The 18th Senate District encompasses the northern Brooklyn communities of Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Cypress Hills, City-Line, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville.

[1] A Democrat, Dilan was a member of the New York City Council for 10 years.

[2] In November 2002, Dilan was elected to the New York State Senate.

[1] Dilan voted in favor of the Marriage Equality Act in 2011[3] and voted for the gun control law known as the NY SAFE Act in 2013.

[5] Dilan's parents came to the United States from Puerto Rico.