Adriano Espaillat

Dear Neighbor:

Welcome to my Web site. This is the place where I will post information about our community which may be of interest to you, fill you in on the latest goings-on at the State Capitol in Albany, and tell you about other things that are occurring across our state. Please feel free to look around this site and make yourself at home. The telephone numbers of my offices and my personal e-mail address are on this site as well and I look forward to hearing from you. To those of you whom I have not yet had the good fortune to meet, I was born in the Dominican Republic and moved with my family to Northern Manhattan at age 9. In 1978, I earned a B.S. degree in Political Science from Queens College, and later completed postgraduate courses in Public Administration at the New York University and Rutgers Leadership for Urban Executives Institute. For more than 15 years I worked for organizations that helped the disadvantaged, working people, families, fostered economic development, and enhanced neighborhood revitalization. In 1996, I became the first Dominican-American elected to a State House in the United States. Today, I represent the 72nd Assembly District, which encompasses Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill in Northern Manhattan. I have worked tirelessly to make these communities a place where people would want to live and work and bring up their children as I did.

One of the most important aspects of my job is providing for the education of our children, as they are our future and deserve every advantage we can give them. This year the State Assembly again kept its promise to students and their families by finding the money in a tight budget year to fully fund schools in New York City. Gregorio Luperon High School opened its doors to a new home in September 2008 at West 165th Street and Amsterdam Avenue; meanwhile, the Washington Heights Academy will move to a brand new school building on Sherman Avenue and West 204th Street in 2010 and the Community Health Academy of the Heights will start the 2011 school year at its new home on West 158th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway.

I am also working to keep affordable housing in our communities. In 2005, I initiated Project Remain/Nos Quedamos to organize neighborhood residents, block associations, housing advocates, houses of worship and other community stakeholders in an effort to mobilize a uniform voice for tenants’ rights and against the predatory practices of those landlords who seek to rid the community of its remaining vestiges of affordable housing. Along with the CUNY Law Project, I started the Community Legal Resource Network (CLRN) which has provided pro bono legal counsel for hundreds of tenants, prevented evictions and obtained repairs and improved building maintenance of our housing stock. In April 2009, a law project attorney secured one year of free rent for residents of 4441 Broadway in a court ruling.

Another issue I believe very strongly about is economic development. In these dire financial times, my office has tirelessly worked to help local businesses. Last September I was joined by Con Edison and the Hispanic Federation in an announcement for the distribution of $1.15 million to local small businesses along with free energy efficiency surveys and free lighting equipment installation to reduce energy costs. More than 3,500 small businesses operate in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill and this energy efficiency program and monies will help them along in this difficult fiscal period for us all.

I am very concerned about the environment and the neighborhood’s air quality. Over the last few years, we have seen the introduction of technology that allows us to heat and cool our homes, power our buses and cars, and do many of the things we are used to doing without filling the air with smoke and pollution. After seeing what this technology can do and how it can help us all, especially those of us who have trouble breathing and blame the bad air, I pushed to create programs that will make "green" technology more available and easier to use.

Finally, I chair the New York State Assembly Veterans Committee where I have successfully advocated for improved access to healthcare, education and job opportunities, and housing for veterans. All veterans from the Vietnam era to the present are now entitled to a free education at any CUNY or SUNY school thanks to my effort. I have also ensured that veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan will receive full healthcare and counseling services to ensure their successful return and access to employment opportunities.

On this site, you will find more information about these issues and many others. As time goes on I hope to add more for you to read as well as links to community groups and other people who are trying to make our neighborhoods and our state a better place to live. Thank you for your visit and I hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,
Adriano Espaillat
New York State Assemblymember
72nd A.D.

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