January 31, 2020
And just like that, another month has gone by. Another year and another decade too! Time flies but annual rites keep us mostly on top of things. On Thursday night, for instance, Congressman Adriano Espaillat delivered his annual State of the District (NY-13) address up here at IS 218 on Broadway. The auditorium was packed, literally an SRO crowd, maybe six hundred people. Our Rep got a warm and enthusiastic welcome and the audience stayed put throughout the two and a half hours long program.
There were warm up speakers including New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and the Lion of Lenox – former Congressman Charles Rangel, Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa, Assemblyman Al Taylor, and Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E. Co-Founder Jackie Rowe-Adams who belted out a rousing rendition of the National Anthem. Then Espaillat walked the audience through his year in the Capitol: he’s on three committees (Foreign Affairs, Transportation, and Small Business) and he explained bills he sponsored and their impact in our District. The extension of the 2nd Avenue subway, the Gateway Tunnel, and subway improvements were cited. A bill to ban the death penalty and $21M for body cams for ICE and Border Patrol agents. Appropriations to keep 23 USCIS offices open around the world.
“Sometimes we in politics want to save the world but a lot of time you all just want to get to work on time.”
Espaillat explained that although NYC contributes less to climate change because many of us take a bus or subway instead of a car, we are impacted by it more. So we need adequate funds for mass transit. We also need affordable housing and that includes Federal investment in NYCHA. He was among the top members of his 2016 class, introducing 39 bills in the 116th Congress. Unfortunately, most of them languish in the Senate. Over 400 bills have passed the House, more than 275 of them bipartisan. He touched briefly on the trial in the Senate to point out that he was among the first to call for impeachment in 2017 over President Trump‘s self dealing and Emoluments violations.
Finally, a reminder that on Thursday, February 6, he’ll be hosting a ‘Dominicans on the Hill‘ event in the Capitol in D.C. The audience gave him a big cheer and crowded around him afterwards to shake hands, give him a hug, or just say hola. Like his predecessors Adam Clayton Powell and Charlie ‘the Lion of Lenox’ Rangel who served a combined 75 years in Congress between them, Espaillat seems like he could stay in Congress for a lifetime if he chose to do so. The State of the District is strong and its Rep remains very popular up here.
Constituents at State of the District.