Jan. 10, 2021 7:00 pm ET Leaders in business, labor and government across New York are cheering U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumerâs coming elevation to majority leader after Democrats won two runoff elections in Georgia. Mr. Schumer, a 70-year-old Brooklyn Democrat, first won elected office in 1974 and was elected to the Senate in 1998. He will become the first New Yorker to serve as U.S. Senate majority leader later this month. The majority leaderâs perch will give Mr. Schumer the ability to steer funding for infrastructure projects like a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, and leverage to push policies that are of local concern, like easing federal limits on the deductibility of state and local taxes.