Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the 8th district from 2006 to 2017, representing

Concourse A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space. The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or tr ...

Concourse Village Concourse is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx which includes the Bronx County Courthouse, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Yankee Stadium. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving cl ...

, East Harlem, Highbridge, Longwood,

Mott Haven Mott Haven is an American primarily residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are East 149th Street to the north, the Bruckner ...

, Port Morris, and Randall's Island. Described by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' as "fiercely liberal", she was elected Speaker on January 8, 2014, succeeding

Christine Quinn Christine Callaghan Quinn (born July 25, 1966) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly served as the Speaker of the New York City Council. The third person to hold this office, she was the first female and first ...

Early life and education

Mark-Viverito was born in Bayamón, 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. At the age of eighteen, she moved to New York to attend

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, from which she graduated in 1991 with a bachelor of arts degree. She received her Master of Public Administration from

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...

in 1995.

Career

Mark-Viverito served as a member of

Manhattan Community Board 11 The Manhattan Community Board 11 is a New York City community board encompassing the Manhattan neighborhoods of East Harlem and Randalls Island. It is delimited by the East River on the east, 96th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue and Mount M ...

, coordinator of the movement Todo Nueva York con Vieques, president of Mujeres del Barrio, and strategic organizer for Local 1199 of the

Service Employees International Union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is a labor union representing almost 1.9 million workers in over 100 occupations in the United States and Canada. SEIU is focused on organizing workers in three sectors: healthcare (over half of members ...

(SEIU), an influential health care workers union.

New York City Council

After running unsuccessfully against Phil 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. In January 2009, she criticized the voting record of newly appointed New York Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

on immigration. During Mark-Viverito's second term in the Council, she served as chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee and as founding co-chair of the

Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most left-leaning faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Cauc ...

. In November 2013, she won re-election to her third term in the Council, and her close ally Bill de Blasio was elected mayor. Soon the '' New 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." A grassroots effort to boost her Speaker candidacy included social media, fliers, phone banking, and volunteer recruitment. 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. Her first "State of the City" speech emphasized reform of the criminal justice system. In January 2016, Mark-Viverito introduced a collection of eight bills known as the "Criminal Justice Reform Act" to reduce the penalty for acts such as violating park rules, littering and public 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. Mark-Viverito sponsored the bills so that young people in communities of color could "fulfill their potential" by incentivizing officers to give verbal warnings and fines but not remove the option of making arrests. 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". As of 2018, the lawsuit is still pending and the City of New York's motion to dismiss the lawsuit was denied. In 2017, Mark-Viverito declined to boycott the

Puerto Rican Day Parade The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) takes place annually in the United States along Fifth Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The parade is held on the second Sunday in June, in hon ...

, after organizers decided to honor

Oscar López Rivera Oscar López Rivera (born January 6, 1943) is a Puerto Rican activist and militant who was a member and suspected leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN), a clandestine paramilitary organization devoted to ...

, a prominently incarcerated member of

Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña The Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (English: ''Armed Forces of National Liberation'', FALN) was a Puerto Rican clandestine paramilitary organization that, through direct action, advocated independence for Puerto Rico. It carried out more ...

(FALN).

2019 NYC Public Advocate Special Election

In 2018, Mark-Viverito announced her intention to run for the open seat of

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

, but lost to

Jumaane Williams Jumaane D. Williams ( ; born May 11, 1976) is an American activist and politician who has served as the New York City Public Advocate since 2019. He is a former member of the New York City Council from the 45th district, which includes East Fla ...

Personal life

Mark-Viverito campaigned in solidarity with the

Occupy Wall Street Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was a protest movement against economic inequality and the influence of money in politics that began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, in September 2011. It gave rise to t ...

movement and identified herself as part of the "99%" of income earners despite having a net worth in the millions. 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. In August 2014, Mark-Viverito publicly disclosed that she was infected with the most common STD, the

human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and res ...

. 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.

Election history

References

External links

Melissa Mark-Viverito for the Bronx
campaign website * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark-Viverito, Melissa 1969 births 2016 United States presidential electors 21st-century American women politicians Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Baruch College alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni East Harlem Living people New York (state) Democrats People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Speakers of the New York City Council Women New York City Council members New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians