This week the National Hispanic Council on Aging celebrates an influential, ambitious, and above-all, admirable public servant. New York’s Thirteenth Congressional District is represented by Adriano Espaillat, a congressman who has worked his way up through a variety of positions working in public service to become a steadfast advocate for everyone living in New York’s thirteenth district, as well as the Hispanic and Latino community. The values that drive his work are felt by the many who make up New York’s working class—sustainable and improved infrastructure, accessibility, tenant rights and affordable housing, meaningful criminal justice reform, and educational opportunity.
It is no wonder that Congressman Espaillat has such a consistent finger on the pulse of New York’s working- and middle-classes. Since the start of his career, Espaillat has been working to help those in need. Before entering elected office, he was the Manhattan Court Services Coordinator for the NYC Criminal Justice Agency, a nonprofit organization that works to decrease unnecessary pretrial detention and assist people released from detention with their obligations and expenses. For a time, Espaillat also worked as Director of the Washington Heights Victims Services Community Office, which provides services and resources to families of victims of homicide and other crimes. If these organizations weren’t enough, from 1994 to 1996, Adriano Espaillat was also the Director of Project Right Start, a national initiative that worked to combat substance abuse through educating parents on the matter. What his tenure outside of elected office amounts to is an already admirable career focused on serving and advocating for those in need, and those who suffer some of the worst systemic barriers as they traverse harsh circumstances.
In 1996, Espaillat made history as the first Dominican-American elected to a state legislature, serving in the New York State Assembly for thirteen years. In 2010, he was elected to represent the 31st district in the New York State Senate. Over his tenure as a state legislator, Espaillat was known for his advocacy of NYC tenants, and he succeeded in passing an extension of the J-51 Housing Program, which protected tenants from unfair rent hikes, among many other accomplishments and legislations.
In 2016, Rep. Espaillat was elected to represent New York’s thirteenth district in congress, a predominantly Hispanic district—once again making history, as the first formerly-undocumented immigrant to be elected to United States Congress. Currently serving his fifth term, Adriano Espaillat has been a U.S. congressman for almost a decade now, as he continues to represent New Yorks’ thirteenth district. In 2024, he was also unanimously elected to serve as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).
Throughout his career, both within and outside of elected office positions, Congressman Adriano Espaillat has been a champion for policy and advocacy that brings us closer to a truly equitable society, with improved services and outreach that embody what NHCOA understands to be true Latino Empowerment.
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