New York Assemblyman N. Nick Perry was born and raised in Jamaica, West Indies. The fourth of five sons in a family of eleven children, he completed his secondary education at Kingston College and after graduation worked for the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union before traveling to the U.S. in the summer of 1971.
Upon arriving in the U.S., Perry volunteered for the selective service, and was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served for two years of active duty and four years on reserve status. He is the recipient of several service medals and was honorably discharged with the rank of Specialist E-5. Perry then attended college on the G.I. Bill, graduating from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Political Science, and later studied for an M.A. in Public Policy and Administration. While in college Perry was a student leader and student rights activist, founding the United Student League, the college’s prominent student government party.
After college, Perry got involved with community organizing and gained recognition as an effective advocate and strong leader in his community. He was appointed to the local Community Board, where he demonstrated the leadership skills that propelled him to election by his colleagues as Chairman. He was reelected to five consecutive one-year terms, during which he served on the Brooklyn Borough Board.
Assemblyman Perry was first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992 to represent the 58th Assembly District, which was newly reapportioned to Brooklyn. Perry was elected unopposed in November 2020 to his 15th consecutive two-year term. In 2020, Assemblyman Perry was elected and served as a Biden pledged delegate (NY-9.
Assemblyman Perry is currently the Assistant Speaker Pro Tempore of the New York State Assembly, and Regional Vice Chairman, (Region 2, NY & PA) of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL). Assemblyman Perry currently serves on the New York Assembly Committees on: Rules, Ways & Means, Codes, Banks, Labor, and Transportation. Perry is the former Chairman of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus.
Assemblyman Perry is married to Joyce and they have two children, daughter Novalie, and son Nickolas Alexander, and one granddaughter Justine.