Anyone who has tried to rent an apartment in New York knows Chi Ossé. That’s because earlier this year, the City Councilman succeeded in passing the FARE Act, ending mandatory broker’s fees for tenants. Remember showing up to an apartment, waiting for a broker to unlock the door, gesture vaguely at the room, lie to your face about pests, and then ask you to fork over $5,000 or so? Done! A gift from a New Yorker, to New Yorkers. Like another fast-rising star in New York City politics, Ossé, a Brooklyn native, rallied his troops on Instagram Reels.
Ossé was the first member of Gen Z elected to the City Council in 2021, and his leadership style reflects this background, as well as his work in the Black Lives Matter movement and three-generation deep Brooklyn roots. He racked up views with his “Why Shit Not Working” video series, tackling everything from transit deserts to Black displacement.
Ossé admits he still gets his news on Twitter (he’s not calling it X) or via text—the same way the vast majority of his Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights constituents probably do. But, in the anachronistic way of many Gen Zers, he still prefers to curl up with a physical book on the weekend. Here, he tells CULTURED about the one that pushed him to run for office, the one he hopes his constituents will pick up, and the tome he thinks can help mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani bring the city together.
When and where do you read?
I read whenever I have free time. Especially over the summer, I’ve been able to read a lot by the ocean, which has been really nice. I do like reading before bed. It really helps me fall asleep. I also listen to audiobooks sometimes as a means to fall asleep at the end of the night.
There’s a big debate about whether audiobooks count as reading. Do you fall on the side of you are still reading the book, whichever way you get it?
I need a physical book. When I’m going to sleep, I obviously do audiobook, but I’ve not been able to do the Kindle or reading on my phone thing. Having a physical book is great, but also it looks pretty on the shelf, you know? I [also] do book swaps with friends.
I love doing book swaps, but then I’m secretly afraid that I’ll never get my books back.
There are several people who have my books that have not been returned. Also, I’ve gone on second dates before, and I’ve given a book to this person that I brought up on the first date, and have not gotten that book back either, so, learned my lesson there.
Where do you read the news?
It’s always on Twitter. News is often texted to me, too. There’s a lot of updates that I find in real time on social media. The New York City press corps, especially around local news, is really on the ball about things, so I think they keep me updated on X, or Twitter, which I still call it. Once you avoid a lot of the incel content that exists there, you can still find some updates on what’s happening in the world.
Is there a book that you feel really captures growing up in Brooklyn?
Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. It really captures this Brooklyn that my parents grew up in, which was always told to me in stories. It reminds me of a nostalgic Brooklyn that I didn’t fully live in, but lived in the after-effects of. It really captures the beauty of what Brooklyn used to be, and there’s also still pockets that still exist. That’s a book that I always recommend to folks. She’s a fabulous author.
Is there one that you wish you could hand deliver to all your constituents, if you knew that they would read it?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It’s such a traditional book to recommend to folks, but it really helped me find my way. The world would be a better place if everyone found their way. There’s some magic in that book that when you do read it, something illuminating in your life, or in your life’s direction, comes to be. I would want that for everyone that I represent. It might make my job a bit easier. I read it right before I ran for office in the summer of 2020.
How do you find the next book that you want to read?
My number one source is a good friend of mine, and he works in publishing, Jackson Howard [a senior editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux]. He’s an excellent source for all of my next reads, and actually got me back into reading a couple of years ago. He works on a lot of queer literature. He put me on to one of my favorite writers right now, Bryan Washington. Bryan wrote this book called Memorial, and it got me back into reading again. I really appreciate him and Bryan for that.
Is there a book that you feel like deserves a place in the queer canon of literature?
Memorial definitely needs to be included in that. I will sing its praises forever and always. Also, Memorial is the book that I’ve lent to that person on a second date that I have not gotten back, so, full circle moment.
Who would you love to read a biography from that hasn’t put one out yet?
I’m so ready for the AOC biography. I know a lot of her story is public, but, just the inner workings of her head, where she has been mentally in some of these situations that she’s been in, as well as what she sees the future of this country to be. Whether she’s at the helm or not, I would love her insight on a lot that she’s been through, and I don’t think we’ve gotten it yet.
Is there a book that ruined you, but in the best way?
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a really great read. There’s some significant, sad moments in that book, but there’s something very homey about it, and it made me very happy. There’s lessons of pain, and grief, and friendship, and video games, which are all things I love.
Is there a book that you always turn to when you’re looking for inspiration?
Black Futures. Jenna Wortham and Kimberly Drew wrote that book. It’s an art book, but also ethological. Speaking about Black Futurism sometimes through a modern, present tense helps me keep my eyes on the prize of where I need to be moving forward on my own personal journey.
Do you feel like you’re able to draw inspiration or insight from cross-disciplinary sources a lot?
Absolutely, I think that’s what informs my politics in a way that’s different from some other people. I grew up in a creative family around music and worked in nightlife as one of my first jobs. A lot of my personal experience outside of politics, and my own interests and the jobs of my friends, help me govern in the best way that I’m able to. Multidisciplinary interests and ways of life make a good politician.
You’ve been working with Zohran Mamdani on his mayoral campaign, and certainly posting together quite a bit. Is there a book you’d recommend for him to get through the final stretch before the election?
I would say Rats [Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants] by Robert Sullivan. It’s one of my favorite books. It’s kind of gross. It’s about the history of the rodent problem in New York City. I recommend that book because I think as he becomes our next Democratic Socialist mayor, where there’s a lot of unknown and fear for some people, a universal issue that New Yorkers care about is solving the rodent problem. If Zohran can look at his future mayoralty through that lens and these universal issues that impact each and every one of us, he will unite our city, and also make a damn good mayor.
Is there one you’d recommend for Cuomo?
Maybe, the Bible. I think he needs some God in his life. He maybe should read How to Win Friends and Influence People.
I almost feel like Cuomo has read that one a few too many times.
I think you might be right.
Is there a book you stopped reading in the middle and never picked back up?
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong.
Do you think you’re coming back to it, or you got what you needed?
I think I got what I needed. No shade.
Chi Ossé’s Required Reading List
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, 1956
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor, 2017
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
Palaver by Bryan Washington, 2025
“I don’t think it’s released yet, but I was able to read it because of [my book editor friend] Jackson [Howard].”
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
Except for Palestine by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnik, 2021
“It reinforced my feeling about [the conflict]. A couple of years ago, it kind of felt like I was a crazy person or a lot of people felt a little bit crazy in terms of their opinions on it, but I think it’s an excellent read.”
(Amazon, Barnes & Noble)
in your life?
