Under a dark Sunday afternoon downpour, Democratic Assembly Member George Alvarez (A.D. 78), elected as a rookie State assembly member last year after beating incumbent assemblyman José Rivera who held the seat for around two decades, opened a new, highly visible, street level constituency office at 2633 Webster Avenue in Fordham Manor on April 30.

 

Alvarez, a DR native, told those gathered that when he started his new role in January 2023, he inherited “an elegant, safe, cool office” on the 10th floor of a building located on Fordham Plaza. “It was safe because you had to get through security and show ID to get in,” Alvarez said. “I was so comfortable there on the 10th floor where you can see almost the entire district from that floor. The first month, our staff saw five people, five constituents, five residents, and I said to myself, ‘We need to stop this.’ We need to be visible, we need to be accessible, we need to be where people can see us, we need to provide services, and that’s why you are here today seeing our new office.”

 

Assembly District 78 includes some or all of the Bronx neighborhoods of Bedford Park, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge Heights, University Heights, Fordham Manor, Belmont, Crotona and Allerton, as well as the Bronx Zoo and parts of Bronx Park, and the office opening took place amid much fanfare and in the presence of a number of high profile, Democratic elected officials.

 

Those in attendance included Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Assemblywoman Yudelka Tapia (A.D. 86), community organizer, founder of nonprofit, Miss Abbies Kids Inc., and former candidate for Assembly District 78, Shanequa Charles, Washington Heights Assemblyman Manny De Los Santos (A.D. 72), former assemblyman Victor Pichardo for Assembly Member 86, and Brooklyn Assemblyman Brian Cunningham (A.D. 43).

Ahead of the formalities, Norwood News asked Alvarez what his priorities were for District 78. He said they had not changed from his campaign days. “Housing is one of my biggest priorities right now,” he said. “Cornell University recently put out a study they conducted on the whole state and my district is number one on eviction; that is horrible!”

 

Asked how he planned to address the housing crisis, he said he was already doing it. “I already introduced a bill that is going to [issue] a tax credit to whoever is paying over 30 percent of their income on rent, so that’s going to address some of the issues,” Alvarez said. “But we’re also working together with the leadership government, Speaker Heastie, Speaker Andrea Stewart-Cousins; we are bringing the resources that we lacked in the district for so many years and I’m going to be on the watch, making sure where that money is being distributed, the way it’s supposed to.”

 

Alvarez said another priority was quality of life and safety. We asked how he planned to address the gun violence epidemic. “People say to me, ‘I don’t want you as my assembly member to send rockets to the moon. What I want is for you to make sure that I can walk from my house to the bus stop and I feel safe. What I want is that I go to my job, I can come back safe’.”

 

He continued, “‘What I want when I send my kids to the school, and making sure they’re coming back safe,’ and I think that we have to address that issue, but we need to understand that just arresting people is not going to fix the problem. The problem is so deep; we need to find the root cause of the issue. I think that we all know the real cause of the issue, right? When you have no jobs in the district, when you have people living on the street, when you have people paying sometimes 30 percent and 50 percent of their income on rent, those are indicators that people are not doing well, and people will do whatever it takes to live, even though it’s not legal, it’s not appropriate, it’s not moral, it’s not right to do it but people do it.”

The assemblyman said it was his responsibility to ensure that people had the tools they needed to succeed well. “I’m a true believer that we need to provide quality education, we need to provide good and better paid jobs in the district,” he said, adding that those jobs also had to remain in the district. “When you look, you have Bronx Zoo. How many visitors does it have every single year? We have the Botanical Garden. How many visitors does it have every year? You have Fordham University, right across the street. You have Lehman College, you have Monroe College, you have Little Italy, you have the oldest armory [Kingsbridge] in the whole U.S. This district was designed to be the richest district in the State, and we’re still one of the poorest,” he said.

 

“As a business man, as someone that knows how to address an issue, and fix and improve things, that’s what I’m bringing, but I’m also bringing values and also bringing morals,” Alvarez said. “I’m also bringing something that in this district for so many years, I think, there was a lack of, which is care for people. I care about people and that is the message I spread in my campaign and this is the message I will continue spreading.”

 

Asked if he was happy with the latest version of the State budget [which, in the meantime, has passed the legislature] the assemblyman said, “I’m seeing that….me personally, I’m getting stuff done. I’ll give you one example.” Referring to what he said was a statewide housing crisis, he said, “I have probably one of the biggest [housing] projects here in my district that they are losing the houses because they have rent arrears.”

 

He added, “During the pandemic, they couldn’t pay and they have three years back on payments. They owe the City around $480,000 so with the leadership of the assembly, I was able to allocate some money to preserve that affordable housing because a lot of people were saying, ‘Hey, we need to build a lot more affordable housing’.”

Alvarez said he agreed more affordable housing needed to be built but he said the area also needed to preserve the affordable housing that already existed. “I have Dennis Lane [Apartments Inc.] in Crotona at 180,” he said. “That is probably like 600 families, something like that and they were losing that building because of the money that they couldn’t pay. So, thanks to Speaker Carl Heastie, we are giving them something so that they don’t lose their house, and that’s exactly what I feel happy about through the budget. There are always areas in the budget that I’m not happy with.”

 

When we asked for an example, he said, in part, “Good Cause Eviction, this is something that I want to see in my district. Remember, we’re number one in evictions. I need to protect the tenants. It’s not done yet. I keep praying. I hope that at the end of the budget it can be integrated but as of now, it’s not.” [According to a subsequent lohud article on the State budget published on May 4, property owner groups celebrated good cause not being included in the budget in the end, but felt State lawmakers failed to address New York’s housing supply.]

 

We spoke to constituent, José Sosa, at the office opening who told us he had not voted for the assemblyman in the latest election but echoed Alvarez’s words on the housing crisis. Speaking in Spanish, Sosa said rent was a huge problem. “One doesn’t know what to do,” he said. “You can spend nearly one year trying to find an apartment.” Another female constituent, Angela Galva, was asked what she hoped the assemblyman would do in office to help her. “I voted for him the last election,” she said. “I met him and he looks promising. I’m a student at college. I really hope.. I need help with the loans and stuff like that.”

 

We later spoke to another constituent, Sebastian Nussbaum, about why he had come to the opening. He said, “I got this man [the assemblyman] to come over and listen to the people complaining about the lack of cameras, and so when this event happened, he [Alvarez] said, ‘Come over, come over.’ So, that’s it. I’m here.”

Nussbaum said he was concerned about lack of oversight of street vendors as he didn’t know if the cleanliness of the produce they sold was being checked. He is also concerned and shared some photos with us of a food truck parked on a street corner in the district with what looked like gas tanks exposed at the back which he said was highly dangerous if another vehicle crashed into the truck.

 

Meanwhile, Charles acted as MC for the event, introducing the various speakers who were present to lend their support to the assemblyman. She gave Alvarez kudos for already introducing two pieces of legislation in the assembly “after only a few months” in the job. “So, the job of a legislator is to legislate, yes?” She said this action showed his dedication to the job. When someone shouted out, “Champion of healthcare,” she added, “Champion of healthcare, yes he is!”

 

Later, the assemblyman’s colleague, Tapia, who represents some or all of the neighborhoods of University Heights, Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Kingsbridge, Tremont and Fordham in The Bronx, said she has never seen anyone in the assembly, not one colleague, who doesn’t want to be close to the newly elected leader.

 

She referred to her assembly colleague as a “brother from another mother,” who she said had already done “tremendous work.” Speaking in both Spanish and English, Tapia told those gathered, “As soon as he was elected, he was asking questions, and making sure that he knew, and that he created exactly what were the goals that he wanted to accomplish so he could change the life of many in this community because that is what he was elected for.” Amid strong applause, she added, “This one is going to do great things. There is nothing that we cannot do if we do it together. I couldn’t not be here to show my love for my brother, George Alvarez.”

 

For his part, De Los Santos, who also spoke in Spanish and English, and who also made the trip to the jam-packed office opening despite the rain, referred to Alvarez as “a colleague and friend.” The Manhattan elected official said he, De los Santos, was committed to being part of Team Alvarez in terms of their collective work in the assembly.

 

Charles later said she had been working as a community organizer on the ground in District 78 for 3 decades, over 43 years, and said former assemblyman Victor Pichardo in A.D. 86, who also spoke at the event, had never failed to try to help and support her doing that time. Pichardo, who now works for St. Barnabas Hospital, said public service work was not easy but added he was sure that Alvarez intended to serve the district.

 

“This isn’t his office but the office of the community and it is to serve the community and he knows that,” Pichardo said in part, adding that he meant no disrespect to Alvarez. “I’m proud to call him a friend, an assemblyman, a public servant and I know that he will do right by this community,” he added. “Congratulations, good luck, and God bless this office!”

Alvarez wore a pair of sneakers on the day which were reportedly gifted to him by a resident and which displayed a logo which read, “Team Alvarez Lifetime Member.” Addressing the crowd, as he waited for some remaining elected officials to arrive, he said, “I always knew that God is always with me but seeing you all here today, in this weather, it’s just reconfirming that he is sticking with me, even when sometimes, I don’t stick with him.” He said De Los Santos became his “father in Albany,” adding, “The moment I got there, he just showed me everything, and when you find someone like that, you don’t want to get out of that side easily.”

 

He went on to thank his entire team who he described as heroes, as well as those who had endorsed him during his campaign, including Espaillat, Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), District 15 City Councilman Oswald Feliz, District 14 City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, and former Bronx Community Board 7 district manager and current Bronx County Clerk, Ischia Bravo. He also acknowledged those who he ran against, other candidates and leaders in the community like Sammy Ravelo, as well as representatives from the offices of various other elected officials, including from the mayor’s office and from the office of the public advocate, Jumanne Williams.

 

Espaillat later arrived amid cheers, saying, “I’m going to be quick because I’m going to go watch the Knicks.” The congressman said he has been in the assembly for many years and the State legislature for 20 years, and wished Alvarez well, explaining that the three major pillars as an assembly member were passing legislation, negotiating the budget, and handling constituent services. “That happens right here,” he said. “That’s it; it’s not complicated.”

 

For her part, Gibson joked that the crowd shouldn’t delay Alvarez from getting back to Albany because Bronxites needed a State budget [which eventually passed in early May]. “Duty calls,” she said. “Despite the weather, the overwhelming support for our assemblyman to assume this new role, this is your first budget for Fiscal Year 2024 and we’ve been praying hard for you because it’s not easy to be in the assembly, and work on a budget of $240 billion for the State of New York.”

 

The borough president said Alvarez had been fighting for his constituents for education, for housing, for economic development and jobs and making sure that those resources came back down to The Bronx “where they belong.” She continued, “You have a wealth of support,” adding that the community members who were present were a reflection of the love that there was in the district for the assemblyman. Gibson said his journey, his ascension, and his victory were down to the support in the room and she wished him every success in his new role.

 

Cunningham was one of the last elected officials to arrive amid the rain. Exchanging kisses with Alvarez amid laughing and cheers, the Brooklyn assemblyman said of his colleague, “This guy is an amazing guy. I can’t thank this community enough for sending this guy to Albany to become an amazing partner so good job to you guys. Happy to be here.”

 

Cunningham added, “This is the first visit but this certainly won’t be the last visit. Whatever George needs in Albany, I got his back. What he needs here, you guys hold him down. I see our BX president here as well, Vanessa, who was in Albany, in City Hall, and is now borough president. Who knows what the future holds for her, but I’ll be happy to support folks from The Bronx. From Buffalo to Brooklyn to The Bronx, we’re one New York. Thanks so much for having me.”

Alvarez later reiterated the importance of public safety, quality of life, investment in the future of the district’s children, and affordable housing. “You want government to listen,” he said.” Your voice is being heard loud and clear in Albany through me.” He said since his election win, he was often asked how he won against an incumbent who nobody had defeated in two decades. He said, “I said, ‘It’s because I care about people, and that’s how I defeated that incumbent, because I care about people.” He added that it was also down to his “team of warriors” who knocked on all the doors on his behalf.

 

In reference to the constituency work now being handled from his new, street-level office, Alvarez said, “That’s why we are here today in our new office.” he said. “You don’t elect me to be comfortable, to be safe, to be heated. You elect me to be right in the middle of the district. You elected someone that is to be accessible. You elect me to make sure you get the resources that you lacked for so many years. I’m here in the middle of the district because I care about that, and that’s what I’m here for.”

 

He continued, “In me, you will have a full-time assembly member that will work tirelessly to make sure that our district is one of the best districts in the whole New York State.” Amid cheers of George, George, George, Alvarez concluded, “We’ve been here three weeks and so far, we are seeing 20 to 25 people every week. We are about people.”

 

He concluded, “I’m not going to forget who brought me here. I’m not going to forget who I work for. I always say to my team, “Let’s not forget who brought us here. We work for you, and that’s why we are here. You brought us here. As an assemblyman, you can count on me to amplify the issues you care about, to listen to you, and make your voice heard and delivering for your on the issues you care about. Thank you for being here, welcome to your new assembly office and God Bless all of you.”

 

Click here to view a short video of the event.