Rafael "Ralph" Salamanca Jr. (born July 2, 1980) is the councilmember for the 17th district of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

. He is a Democrat. The district includes portions of

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 Tremont East Tremont is a residential neighborhood located in the West Bronx, New York City. From the north and moving clockwise, it is bounded by East 180th Street, Southern Boulevard, the Cross-Bronx Expressway and Third Avenue. East Tremont Avenue is ...

, Hunts Point, Longwood,

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and Webster Avenue ...

, Port Morris, and West Farms in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

Life and career

Salamanca was born and raised in

to parents from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. His father worked the docks at the Hunts Point Market while his mother was an administrative worker in healthcare. Salamanca did not finish high school, but did receive his high school diploma equivalency certificate and subsequently earned an associate degree from

Monroe College Monroe College is a private for-profit college in New York City. It was founded in 1933 and has campuses in the Bronx, New Rochelle and Saint Lucia, with an extension site in Manhattan. The college is named after James Monroe, the fifth pre ...

. A lifelong resident of the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Mott Haven, Melrose, and Port Morris. In the early 1900s, the South Bronx was orig ...

, Salamanca began his career working as an administrative assistant for a healthcare services provider, and later went on to organize surrounding healthcare issues in both

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, including in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United ...

, with future-New York City Councilmember

Antonio Reynoso Antonio Reynoso (born May 9, 1983) is an American politician and community organizer currently serving as Borough president of Brooklyn since 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was elected Brooklyn borough president in the 2021 ...

. Salamanca was a member of

Bronx Community Board 2 Bronx Community Board 2 is a local government unit of the city of New York, encompassing the neighborhoods of Hunts Point and Longwood in the borough of the Bronx. It is delimited by the Bronx River on the east, Westchester Avenue, East 167th St ...

, where he would advocate for issues in the Hunts Point and Longwood neighborhoods. He eventually became the District Manager for the board, and also served as the President of the 41st Precinct Council. He gained citywide attention for his work as the Community Board Manager for shutting down

strip clubs Strip or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Namibia to ...

in the community that were havens for criminal activity.

New York City Council

In 2015, Councilwoman

Maria del Carmen Arroyo Maria del Carmen Arroyo is the former Council member for the 17th district of the New York City Council. She is a Democrat. The district includes Belmont, Claremont Village, Clason Point, Concourse, Concourse Village, Crotona Park East, ...

resigned from her seat on the City Council. Salamanca entered the race for the special election to replace her and won a six-way Democratic primary election, with 39% of the vote. He was sworn into office on March 8, 2016. Salamanca ran again in November 2016 to finish Arroyo's term, won his first full term in 2017, and was re-elected in 2021. Salamanca explored but ultimately did not pursue a candidacy for Bronx Borough President in 2021.

Shooting

In September 2021, a stray bullet shattered Salamanca's office window while he was inside with constituents. No one was hurt in the incident.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salamanca, Ralph 1980 births Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Living people Monroe College alumni New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians Politicians from the Bronx Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members