The Freedom Party of New York is a name given to two separate political parties that existed only in the state of New York. The first, created by allies of would-be Governor George Pataki

George Pataki

George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...

, gained ballot access in the 1994 gubernatorial election

New York gubernatorial election, 1994

The New York gubernatorial election of 1994 was an election for the state governorship held on November 8, 1994. The election resulted in the defeat of Democratic incumbent Governor Mario Cuomo by Republican George Pataki.-Primaries:...

 under the name "Tax Cut Now Party," and gained the requisite 50,000 votes to retain permanent ballot access through the 1998 election, when it lost permanent ballot access and ceased to exist. It endorsed Republican Bob Dole

Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...

 in the 1996 presidential election

United States presidential election, 1996

The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...

.

The second, far different, party was founded in 2010 by former Black Panther

Black panther

A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...

 and outgoing New York City Council

New York City Council

The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

man Charles Barron

Charles Barron

Charles Barron is a Democratic politician who represents the 42nd District of New York City in the New York City Council...

 on a black progressive platform. That party finished sixth out of seven candidates in the 2010 gubernatorial election

New York gubernatorial election, 2010

The New York gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of New York, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as the running mate of former Governor...

, with Barron receiving 20,775 votes according to preliminary reports.. The final vote was 24,572.

The party held a founding convention February 13-14, 2011 in New York City, adopting a platform of "structural transformation of the political and economic system that included: An equitable redistribution of wealth, progressive taxation, free education from pre-k to post baccalaureate, jobs, reparations, housing, political prisoners, women’s rights, support for youth and seniors, end to police brutality and deadly force, and clean and renewable energy."