In 1996, Adriano
Espaillat became the first Dominican-American elected
to a State House in the United States. He represents the 72nd Assembly
District, which encompasses Washington Heights, Inwood and Marble
Hill in Upper Manhattan. He is a member of the following Committees:
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; Children & Families; Corporations,
Authorities & Commissions; Insurance; and Real Property Taxation.
He is also first Vice-Chair of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus and
a member of the Puerto Rican & Hispanic Task Force. He was recently
appointed by New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to Chair
of the New York State Task Force on New Americans.
During
his first term in office, Assemblyman Espaillat introduced and voted
on numerous legislative initiatives on education, public safety, tenants'
rights and the environment. He supported successful passage of legislation
that extended the J-51 Housing Program, which prevents landlords from
hiking tenants' rents for major capital improvements to their buildings.
Assemblyman Espaillat's voting record on environmental issues has been
rated as excellent by the group Environmental Advocates in New York
State. Perhaps his most important legislative initiative to date was
his vote to reaffirm tenants' rights by supporting the extension of
the rent control and stabilization laws of New York State to the year
2000.
During his first term in office, his District Office has served over
5,000 constituents. Assemblyman Espaillat has brought government to
the people by activating neighborhood legislative advisory groups on
education, labor, economic development and quality of life. The membership
of these advisory groups is composed of an ethnically and racially diverse
group of local leaders and constituents, with full participation by
both men and women.
Espaillat has an outstanding record as a community activist and supporter
of issues that affect the disadvantaged, working people, families, and
that protect economic development and neighborhood revitalization. In
1994, Espaillat became the Director of Project Right Start, a national
initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to combat substance
abuse by educating the parents of pre-school children. This pilot program
has now been implemented in six cities throughout the country and in
the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In 1991, Espaillat was chosen as a
member of Governor Mario Cuomo's Dominican Advisory Board, where he
served for two years. The following year, he was elected Democratic
District Leader for the 72nd Assembly District part A and was reelected
in 1995. From 1992 to 1994, Espaillat served as Director of the Washington
Heights Victims Services Community Office. This organization offered
bilingual support groups for battered women, and provided relief, compensation,
counseling and therapeutic services for families of homicide victims
and other crime victims.
Since 1986, Espaillat has actively served on Community Planning Board
12 as a member of the Executive Board. Espaillat became a strong voice
in the community by organizing tenants and advocating for their rights.
He successfully petitioned for greater police services in the community.
His tireless efforts resulted in increased foot patrol, block watches,
the creation of the new 33rd Police Precinct and other successful crime
prevention initiatives in Northern Manhattan. Espaillat, however, consistently
attributes all accolades to the community by stating: "It was the
community's passion for public safety that allowed the changes to take
place." He actively opposed budget cuts that devastated services
to senior citizens and fought for more programs for local youth.
In 1980, Espaillat joined the NYC Criminal Justice Agency, a non-profit
agency contracted by the city of New York to provide pre-trial services
to the New York Criminal Court system, where he worked as the Manhattan
Court Services Coordinator for eight years. Today, Espaillat has helped
resolve hundreds of conflicts among his constituents during the past
ten years by volunteering his services as a state certified mediator
at the Washington Heights Inwood Conflict Resolutions and Mediation
Center.
Espaillat believes that an effective leader must have the compassion
to feel for our problems and the strength, vision and the leadership
to provide viable solutions. Most importantly, however, is one's disposition
to persevere in the face of adversity and humbly serve the entire community.
He graduated from Bishop Dubois High School in 1974. In 1978, he earned
his B.S. degree in Political Science from Queens College, and later
completed postgraduate courses in Public Administration at the New York
University Leadership for Urban Executives Institute.
Standing Committee Assignments 2001: Alcoholism and Drug Abuse; Children
and Families; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Environmental
Conservation; Insurance; Real Property Taxation.
Adriano Espaillat, Dem. 20,369; Lib. 355
Nilda Luz Rexach, Rep. 1,374; Ref. 236
David J. Brashe, Con. 179
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