Before coming to Pace, Yassky was chair of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Yassky also served for eight years in the New York City Council, representing Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Greenpoint and Williamsburg.

In the 1990s, Yassky served under then-Rep. Chuck Schumer as chief counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime, helping to enact the Brady Law, the Assault Weapons Ban and the Violence Against Women Act.