Melissa Mark-Viverito | |
|---|---|
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| Speaker of theNew York City Council | |
| In office January 8, 2014 – December 31, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Christine Quinn |
| Succeeded by | Corey Johnson |
| Member of theNew York City Council from the8th district | |
| In office January 1, 2006 – December 31, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Phil Reed |
| Succeeded by | Diana Ayala |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1969-04-01)April 1, 1969 (age 56) Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Columbia University (BA) Baruch College (MPA) |
Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an AmericanDemocratic politician and former speaker of theNew York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the8th district from 2006 to 2017, representingConcourse,Concourse Village,East Harlem,Highbridge,Longwood,Mott Haven,Port Morris, andRandall's Island.
Described byThe New York Times as "fiercely liberal", she was elected Speaker on January 8, 2014, succeedingChristine Quinn.[1][2]
Mark-Viverito was born inBayamón, Puerto Rico, to Anthony Mark, a physician and founder of San Pablo Hospital, and Elizabeth Viverito. She grew up in Bayamón, where her mother still resides.[3]
At the age of eighteen, she moved to New York to attendColumbia University, from which she graduated in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree. She received herMaster of Public Administration fromBaruch College in 1995.[4]
Mark-Viverito served as a member ofManhattan Community Board 11, coordinator of the movement Todo Nueva York con Vieques, president of Mujeres del Barrio,[5] and strategic organizer forLocal 1199 of theService Employees International Union (SEIU), an influentialhealth care workers union.[6]
After running unsuccessfully againstPhil Reed for City Council in District 8 in 2003, Mark-Viverito was elected to the position when Reed reached his term limit in 2005. During her first four years in office, Mark-Viverito sponsored and passed several pieces of legislation regarding tenant harassment, building safety, greening buildings, and park conservancies.[7] In January 2009, she criticized the voting record of newly appointed New York SenatorKirsten Gillibrand on immigration.[8]
During Mark-Viverito's second term in the Council, she served as chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee[9] and as founding co-chair of theProgressive Caucus.[10]
In November 2013, she won re-election to her third term in the Council, and her close allyBill de Blasio was elected mayor. Soon theNew York Daily News cited Mark-Viverito as "the front-runner" for "New York City's second-most powerful political post — Speaker of the City Council."[11] A grassroots effort to boost her Speaker candidacy included social media, fliers, phone banking, and volunteer recruitment.[12]
Mark-Viverito was elected City Council Speaker on January 8, 2014, at age 44, becoming the first member of the Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus to hold this position.[13] Her first "State of the City" speech emphasized reform of the criminal justice system.[14]
In January 2016, Mark-Viverito introduced a collection of eight bills known as the "Criminal Justice Reform Act"[15] to reduce the penalty for acts such as violating park rules,littering andpublic urination from misdemeanors to the civil process. In addition, the Criminal Justice Reform Act also suspended enforcement for "excessive noise," which resulted in a sudden spike in noise complaints around the five boroughs, according to data compiled by 311, New York City's complaint submission platform.[16] Mark-Viverito sponsored the bills so that young people in communities of color could "fulfill their potential"[17] by incentivizing officers to give verbal warnings and fines but not remove the option of making arrests.[18]
In 2016, Mark-Viverito was alleged to have pressured the New York City Housing Authority to fire a black manager of a NYCHA housing project and replace her with a "Spanish Manager".[19] As of 2018, the lawsuit is still pending and the City of New York's motion to dismiss the lawsuit was denied.[20]
In 2017, Mark-Viverito declined to boycott thePuerto Rican Day Parade, after organizers decided to honorOscar López Rivera, a prominently incarcerated member ofFuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN).[21][22]
In 2018, Mark-Viverito announced her intention to run for the open seat ofNew York City Public Advocate, but lost toJumaane Williams.[23]
In August 2019, Mark-Viverito announced her candidacy to replaceJosé E. Serrano as representative ofNew York's 15th Congressional District,[24] but lost in theprimary toRitchie Torres, receiving 4.3% of the vote with a rank of 6th place.[25]
Mark-Viverito campaigned in solidarity with theOccupy Wall Street movement and identified herself as part of the "99%" of income earners despite having a net worth in the millions.[26] She and her family inherited an estimated $6.7 million from her father, a doctor. Prior to her inheritance, she applied for a taxpayer-subsidized loan in 1998 when her property at the time was worth $310,000. As of 2014, the multi-story condominium property was worth around $1,300,000. Mark-Viverito rents out her properties, but did not report her rental income. Her spokesman claimed it to be an honest oversight on her part.[27]
In August 2014, Mark-Viverito publicly disclosed that she was infected with the most commonSTD, thehuman papillomavirus. She said she was an "extremely private person" but that she what announcing it because she wanted to destigmatize and raise awareness about the disease.[28]
In 2016, in response to theDonald Trump'sAccess Hollywood tape recording, Mark-Viverito public revealed that she had been a victim ofchildhood sexual abuse, drawing the support of many, including other elected officials.[29]
| Election | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Primary | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 3,626 | 25.40% | Felipe Luciano | Dem | 3,610 | 25.30% | Joyce Johnson | Dem | 2,744 | 19.23% | Others (3) | Dem | 4,255 | 30.06% | ||||
| 2005 General | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 16,743 | 99.98% | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 Primary | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 4,993 | 46.73% | Robert J. Rodriguez | Dem | 2,827 | 26.46% | Gwen Goodwin | Dem | 1,255 | 11.75% | Others (2) | Dem | 1,554 | 15.17% | ||||
| 2009 General | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 17,091 | 99.99% | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 Primary | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 3,768 | 35.67% | Ralina Cardona | Dem | 1,899 | 17.98% | Edward N. Santos | Dem | 1,710 | 16.70% | Others (3) | Dem | 3,186 | 30.80% | ||||
| 2013 General | Melissa Mark-Viverito | Dem | 14,296 | 93.78% | Ralina Cardona | Rep | 793 | 5.20% | Christopher Giattino | Dem | 131 | .86% |
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theNew York City Council from8th district 2006–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of theNew York City Council 2014–2017 | Succeeded by |