After years of serving on the Community Board, uptown business owner Zead Ramadan has his sights set on running for the City Council. The Kuwait-born, Washington Heights-raised 46-year-old recently announced he is running for the 7th District City Council seat currently occupied by Robert Jackson, who is running for Manhattan borough president.
Ramadan is best known in the neighborhood as a community leader, previously serving as chair of Community Board 12 and current owner of X Cafe. Arriving in New York at the age of 5 from Kuwait, he is one of eight children and attended local public schools. He earned his degree in political science from Stony Brook University.
While in college, he did an internship at the United Nations, where he says he gained his exposure to diverse customs.
“It was eye-opening experience to the world of high diplomacy,” he said. “My tenure at the U.N. helped me learn certain diplomatic skills that don’t come naturally to people, generally speaking.”
After college, Ramadan worked as a financial coordinator at Weil, Gotshal & Manges for six years before he discovered the budding trend of coffeehouses, which had not reached upper Manhattan yet. He opened X Cafe, which sits at 165th Street and Broadway in the base of the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center in Washington Heights.
He became interested in politics when he went before Community Board 12 to get an outdoor cafe permit. Ramadan said that while trying to get the permit, he learned the laws and
rules and saw a need on the Community Board. He joined in 1998 and became chair in 2001.
While on the Community Board, he created the Uptown Arts Stroll and convinced Columbia University to double the amount of its Dykman Scholarship recipients.
Along with being a business owner, he is the president of the board of directors of the New York Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY)–a national civil rights organization–and is the founding chair of the board of directors of the Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Memorial Education Center. He was recently elected to the board of directors of the West Harlem Development Corp.
Ramadan has served over 10 years on the board of directors for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ). He is also the founding chair of the board of directors for the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NoMAA) and is the vice co-chair of the Washington Heights and Inwood Chamber of Commerce.
“I decided to run for office after 15 years of service to the community,” he said. “My background speaks for itself, and I think I have the credentials.”
Ramadan added that he plans to focus on revitalizing the 7th District through economic development and bringing jobs. He also wants to concentrate on education and affordable housing. Ramadan said that he already has support from the Jackson camp and is known by uptown political heavyweights including Rep. Charlie Rangel, Sen. Bill Perkins, Assemblyman Keith Wright and City Councilwoman Inez Dickens. Political consultant Bill Lynch is also behind him.
“I am extremely proud to officially announce my candidacy for the New York City Council,” Ramadan said at a recent press conference. “As the former chair of Community Board 12M and a 15-year member, I have proudly served the constituents of this district and I know first-hand how far we have come, but I am also acutely aware of what is needed to move our district forward.”
