Hello, neighbors in Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, and every block across Assembly District 52.
I'm Brett Wynkoop, and I'm running because our district needs a voice that truly gets the everyday challenges we face-rising costs, housing pressures, unreliable energy, and a justice system that too often leaves working families behind.
I'm not a career politician. I'm a neighbor, a veteran, a small business survivor, a part-time computer science teacher, and a captain who's spent years on New York's waters. My life here in Brooklyn has taught me resilience, service, and the importance of listening to the people who actually live and work in our communities.
My story starts with service. My father spent 30 years on Navy submarines; my mother was a registered nurse who cared for others every day. Their values, duty, community, and hard work, shaped me. My family's roots go back to the early Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam and the Revolutionary War, and my mother's side arrived legally from Slovakia in 1913.
Growing up in a military family, I attended 12 public schools across the country, from suburban Virginia to inner-city California. Those moves showed me how much more unites us than divides us, a lesson I carry into our wonderfully diverse Brooklyn neighborhoods.
I graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, served as a Naval Reserve officer (reaching lieutenant), and built a career in tech, specializing in Unix, networking, and security. I even testified before the City Council for auditable voting machines with paper ballots to protect our elections.
Here in New York, I've been an entrepreneur: ran a sailing school and charter boat business at the 79th Street Boat Basin, operated a mobile radio shop for Washington Heights gypsy cabs, and owned an IT firm that was crushed by 9/11. After COVID layoffs from healthcare site reliability work, I returned to captaining charter sailboats and teaching computer science to help the next generation.
Public service is in my blood. As a teen ham radio operator, I handled emergency comms during wildfires and hurricanes. On 9/11, I biked from Brooklyn to Ground Zero to help coordinate communications. I founded the Brooklyn Repertory Opera Company to bring culture to our borough, until finances forced us to close.
Today, I'm running to fight for the things that matter most in District 52: affordable living, strong and safe communities, fair courts, reliable energy, good jobs, and real protections for our freedoms and privacy. I've seen firsthand how Albany decisions hit home here, I want to bring common, sense solutions that put families and neighbors first.
Let's build a stronger, fairer Brooklyn together.
If you're ready for a representative who listens, who's been through the same struggles, and who's committed to our district, reach out. Email me, call, or message to talk, share your concerns, or volunteer. I'm here, I'm listening, and I'm ready to serve Assembly District 52.