Cea Weaver

Cea Weaver is an American tenant organizer who serves as the director of the New York City Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants since 2026. She previously coordinated the statewide organization Housing Justice for All and was a central figure in the campaign that led to the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Weaver has advocated for rent strikes and regulations that prioritize housing for community use rather than profit. She was appointed to her current municipal role by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on January 1, 2026.

Early life and education Weaver was born in and grew up in Rochester, New York. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr College in 2010. Weaver earned a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in 2014. Her mother, Celia Applegate, is a professor at Vanderbilt University .

Career and activism

Early activism Following her graduation in 2010, Weaver worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer, organizing in multi-family buildings that were facing foreclosure during the aftermath of the financial crisis. She helped form and served as the coordinator for the statewide tenant organization Housing Justice for All, as well as the director of the New York State Tenant Bloc. The legislation eliminated vacancy decontrol and tightened regulations on rent increases for stabilized apartments.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020, Weaver advocated for rent strikes as a form of collective political action to pressure the government for intervention. She argued for "turning a moment where people cannot pay into a moment of political activity." However, following controversy surrounding her social media activity, Williams withdrew her nomination. Weaver's comments included a post celebrating the government's "sacred right to seize private property", and a 2019 post arguing that "homeownership is a weapon of white supremacy masquerading as 'wealth building' public policy". Former New York City mayor Eric Adams commented on X that, "Homeownership is how immigrants, Black, Brown, and working-class New Yorkers built stability and generational wealth despite every obstacle. You have to be completely out of your f****ing mind to call that 'white supremacy'." In an interview, Weaver called some of her comments "regretful" and "not something I would say today".