September 11, 2009 / The Bronx / New York City Council District 8

Rodriguez promises to open Bronx office

8th Council District candidate Robert Rodriguez (left) and his supporters hope to unseat Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito.

By Daniel Beekman

Bronx Times-Reporter

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On rainy Friday, September 11, Robert Rodriguez crossed the Willis Avenue Bridge to issue a promise. The 8th Council District candidate and Cardinal Hayes High School grad pledged to open a Bronx office, if elected.

The 8th Council District consists of East Harlem, Central Park North, part of the Upper West Side and a smidgen of Mott Haven in the Bronx. No 8th Council District council member has ever maintained a Bronx office, Rodriguez said. Not even Rodriguez’ father, a former 8th Council District councilman.

Rodriguez the younger, 33, is counting on support from Mott Haven residents in his bid to unseat 8th Council District incumbent Melissa Mark-Viverito.

“There needs to be a presence in the [Mott Haven] community,” Rodriguez said. “I want to meet people in the Bronx. I want to listen.”

The 8th Council District extends north from East Harlem to Randall’s Island, then into the Bronx between Willis Avenue and Cypress Avenue, south of E. 144th Street. Its main Mott Haven drag is E. 138th Street, where Rodriguez maintains a campaign office.

Most 8th Council District Bronx residents don’t know Mark-Viverito; born and raised in Puerto Rico, the incumbent sat on Manhattan Community Board 2 in Lower Manhattan and Community Board 11 in East Harlem, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez currently chairs Manhattan CB11. The 33-year old Yale grad has raised $58,455 and received $68,562 in public funds. He works in finance.

“Melissa has done nothing for the community,” said Mott Haven community leader Awilda Cordero said. “She rarely comes to the Bronx. Nobody knows who she is. She only won [the 8th Council District seat] because the Arroyos supported her.”

The Arroyos are 17th Council District Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo and her mother, south Bronx Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo.

Rodriguez has spent hours trudging up and down E. 138th Street to talk with small business owners and community leaders, he said. The 8th Council District smidgen of Mott Haven is predominantly Puerto Rican, with a recent influx of Mexican and South American immigrants, and is home to the Millbrook Houses development.

Rodriguez preaches affordable housing for working people and seniors. Decades ago, vacant lots dotted Mott Haven, but today developable properties are few and far between. The candidate wants to plant additional trees on E. 138th Street. East Harlem and Mott Haven boast more asthma cases and hospitalizations that other neighborhoods, Rodriguez said.

Mark-Viverito has failed to win jobs for 8th Council District residents in Mott Haven, despite large-scale development nearby – the Gateway Center shopping mall, for instance, Rodriguez said. Some Bronx pols have made headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2009: nepotism, fraud, and misappropriation of funds.

“I’m not in this for the money,” Rodriguez said. “I’m stepping away from a lucrative career to serve the community.”

©2009 Community Newspaper Group