| Ydanis Rodríguez | |
|---|---|
| Ydanis Rodriguez speaking at City Hall in 2008. Norm Siegel is on the right. | |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 10th District | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Miguel Martinez |
| Constituency | Marble Hill, Inwood, Washington Heights |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 18, 1960 Dominican Republic |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Marble Hill, United States |
| Alma mater | City College of New York |
| Profession | Teacher |
| Committees | Higher Education, Chair; Transportation; Youth Services; Fire and Criminal Justice Services; Immigration; General Welfare. |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | NYC Council: District 10 |
Ydanis Rodríguez (born June 18, 1960) is currently a Democratic New York City Council member from the borough of Manhattan[1] and the Chair of the Higher Education Committee.[2]
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Born in the Dominican Republic, Ydanis moved from his hometown of Licey al Medio to New York City when he was 18 years old. While working as a taxi driver,[3] Rodriguez earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the City College of New York. He eventually earned his Master's degree in Bilingual Education at CCNY.. While at CCNY, he was instrumental in organizing the system-wide strike in 1991. . Ydanis was a founding teacher at Gregorio Luperón High School in 1992, and he continued to teach there for 14 years.
After an unsuccessful attempts to run for City Council in 2001 and 2003, Ydanis ran a successful election campaign in 2009. September 2009 he won the Democratic primary election by over 60 percent against seven other candidates.[4][5]
He represents the Council District 10 [6] which encompasses the neighborhoods of Marble Hill, Inwood and Washington Heights. In January 2010, he was appointed as the chairman of the Higher Education Committee.,[7] and as Chair, Rodríguez has called for more diversity in the faculty of CUNY,[8] more childcare programs for student-parents, and successfully fought to keep CUNY's budget intact during the economic recession.
Ydanis Rodríguez was arrested for a civil disobedience demonstration against the Arizona law requiring police officers to arrest illegal aliens.[9]
Rodríguez was accused of inappropriately poking a female staffer during an argument, prompting the Council's Standards and Ethics Committee to began a investigation of the incident,[10][11]but decided against any formal punishment.[12]
Early on Tuesday morning, November 15 2011, Rodriguez was arrested for Obstructing government administration and Disorderly Conduct. He was seen by witnesses bleeding from the head as he was placed in a police car.[13] Rodriguez remained in Zuccotti Park along with about 200 other Occupy Wall Street protestors that refused to leave after Brookfield Properties asked the Bloomberg administration to clear the park for a cleaning.[14]
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Miguel Martinez |
New York City Council, 10th District 2010–present |
Incumbent |
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