Bronx assemblyman jose rivera arrested
PROTESTERS DESCEND ON JAIL TO RALLY FOR ‘VIEQUES FOUR’
Top local Hispanic officials warned the U.S. government yesterday that by clamping down on the Rev. Al Sharpton and other protesters over Vieques, they were only heating up the war.
“If your intent was to stop the movement, you failed miserably,” said U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-Bronx), referring to the federal judge who ordered Sharpton and three activists jailed last week after a protest over Naval bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island.
“It’s bigger than ever,” he said during a protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where the four were transferred from Puerto Rico.”We will win.”
Other supporters of the so-called “Vieques Four” blasted the Puerto Rican judge’s move as a basic violation of civil rights.
The four men – Sharpton, City Councilman Adolfo Carrion (D-Manhattan), Assemblyman José Rivera (D-Bronx) and Bronx County Democratic Party chairman Roberto Ramirez – were arrested for trespassing during a May 1 protest on the island. Sharpton received a 90-day sentence for his part, while the other three got 45 days.
City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez (D-Manhattan) said, “He [Judge Jose Fuste] thought that if he put these four men in jail for 45 days or 90 days, he would scare the hell out of every Puerto Rican in the island, every Puerto Rican in the United States and every ally in this struggle.
“If these four men . . . can be put in jail by a federal judge, imagine what we can do to you, little man out there, little woman out there.”
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York state troopers arrested a dozen protesters, including a state senator, who blocked the entrance to the governor's office in a choreographed act of civil disobedience to push for rent control.
About 200 demonstrators were chanting Monday for new legislation to protect some 2.5 million people protected by rent controls in New York City apartments while 30 uniformed state troopers watched. Those who sat or knelt in front of the door to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's offices face a disorderly conduct charge, a violation.
Sen. Bill Perkins, a Manhattan Democrat and the first escorted out, said they are trying to get rent laws renewed or reformed.
Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera also was arrested.
Lawmakers are considering a deal to extend current rent protections. Some protesters say that's not enough.
Should rent control be preserved or gotten rid of? Sound off in our comments section below…
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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Jose Rivera (politician)
American politician
José Rivera | |
|---|---|
| In office January 3, 2001 – December 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Roberto Ramirez |
| Succeeded by | George Alvarez |
| In office January 3, 1983 - December 23, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Armando Montano |
| Succeeded by | Israel Martinez |
| In office December 23, 1987 - December 31, 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Fernando Ferrer |
| Succeeded by | Joel Rivera |
| Born | (1936-07-30) July 30, 1936 (age 88) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | Joel Rivera, Naomi Rivera |
José Rivera (born July 30, 1936) is a former politician who served in the New York State Assembly from 2001 to 2022, representing the Fordham-Bedford, Kingsbridge Heights, Bedford Park, and Belmont sections of the Bronx. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Biography
Rivera was born in 1936 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1983 to 1987, sitting in the 185th, 186th and 187th New York State Legislatures. He was a member of the New York City Council from 1987 to 2000. Rivera was elected again to the State Assembly in 2000, and was the head of the Democratic Party in the Bronx from 2002 until he was ousted in 2008 by the so-called Rainbow Rebels.
Prior to his election to the Assembly in 1982, Rivera gained prominence as a labor advocate and organizer of construction workers and "gypsy" taxicab drivers.
During his tenure as County Leader of the Bronx, Rivera was frequently advised by Mike Nieves, a Democratic party consultant and strategist. Rivera was a vocal advocate for the withdrawal of the U.S. Navy from its bombing range on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, and was arrested in 2001, together with Al Sharpton and other political figures, for trespassing onto the Navy's Vieques facility. The Navy subsequently agreed to withdraw from the Vieques facility. Two of his children, Joel Rivera and Naomi River
Perkins, Rivera arrested in protest over Rent Regulations.
State Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) and Bronx Assemblyman Jose Rivera were among the dozen protestors just arrested for blocking the entranceway to Gov.’s Office in a protest over rent regualtions.
Perkins, Rivera and the others were taken away by state troopers and charged with disorderly conduct, said Lt. Anthony Oliver.
The protest, which featured about 200 protestors chanting “Stronger rent Laws Now, renewal’s not enough” started in the War Room, adjacent to Cuomo’s second floor office in the Capitol. After comments by Rivera, and Perkins and a few others, the group headed to Cuomo’s door.
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat was on hand for the start of the event but departed before people started getting arrested.
About 30 uniformed state troopers kept watch over the fracas