Despite the frigid temperatures, a host of City, State and congressional elected officials showed up for a 3-hour inauguration ceremony for Pierina Sanchez as she was officially sworn in as the duly elected city councilwoman for the 14th City Council District, her first term in office.

 

The ceremony was held outside the North Hall and Library of Bronx Community College, located at 200 Hall of Fame Terrace in the University Heights section of The Bronx on Sunday, March 20. The event had been postponed due to the college having been shut because of COVID-19. However, when it finally came around, invited guests on the day included U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY-9), Bronx Democratic Party chair and State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D.36), and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Recently elected Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson addressed those in attendance, saying, “What an honor to be here to celebrate the incredible election of Pierina Sanchez to the New York City Council. We are so excited for you, Pierina. You are our hope for that tomorrow. You are the role model that so many of our young girls, African American and Latino young girls, desire to be.”

 

Gibson added, “We need to make sure that in our leaders, our young people can see themselves, and we have elected someone who not only represents us, but someone who’s going to serve with commitment, with consistency, dedication, honor, integrity, investment and passion. Pierina has done the work, and now we have elected her to the New York City Council for such a time as this.”

 

Stopping by The Bronx ceremony for a brief appearance was former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Addressing the crowd, he said of the occasion, “I wanted to be here today to celebrate something so good, someone so good, because we need leaders that bring us back that hope. We need people who make us realize what could be.”

Recalling a difficult negotiation and one of the first meetings attended by Sanchez, De Blasio said, “Pierina was the first to say, ‘You know what? I think there’s a real possibility here. I think we can get something done.’ Everyone is looking at her, like, ‘Whatever you’re on, I’d like some!'” a comment which drew heavy laughter from the crowd.

 

De Blasio continued, “Like, she saw the good, and it was really hard to find, but she saw it because she had faith in people. She saw it because of her keen mind. She saw it because she had the ability to see a solution where maybe the rest of us were getting a little bogged down… and that day, I said to myself, this is someone special.”

 

Sanchez, the Afro-Dominican daughter of immigrants, grew up in the University Heights and Kingsbridge neighborhoods and attended Mt. St. Ursula in Bedford Park, before attending Harvard and Princeton Universities. As reported during her campaign run, after working in the Obama White House, Sanchez returned home where she worked as a senior policy advisor at City Hall. The next phase of her journey now continues in her role as city councilwoman in District 14. She won the primary with 62.3 percent of the vote and the general election with 89.4 percent, seeing off Republican challenger, Shemeen Chappell.

 

Sanchez was formally sworn in by Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) who, as reported, had also endorsed Sanchez during her campaign run. As reported, Espaillat no longer represents Norwood and has been replaced by Rep. Ritchie Torres, following the most recent redistricting process. As reported, a legal challenge has been mounted by Republicans who claim Democrats gerrymandered the latest district boundaries, but a judge has, in the meantime, issued a stay on the case while candidates canvass for signatures in order to get on the ballot by the relevant deadline ahead of the June primaries. Therefore, for now, at least, Norwood, Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil fall under congressional district 15, in addition to the existing neighborhoods in Torres’ district.

It’s been something of a baptism of fire for the councilwomen having both campaigned and started her new role in the midst of a pandemic, and having responded to two major fires and several tragic shootings during her first few months in office, as reported. Though technically, the Twin Parks fire tragedy that claimed the lives of 17 people, included 9 children, took place in City Council District 15, represented by Councilman Oswald Feliz, Sanchez, as the neighboring representative, was on hand to help with the relief efforts alongside Feliz. Even before all that, the councilwoman had been struck by a dirt bike late last year and ended up in hospital for a while.

Once at the podium, Sanchez told the crowd, “It’s a beautiful day, and it’s beautiful because as I look out at the sea of faces, I see my family, I see my friends, I see my community, my neighbors, and I just could not be more proud to be at this podium, to be sworn in by the congressman, alongside these incredible, elected colleagues at Bronx Community College.”

 

Sanchez, who, as reported, was named chair of the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings vowed to fight for stronger building code enforcement and more housing inspectors. She is also part of the Twin Parks Citywide Taskforce on Fire Prevention at City Council. On jobs, the councilwoman said her first priority was the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory. She also said she would like to see a publicly accessible green space from Roberto Clemente State Park to West 225th Street in the Morris Heights neighborhood, a project that may be considered as part of the Fordham Heights Landing development, as reported.

Sanchez later spoke of the special meaning to her of returning to Bronx Community College, telling the crowd how, as a skinny 8th grader, she began to attend the Upward Bound Program at the college. “So, I come from humble roots, right here in this community and it was Upward Bound that taught me about this whole college thing,” she said. “I actually thought I was going to be an engineer… and so I share all of this, in this moment, because Bronx Community College is so special to me.” She added, “To be back here in 2022 is incredibly powerful. What better place for me to recommit to you all than here at Bronx Community College. Thank you for your support, and let’s get to work!”

 

Sanchez’ 14th City Council district covers the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, University Heights as well as sections of Fordham, Tremont and Morris Heights.

    

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.