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State Assembly Candidate Vows to Fight for Tenant Rights Uptown

By Carolina Pichardo | September 2, 2016 10:15am | Updated on September 6, 2016 8:54am
 Carmen De La Rosa, who is running for State Assembly for the 72nd District, was endorsed by Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres, chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Housing, on Wednesday morning.
Carmen De La Rosa, who is running for State Assembly for the 72nd District, was endorsed by Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres, chair of the Council’s Committee on Public Housing, on Wednesday morning.
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Russell Murphy

MARBLE HILL — State Assembly hopeful Carmen De La Rosa wants to hold the city's public housing agency accountable — while also taking aim at rising rents and displacement Uptown.

De La Rosa — who served as City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez’s former chief of staff before announcing her candidacy for the 72nd District in April — has pledged to allot $100 million a year for capital repairs at city-run housing and create programs for youth in that housing such as sports teams, education support systems and art.

She will also work with Bronx Councilman Ritchie Torres, chair of the council's committee on public housing, to hold “NYCHA accountable to residents,” she said in a statement.

"He will be an excellent partner in helping raise the quality of life for families living in NYCHA buildings and I am honored to have his support," De La Rosa said Wednesday at a press conference at the Marble Hill Houses where she accepted Torres' endorsement.

De La Rosa said her goal is to stop the "culture of displacement" she's seen in the community.

►READ MORE: Sherman Plaza Plan Would Set 'Bad Precedent' Uptown, Critics Say

Torres praised De La Rosa's track record, adding that she is “the Assembly Member Uptown needs.”

"Albany is yearning for a new generation of leaders, especially women of color, where we see a major deficit,” Torres said in a statement.

“Carmen's tenacity, experience and ability to get things done will serve Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble Hill well and I'm proud to endorse her candidacy for the 72nd Assembly District."

The tenant association leaders of the Marble Hill Houses has also backed her.

De La Rosa’s campaign manager, Claudia Carias, said she “will provide relief to uptown families facing harassment, displacement and rising rents.”

De La Rosa has gotten endorsements from Rodriguez, NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, who last month declared 2016 “The Year of the Woman.”

She will face off against George Fernandez, the former Community Board 12 chair who announced he was running earlier this year.

He has also touted his track record on tenant rights, citing his history as the first president of the 40 Sherman Avenue Tenants Association and the founder of the Inwood Advocates Coalition for Tenants’ Rights. He also worked with residents in the community to create 20 tenant associations.

Fernandez, who said he has been doing “traditional campaigning” with community walkthroughs, has been endorsed by several labor unions, including the District Council 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Traders, the PEF Political Action Committee Region 10 and the Local 46 Metallic Lathers & Reinforcing Iron Workers.

Incumbent Assemblyman Guillermo Linares had initially planned to leave his seat to run for Rep. Charlie Rangel's Congressional seat but lost the Democratic primary to Espaillat in June.

The primaries for State Assembly are on Sept 13.