy while saying schools should provide a quality education. In legislation, he has proposed special-education due-process and placement protections, hate-crime awareness instruction, and a school-safety commission.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Eichenstein said he helped lead the successful effort in the state budget to clearly define substantial equivalency for non-public schools and protect their autonomy while providing quality education.
SourceSimcha Eichenstein, Democratic Assembly Member for New York Assembly District 48, has emphasized public safety through measures addressing hate crimes, bail eligibility for violent or weapon-related offenses, school-shooting preparedness, security grants, and buffer zones around religious and school facilities. His public-safety record is especially focused on protecting Jewish institutions, schools, camps, and community members from harassment, intimidation, hate crimes, and violence.
Specific Actions & Proposals
Eichenstein said he was proud to have been involved in drafting and securing passage of legislation creating 50-foot buffer zones with misdemeanor penalties for harassment or intimidation near protected religious, school, and community facilities.
SourceNew York State Assembly biography
https://assembly.ny.gov/mem/?ad=048&sh=aboutFetched: biography, location, education, background
New York State Assembly committee membership
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/?ad=048&sh=commFetched: committee assignments
New York State Assembly Member Directory
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-EichensteinFetched: votingRecord
LegiScan New York Sponsors page linking Simcha Eichenstein HD-048 to FollowTheMoney
https://legiscan.com/NY/sponsors/K00287/2025Fetched: votingRecord, campaignFinance
FollowTheMoney.org Entity Details: EICHENSTEIN, SIMCHA
https://www.followthemoney.org/entity-details?default=candidate&eid=45421589Fetched: campaignFinance
Transparency USA: Simcha Eichenstein New York Candidate 2026
https://www.transparencyusa.org/ny/candidate/simcha-eichensteinFetched: campaignFinance
New York State United Teachers
https://www.nysut.org/resources/special-resources-sites/voter-guide/endorsementsFetched: endorsements
Professional Staff Congress/CUNY
https://psc-cuny.org/issues/psc-endorsements-general-election-2026/Fetched: endorsements
Environmental Advocates NY Action
https://eaaction.org/2022-scorecard-assembly-edition/Fetched: endorsements
New York League of Conservation Voters
https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/NYLCV_2023_StateScorecard_DIGITAL.pdf?ceid=1325221&emci=fe786068-a69e-ee11-bea1-002248223f36&emdi=e3059448-4ca0-ee11-bea1-002248223f36&sourceid=1014473Fetched: endorsements
Medical Society of the State of New York
https://www.mssny.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/MSSNY-2023-Legislator-Scorecard-2.pdfFetched: endorsements
Vote Smart
https://j.futurefacts.votesmart.io/election/2026/L/NA/2026-state-legislative-election?p=2&party=5&stageId=PFetched: endorsements
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=048&sh=welcomeFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly statement on Maimonides Medical Center
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/story/115598Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - A2400A
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2400/amendment/AFetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - A11484
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A11484Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - A406
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A406Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on unemployment benefits
https://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/story/94186Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Senate Open Legislation
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A5859Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly - Simcha Eichenstein District 48 newsletter
https://assembly.state.ny.us/write/upload/member_files/048/pdfs/20220616_0102416.pdfFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly Member Page
https://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Simcha-EichensteinFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/?ad=048&sh=officeFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly sponsored legislation page
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/?ad=048&sh=sponsorFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page A02235
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A02235&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page A02400
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A02400&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly bill page A07076
https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A07076&leg_video=Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly press release on A2400/S1847
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/story/117919Fetched: issuePositions
New York League of Conservation Voters 2023 State Scorecard
https://nylcv.org/wp-content/uploads/NYLCV_2023_StateScorecard_DIGITAL.pdfFetched: issuePositions
Environmental Advocates NY 2022 Scorecard Assembly Edition
https://eaaction.org/2022-scorecard-assembly-edition/Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly Member Directory - Simcha Eichenstein sponsored legislation
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/sponsor/Fetched: issuePositions
PoliticsNY Q&A with Assembly Member Simcha Eichenstein
https://politicsny.com/2025/08/11/inside-government-with-politicsny-a-qa-with-assembly-member-simcha-eichenstein/Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - Assembly Bill A146
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A146Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - Assembly Bill A410
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A410Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - Assembly Bill A625
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A625Fetched: issuePositions
NYS Senate Open Legislation - Assembly Bill A2072
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2072Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly member page
https://www.nyassembly.gov/mem/?ad=048&sh=aboutFetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly sponsored legislation page
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/sponsor/Fetched: issuePositions
New York State Assembly buffer-zone press release
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Simcha-Eichenstein/story/118368Fetched: issuePositions