Gary Reilly cares deeply about our community and is a leading advocate on some of the most important issues we face. He has called for improvements to transportation, reining in overdevelopment, better access to quality schools for our children and neighborhood resources for senior citizens. Gary's background and experience has prepared him for a life in public service.

Gary Reilly grew up in a working-class family in rural New Gretna, NJ (population 1,510). While Gary's parents were immensely proud when he became the first member of the family to attend college, they didn't have the resources to pay for it. Gary put himself through Rutgers College with a combination of scholarships, financial aid, and hard work.

After college, Gary gained five years of valuable experience as a financial analyst and commercial banker, underwriting loans to the medium size businesses that employ so many of us. The best part of the job, Gary says, was learning the fundamental challenges that a broad cross-section of industry face, from healthcare costs to finding skilled workers to competition from overseas.

2001 was a year of life-altering change for millions of Americans. For Gary, the tragic events of 9/11 called for a reassessment of self and goals, life and work. Gary decided to dedicate his energies into more personally meaningful work. By August 2002 Gary was enrolled at Rutgers Law School and looking forward to dedicating himself to public service.

At law school Gary learned he could be a persuasive advocate, and was selected for the Moot Court Board and elected to the Student Bar Association. His best experiences in law school, however, came from serving in the Environmental Law Clinic. For three semesters Gary worked on cases ranging from land use to wetlands protection, and even argued cases in NJ Superior Court. He had his first experience with neighborhood preservation helping to stop an out of scale development in a rural farming community. After school and the bar exam, he sought out local community groups with which to get involved.

Gary has worked hard to improve our transit system and promote safe streets for all users - pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Gary spearheaded a grassroots effort for improved service on the F line that runs through the 39th District, including full local and express service on the F/V lines and improved G train service. The petition to bring back express service on the F after a 30-year absence brought thousands of voices to the attention of the MTA. Gary Reilly will work tirelessly to make sure that Brooklyn gets the better transit service it deserves. He has testified before the MTA Board and at City Council and State Assembly hearings on transportation issues from Congestion Pricing to curb cuts to subway service to residential parking permits, always on the side of keeping our streets and sidewalks safe and our transit needs sufficiently funded.

Gary is an active board member of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, and a member of the Transportation and Public Safety/Environment Committees of Community Board 6. He is also a member of the Gowanus Community Stakeholders Group and a proud supporter of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative. A longtime member of the ACLU, Gary is a passionate supporter of equal rights for all New Yorkers regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

While still in school, Gary met the love of his life, Mia, and through Mia, he also found an ideal home in Carroll Gardens. Both are the proud products of public schools and believe that strong public school systems are the lifeblood of our communities.