Naomi Rivera

Biography

Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera proudly represents the 80th Assembly District. Her constituency is made up of residents from the Allerton, Eastchester Gardens, Morris Park, Norwood, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Van Cortlandt Village, and Van Nest neighborhoods of the Bronx.

Since being elected to the New York State Assembly in the fall of 2004, Naomi has worked tirelessly to improve her district. She strives to make her district one in which parents choose to raise their children; where lifelong residents want to retire; and that everyone is proud to call home.

Naomi is, and always has been, a staunch supporter and vocal advocate of issues concerning women and children. She can often be heard speaking out against injustice wherever those who are victimized struggle to find a voice. In recognition of her hard work and steadfast commitment to children, Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silver recently conferred on Naomi, the Honor of becoming the Chair of the Subcommittee on Foster Care.

Although relatively new to politics, Naomi has always been active in her community, working to help preserve the arts in Bronx schools. Before being elected to office, Naomi worked as Director of Special Events for the Bronx Borough President's Office, where she managed the borough's cultural affairs; developing new events such as the Bronx Food and Art Festival and the Puerto Rican Film Festival. Naomi has always strived to expand diversity awareness in the Bronx by producing the borough's annual ethnic pride celebrations, which include the Asian Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Jewish Heritage Month, amongst others.

In her capacity as Chair of the Angelo Del Torro Youth Institute, Naomi has perennially shown her devotion to issues facing the youth of New York State. The Institute is a part of the New York State Department of Education, and works to develop an interest in politics in youth throughout the state. Naomi has proudly and enthusiastically been the Chair of the Youth Institute since first being elected to office.

While in office, Naomi has worked hard to insure the health, safety, and happiness of her aging community. She has helped Bronx elders to receive much needed healthcare, and she has struggled to pass legislation, which will benefit aging citizens, all across the state.

Building on her belief in the value of the Bronx’s elders to the community, Naomi has been instrumental in helping Aging in America, a leading name in geriatric care, to bring much needed services to aging Bronx residents, they provide quality medical services, innovative exercise programs, engaging music and art related programming, as well as breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks.

Additionally, the senior shopping program which Naomi has pioneered, and has run consistently since taking office, continues to be a community hallmark amongst the Bronx’s aging population.

Naomi has worked hard to foster a solid relationship with local organizations, and agencies. Amongst the organizations that she has developed strong ties with is the Bronx Central Council for Economic Development (B.C.C.E.D.). Naomi is certain that building on this relationship, her district will continue to benefit for years to come. By collaborating with the B.C.C.E.D. Naomi has been able to offer many trailblazing programs to her Bronx constituents and she has created a relationship that touches the lives of all Bronx residents.

Recently, Naomi in conjunction with the Bronx Central Council for Economic Development has taken on the challenge of bolstering the Bronx’s economy. They have joined forces to create a small business assistance initiative entitled “Shop With Us”. This program is tailored at inspiring residents of the 80th Assembly District to support their local merchants by spending their hard earned money within the neighborhood. Not only will this program help local merchants by stimulating the local economy, but it will help to alert Bronx residents to presence of many local businesses.

Committed to creating unity and a family atmosphere within her district, Naomi continues to launch her free summer concert and film series which has quickly become a Bronx tradition. The series is comprised of family friendly movies and concerts hosted at parks throughout her district. Each year the number of participants grows, as families look forward to watching a movie or concert and spending quality time together.

Earlier in the summer, Naomi launched a trailblazing summer program, which was free and open to young people interested in hip-hop and freestyle dance. This pilot program was hosted by a local community center and was taught by a highly qualified and accomplished dance instructor. Along with the summer reading challenge which Naomi has supported since being elected to office, neighborhood youth were provided with engaging activities geared at stimulating young minds and keeping them active during their time away from school.

As a former special events planner for the Bronx, Naomi has developed the belief that special events such as summer programs and concerts are important to the community. They do more than provide the community with a good time, programming serves a greater purpose. By bringing people out of there houses to interact with neighbors, Bronx residents can be made aware of community services, and issues facing the community that they might not have otherwise realized. Additionally, cultural events help us to collectively embrace our differences.

When she became a Member of the Assembly, the scope of those that Naomi has been able to reach grew exponentially, however, she has remained grounded, and deeply rooted in the Bronx neighborhood that she happily calls home.

Naomi is a proud mother of two Bronx natives; the sister of a Bronx public figure; and the daughter of a Bronx legend.