[9][10] Ulrich supported Melissa Mark-Viverito during her run for Council Speaker in 2013, an unpopular position for Republicans.

[12][13] Ulrich started a committee with Mark Treyger to monitor the recovery effort following Hurricane Sandy.

Ulrich's constituents resided in parts of the Rockaway Peninsula and Howard Beach which were disproportionately affected by the storm.

[11][20] Following remarks by presidential candidate Donald Trump that John McCain was not a war hero, Ulrich rejected his comments, calling them "a slap in the face to New York City’s veterans and their families, especially those who had been 'captured' as former POWs."

Ulrich wrote a letter July 20, 2015 to Jamaica Hospital, urging the Board of Directors to remove Trump's name from the nursing home.

[22][better source needed] In early April 2020, he and Democratic New York City Councilman Robert Holden wrote to Mayor de Blasio asking him to relieve Commissioner of Health of the City of New York Oxiris Barbot of her position "before it’s too late," saying her guidance on the coronavirus had been disastrous.

While the Queens Republican Party endorsed Juan D. Reyes in the primary,[24] Ulrich prevailed nonetheless.

The Daily News found that 61% of the "top tier" positions were held by employees residing in Queens County.

Podhoretz's column cited private polling that showed Ulrich leading the field with 22 percent of the vote, giving him “a real shot at winning” the special election.

[37] On November 1, 2022, investigators working for the Manhattan district attorney seized Ulrich's phone pursuant to a search warrant.

[43] As of September 2023, Ulrich is reportedly dating Rhonda Binda, an employee of Mayor Eric Adams's administration.