Senator Siela A. Bynoe made history upon taking office becoming the first Black person to represent Long Island in the New York State Senate. Senator Bynoe is a first-generation American, a housing and education advocate and a former Nassau County Legislator.
As a 49+ year resident of Long Island, Senator Bynoe has deep roots in the 6th Senate District and a first-hand understanding of the community’s needs. Raised by a single mother, she learned the lessons of leadership through hard work and how to give back to her community. Education, advocacy, and community service are constant threads throughout Senator Bynoe’s life. After graduating from Westbury High School, she earned an Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts from Nassau County Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Hofstra University. Guided by the life lessons of her formative years, she embarked upon an extensive career in the public, not-for-profit, and private sectors.
In her role as a mortgage loan consultant and credit loan officer, she administered the bank's commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act. Next, she joined Long Island Housing Partnership, where she launched their Nassau County branch, secured $3 million in aid for first-time home buyers, and established herself as an advocate for affordable housing solutions on Long Island. Upon her transition to the public sector, Senator Bynoe served as an Assistant Director of the North Hempstead Housing Authority before being named Executive Director of the Huntington Housing Authority. Over the lifespan of her career working in housing, she has helped to secure over $40 million to rehabilitate some of Long Island’s oldest affordable communities.
As a young professional, Senator Bynoe followed in her mother’s footsteps as an adult student pursuing higher education. In 2003, while completing her Master’s degree in Public Administration at LIU Post, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. While receiving treatments, she persisted with her weekend classes and continued working full time during the week. She graduated in 2006--two years after her final chemotherapy treatment.
After completing her studies, Senator Bynoe turned her focus to bolstering the educational opportunities available to the residents of her hometown. In 2008, she was appointed by the North Hempstead Town Council to serve as commissioner of the North Hempstead Housing Authority. Two years later, in 2010, she was elected to her first of two terms on the Westbury School Board, where she worked to implement smart policies to manage costs, enhance educational offerings, and increase graduation rates.
Senator Bynoe’s journey of public service led her to the Nassau County Legislature, where she was first elected in 2014 in a special election. During her five terms in the Legislature, she earned a reputation as a diligent and inventive lawmaker. She applied her knack for building bipartisan consensus to implement initiatives to protect the environment and safeguard our drinking water from hazardous contaminants; remove and renovate zombie homes; address mental and behavioral health challenges; implement public safety reforms like body cameras for all county police officers, and more.
In 2024, Siela A. Bynoe was elected to the New York State Senate to represent District Six. The district includes the communities of Baldwin, Baldwin Harbor, Carle Place, Freeport, Garden City, Hempstead, Lakeview, Mineola, New Cassel, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Roosevelt, South Hempstead, Uniondale, Westbury, and West Hempstead.
Senator Bynoe is the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Libraries and a member of the Consumer Protection, Education, Environmental Conservation, Investigations and Government Operations, Mental Health, and Transportation Committees.