With all eyes on City Council member Carlina Rivera after her office's phoned in response to the recent murder on 14th Street and the seven year situation that has gone unchecked under her watch, it's worth looking at her activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
14th Street
During the pandemic the Immaculate Conception Church located on 14th Street just east of First Avenue closed their weekend flea market due to health concerns. Immediately after, the block turned into a black market Marrakech with illegal vendors selling pirated DVDs, questionable food, and other neighborhood detritus.
In October of 2020, amNY's Dean Moses reported, "Tattered shirts and jackets are hung on the closed shutters of businesses while free newspaper dispensers have been turned on their sides and used as seats. Worst of all, the remnants of unsellable wears like underwear are left strewn in the roadway."
At the time Carlina River's office issued a now familiar statement, in part saying, "We’ve been working with local businesses, constituents, other elected officials, and City agencies regarding the uptick in individuals on 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A who are selling miscellaneous items outside of the Church of Immaculate Conception Flea Market."
Rivera's office regurgitates variations of this statement like a mother politician feeding her young constituents. Continuing...
"Councilwoman Rivera certainly understands the serious health risks regarding the lack of social distancing posed by increased numbers of individuals on any city street, which is compounded by those who also reside in the area and may be experiencing homelessness without access to adequate resources."
The situation on 14th Street continued to deteriorate for the next four years under Rivera's watch until recently when City Council member Keith Powers stepped in.
Rikers Island
In that same year, Carlina Rivera's district took a backseat so she could focus on the COVID-19 infection rate at Rikers Island. Gotham Gazette published an op-ed piece written by Rivera stating that the infection rate at Rikers was seven times higher than the rest of the city. THE CITY reported three Rikers inmates died from COVID-19 related illness. The CDC has since published statistics stating over 350,000 U.S. citizens died of COVID-19 related illnesses in 2020.
The East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
The Grand Street Democrats refused to endorse Carlina Rivera for re-election in 2021 citing she ignored the community's concerns over the controversial demolition of the East Side Park. The East Side Coastal Resiliency project [ESCR] spanning 2.4 miles on Manhattan's East Side is responsible for cutting down a staggering 1,000 trees, closing three ballfields, demolishing the famous amphitheater, and keeping the 58 acre park space off limits until 2026 in an effort to protect the area from the next Superstorm Sandy. The $1.45 billion dollar project has since raised the area and is currently in the process of rebuilding it 8-10 feet higher via landfill. Critics of the ESCR project say Rivera ignored an earlier plan that included feedback from the community.
Same-Sex Wedding Cakes
In July of 2022, Carlina Rivera stirred up a controversy with the LGBTQ+ community when, in an interview with Hamodia, she was asked to comment on the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case. Rivera was asked if she’d “support a religious exemption” for a scenario in which “there’s a progressive social value you believe in,” such as a hypothetical Brooklyn venue with “Biblical values” refusing to host a wedding for a same-sex couple.
She said, “I think that a religious exemption is certainly something that I would consider when it comes to certain pieces of legislation. We've certainly done it in the Council, and I’d be willing to explore that and do it on the federal level.” Days later she did damage control in an interview with the NY Daily News.
"Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club President Allen Roskoff, a prominent gay rights activist in the city whose group has endorsed Rivera’s congressional bid, told the paper he believes “totally in Carlina’s commitment to all civil rights. But she f—-d up in the Hamodia interview."
Rep. Mondaire Jones, Rivera’s only openly gay opponent in the 10th Congressional District race at the time, was not as forgiving as Roskoff.
“I would like Councilwoman Rivera to explain to me, and every other LGBTQ+ New Yorker, why she thinks our civil rights are conditional and open to carve-outs. I am a human being, and my rights are not up for Carlina Rivera to treat them as political chess pieces.”
Red Line American Flag
City Council member Carlina Rivera once again finds herself in the middle of a controversy in 2024, this time with the FDNY. On September 11th, 2001 we lost 343 members of the FDNY who courageously responded to two planes crashing into the World Trade Center. Firefighters at Ladder Co. 11 in the East Village were forced to remove a "red line" American flag honouring six company firefighters who died on 9/11 after one of Rivera's staffers stomped into the station and called the flag "racist" and "a politically charged symbol."
Another Rivera staffer followed up in writing to the FDNY, calling the flag a “politically charged symbol” and saying it was their understanding that “private political symbols” were not to be displayed on public vehicles.
An FDNY chief visited the firehouse and told the firefighters that the flag would have to go because it violated department rules about “altered” American flags. Hours later, it was decided that the flag could stay.
Some FDNY sources said they believe the issue stemmed over confusion between a red-line flag and a blue-line American flag, which is typically displayed to honor police officers injured or killed in the line of duty. Rivera, a former dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who voted to defund the NYPD by $1 billion dollars in 2020, was labeled a hypocrite in April when she called on the NYPD to protect her from "an unknown white powder." It is also worth noting Carlina Rivera has had investments in Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman as well as Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger.
As the Carlina Rivera COVID Era Tour comes to an end, the question must be asked: Can we count on her to keep 14th Street safe? In her wake, she has left behind 50+ acres of destroyed public space, complications with the LGBTQ+ community, and a bitter taste in the mouths of both the NYPD and FDNY? Should we continue to put our faith into someone who wants to defund the police with one hand and make money from gun manufacturing with the other?
Historically, no.
Get ready for a cruel summer.
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