Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn encompassing Ditmas Park, Flatbush, East Flatbush and Midwood. She is currently the New York State Assembly Majority Whip, Chair of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises and serves on numerous Assembly committees.
Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn as the daughter of Haitian immigrants and heir to Haiti’s slave abolitionist Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn is the first Haitian American woman elected in New York City.
Since Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn became a legislator in 2015, she has introduced over 200 pieces of Legislation, 34 of which became law, and has co-sponsored over 250 others.
As an Assemblymember and District Leader, Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn has been an outspoken and ardent advocate on issues concerning her Assembly District and all New Yorkers.
As the New York State Assembly Majority Whip, Assemblymember Bichotte Hermelyn also works to ensure that her fellow legislators are united on passing bills that aid their constituents and uplift all New Yorkers.
As a new mother to a healthy baby boy, who previously lost a son in 2016 after being turned away from a hospital in a high-risk situation, Bichotte Hermelyn is committed to ending the maternal healthcare crisis and addressing maternal mortality disparities disproportionately affecting Black and minority women. The Assemblymember sponsored the Jonah Bichotte Cowan Law (named after her late son), which establishes requirements for treatment when a mother comes to a hospital with concerns about being in pre-term labor.
She is currently sponsoring/co-sponsoring several bills to ensure all women receive the high-quality maternal healthcare they deserve, including Mickie’s Law which would ensure mothers who encounter fetal death get the treatment that they need to remove the dead fetus, especially in the event of an emergency.
She earned an MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, a BS in Electrical Engineering from SUNY Buffalo, a BS in Mathematics in Secondary Education, and a BT in Electrical Engineering both from Buffalo State College.
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn lives in Brooklyn where she is happily married to her husband Edu Hermelyn and enjoying motherhood with their son Daniel Jean Jacques Hermelyn. She recently graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2024, earning a Juris Doctorate.