A new year brought four new members to the City Council with dramatically different backgrounds and political perspectives.

For new Council Member Yusef Salaam, this new chapter in politics comes 34 years after a wrongful conviction.

“I looked around today and I said, ‘wow, I’m supposed to be here,’” Salaam said in an interview with NY1 after his first day in the city council. “It’s such a wonderful time to be in this body as one of the newest members, to really lead my people as I serve them in the best way possible.”

Salaam was 15 years old when he learned about New York City’s criminal justice system firsthand. New Yorkers came to know Salaam as a member of the Central Park Five. He spent six years and eight months in prison as an innocent man.

After his exoneration, Salaam became an author, motivational speaker and advocate for criminal justice reform. Last year, the husband and father took on a new challenge in politics.

As a first-time candidate, Salaam entered the Democratic primary race for Council District 9, which encompasses the heart of Harlem. Salaam edged past two current assembly members to win the primary and decisively won the general election in November.

In discussing his priorities as a Council Member, Salaam said he’s focused on public safety and education.

“All the pain that our community has been feeling, I’m just glad to have been a person very, very close to the pain, so now that I have a seat at the table, I know exactly what the people are talking about,” Salaam said.

Democrat Susan Zhuang will represent a new, primarily Asian, south Brooklyn district, and Kristy Marmorato is now the first Republican to represent the Bronx in any level of government in two decades.

Chris Banks, a Brooklyn Democrat, upset longtime Council Member Charles Barron. Today, Banks represents communities from East New York to Canarsie.