Preceded by Miguel Martinez Children 1 Website Official website | Political party Democratic Religion Catholic Name Ydanis Rodriguez | |
Born June 18, 1965 (age 58)
Santiago, Dominican Republic ( 1965-06-18 ) Alma mater City College of New York | ||
Ydanis rodriguez
Ydanis Rodriguez (born June 18, 1965) is the Council member for the 10th District of the New York City Council. He is a Democrat. The district includes Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill in Manhattan. Rodriguez serves as the Chairman of the Council Transportation Committee. He is known outside of New York City for his arrest at an Occupy Wall Street rally in November 2011, being profiled for the act in Time's 2011 Person of the Year.
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Ydanis rodriguez for city council nyc dist 10 espanol
Life and career
Rodriguez was born in the Dominican Republic and moved from his hometown of Licey al Medio to New York City when he was 18 years old. While working as a taxi driver, Rodriguez earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the City College of New York.
In 2013, Rodriguez became the first New York City Council Member to ever take paternity leave when he welcomed the birth of his new daughter. Rodriguez took two weeks to be with his family and has since been vocal about the need for paid paternity and maternity leave in New York City and nationwide, citing the vast number of countries that have paid family leave.
Ydanis Rodriguez was arrested for a civil disobedience demonstration against the Arizona law requiring police officers to arrest illegal aliens. On, November 15, 2011, Rodriguez was arrested for obstructing government administration and disorderly conduct. He was seen by witnesses bleeding from the head as he was placed in a police car. Rodriguez remained in Zuccotti Park along with about 200 other Occupy Wall Street protestors that refused to leave after Brookfield Properties asked the Bloomberg administration to clear the park for a cleaning. Rodriguez was featured in Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue in 2011 celebrating The Protester. He was included for his role in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
New York City Council
After two unsuccessful attempts to run for City Council in 2001 and 2003, Rodriguez ran a successful election campaign in 2009, winning the Democratic primary election by over 60 percent against seven other candidates. In January 2010, Rodriguez was appointed as the chairman of the Higher Education Committee, and as Chair, Rodriguez has called for more diversity in the faculty of CUNY, more childcare programs for student-parents, and successfully fought to keep CUNY's budget intact during the economic recession.
As Chair, Rodriguez focused on working to improve the number of New York City high school graduates who are college ready, particularly the lack of Black and Latino students deemed "college ready", using test scores, grades and practical application of curriculum. As a former co-founder and teacher in one of the schools in his district, Rodriguez took a personal interest in the role education plays in the community.
Rodriguez focused on several issues during his time in office. They include education, affordable housing, community health, immigration reform, curbing the NYPD stop and frisk policy and bringing jobs to the northern Manhattan community. Rodriguez also advocated for affordable housing in Northern Manhattan, which has received less than 1% of all new affordable housing units built since 2004.
Rodriguez worked with the tenants of 552 Academy St. in Manhattan and local community groups to have the building turned over from a negligent landlord to CLOTH, a local community organization. He helped to secure funding for a $21.1 million renovation for the building so that residents can finally live comfortable. The building reopened to the public after the renovation, welcoming home the 32 original families to return as well as 42 new tenants. Also thanks to funding from the New York City Council, the building has one of the few green roofs in Inwood.