Carlina Rivera
Carlina Rivera is the Councilwoman for the 2nd district of the New York City Council. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes portions of the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Lower East Side, Murray Hill and Rose Hill in Manhattan.
Carlina Rivera | |
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Member of the New York City Council from the 2nd district | |
Assumed office January 1, 2018 | |
Preceded by | Rosie Mendez |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America |
Alma mater | Marist College |
Website | City Council website Campaign website |
Early life and education
Rivera grew up and still lives on the Lower East Side, where she was raised in Section 8 housing by a single mother who emigrated from Puerto Rico.[1][2] She is a graduate of Notre Dame School (Manhattan) and of Marist College (she majored in journalism).
Career
Rivera worked as director of programs and services at Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES), a local nonprofit organization focused on neighborhood housing and preservation, economic development, and community revitalization.[3] Rivera was also a member of Manhattan Community Board 3[4] and later served as the legislative director for Rosie Mendez.[5]
City Council
Campaign
Rivera launched her campaign for City Council in 2016, running for the 2nd District, which encompasses East Village, Flatiron, Gramercy Park, Rose Hill, Kips Bay, Murray Hill and the Lower East Side. She was a first-time candidate and participated in public financing, raising $176,000 through the City’s matching funds program.[6] Rivera was endorsed by the Working Families Party,[7] former Councilwoman Rosie Mendez,[8] the City Council’s Progressive Caucus, and “21 in ‘21”, an initiative to elect 21 women to the 51-member body by 2021. There were five other candidates in the race.[9][10]
Rivera won the Democratic primary for the 2nd City Council district of New York in 2017 with 60.54% of the vote (8,354 votes). She went on to win the general election with 82.86% of the vote against Republican and perennial candidate Jimmy McMillan and several third-party candidates.[11] While campaigning, Rivera joined the Democratic Socialists of America and was named one of City & State’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars.”[12][13]
During the campaign it was reported that Rivera and her husband, Jamie Rogers, lived in a Section 8 apartment. The annual income limit for a family of two is $61,050. After deducting Rivera’s salary, in order to be under that cut off, Rogers would have had to earn less than $20,000 a year, which many thought unlikely considering his real estate holdings and father’s net worth.[14] The New York Post reported that Rivera deleted online photos of Rogers on his father’s yacht.[15] In an interview with The Villager Rivera and Rogers outlined their financial situation and contested that they did qualify for the apartment.[16]
Tenure
In 2019, as a co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, Rivera was involved in securing $250,000 for the New York Abortion Access Fund to provide abortions for women not covered by insurance or Medicaid, including for those who travel from out-of-state.[17] This funding made New York City the first city to allocate money directly to abortion procedures.[18]
Additionally in 2019, Rivera introduced legislation to create a patient advocate’s office within the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to help New Yorkers navigate the healthcare system and legislation to create an Office of Active Transportation, and an Office of Pedestrians.[19][20]
Rivera has also introduced and passed legislation to protect cyclists from eliminating bicycle lanes obstructions during construction and street work, and has passed legislation to protect tenants during periods of maintenance, renovation, and construction and immigrant families.[21] She has introduced legislation to reform the child welfare system, and passed bills to outlaw the sale of foie gras and outlaw pigeon trafficking.[22][23] She has mandated that the City report on the state of small businesses, and strengthened sexual harassment policies for public and private employers.
Rivera has called for more aid to reach New York City’s public hospital system, including funding and programs around reproductive healthcare, and has called for support for expecting New Yorkers through an expansion of midwifery programs.[24][25]
She was listed on City & State’s Manhattan Power 100 list, New York City Power 100 list and 2020’s Above and Beyond.[26][27][28]
In an effort to crack down on illegal hotel operators, Rivera introduced a bill in June 2018 to require short-term rental companies such as Airbnb to report host data to the city.[29] The bill passed the Council 45–0 and was signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio on August 6, 2018.[30] Airbnb is suing to block the legislation from being implemented.[31]
Rivera is Chair of the Council’s Committee on Hospitals and member of the Council's Women's Caucus, Progressive Caucus, and Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus.[32]
Personal life
Rivera and her husband, Jamie Rogers, live on the Lower East Side.[33]
See also
- List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States
References
- "Biography". Carlina Rivera. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- "Carlina Rivera for Council in District 2 | The Villager Newspaper". thevillager.com. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- "(Voter Guide) Carlina Rivera – City Council District 2". The Lo-Down : News from the Lower East Side. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- "New Council Member Carlina Rivera On Downtown Housing, Nightlife, L Train, and More". Bedford + Bowery. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- "Former Mendez aide running to replace her in City Council | Town & Village". town-village.com. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- "City Council Candidate Carlina Rivera Reports $176,000 Campaign Fund". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- https://workingfamilies.org/2017/04/wfp-leaders-announce-four-endorsements-city-council-races/
- http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/tag/district-2-council-campaign
- "NYWFP Leaders Announce Four Endorsements in NYC City Council Races". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- "Campaign Finance Filings Show District 2 Council Race is Heating Up (Updated)". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- "Carlina Rivera - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- d_evers (2018-01-24). "The New York City 40 Under 40 of 2017". CSNY. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- Peyser, Eve (November 14, 2017). "Bernie Sanders's Socialist Revolution Is Happening, Very Slowly". Vice.
- "'We qualify': Carlina Rivera, husband defend living in Section 8 apartment | The Villager Newspaper". thevillager.com. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- "Section 8 candidate who deleted pics of hubby riding yacht wins Council primary". New York Post. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
- "'We qualify': Carlina Rivera, husband defend living in Section 8 apartment". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- "New York City Allocates $250,000 for Abortions, Challenging Conservative States". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "New York City set to become 1st city to fund abortion services". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "Proposed patients' advocate office aims to help NYers navigate health care system". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "New Council Bills Will Create a Bike and a Pedestrian Mayor". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "'We have to keep people in their homes': City Council votes to strengthen tenant protections". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "Progressive Caucus Introduces Child Welfare Reform Package, Aiming to Increase Rights, Accountability & Transparency". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "Big day for birds as City Council outlaws foie gras and ends pigeon trafficking". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "NAPAWF New York City Applauds Council Member Carlina Rivera's Introduction of Bill Increasing Contraceptive Access and Choice". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "Council Seeks to Redress Child-Mortality Crisis Among Women, Babies of Color". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "The 2019 Manhattan Power 100". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "The 2020 New York City Power 100". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- "The 2020 Above & Beyond". Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (2018-06-26). "To Curb Illegal Airbnbs, New York City Wants to Collect Data on Hosts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- Lampen, Claire. "De Blasio Signs Bill Intended To Crack Down On Illegal Airbnb Rentals". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- Ghaffary, Shirin (2018-08-24). "Airbnb is suing New York City so it won't have to share user data about its hosts". Recode. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- "Biography". Carlina Rivera. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
- "Carlina Rivera (Official Site)". Retrieved 2020-03-16.
External links
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Rosie Mendez |
New York City Council, 2nd District 2018–present |
Incumbent |