Ydanis Rodriguez District 10 - Council Member - Democrat
About Ydanis Rodriguez
Ydanis Rodriguez has a long track record of fighting and winning for the
community he represents. For more than 20 years he has served his community with
honesty, dignity, and integrity. As Council Member he continues to fight for
much-needed services for Northern Manhattan, including immigration reform,
higher quality education for all children, affordable housing and health care,
and a more transparent and efficient government.
Ydanis was born in the Dominican Republic and came to Washington Heights when he was 18 years old. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the City College of New York, paying his way working as a taxi-driver. He then went on to obtain his Master’s degree in Bilingual Education at City College.
In 1992, Ydanis successfully helped to found Gregorio Luperon High School, a school dedicated to the success of immigrant families, where he became a public high school teacher. Although Ydanis began his activism in the Dominican Republic fighting for a new school in his hometown, Licey Almedio, and continued during his tenure at City College, working to fight against tuition increases and budget cuts through student government, his 14 years of experience teaching refined and strengthened his passion for serving the community.
As a founding teacher at Gregorio Luperon High School, Ydanis became very aware of the growing problems of overcrowding and the lack of resources at his school and others in the area. With his fellow teachers, students, and community members, he advocated for increased school capacity and higher quality facilities. He took the fight to City Hall, resulting in the construction of a new state of the art facility to house Gregorio Luperon High School.
After winning this fight, Ydanis continued to work for change in Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill. Whether it was to improve translation and interpretation services in local hospitals, to shut down a proposed correction facility on 182nd street, or to keep open the 180th Street Post Office, Ydanis was actively involved. On behalf of the community, he worked with the Straphangers Campaign to oppose public transit fare increases, exposed abusive and corrupt landlords with tenant associations, and founded a program which provides access to academic and extra-curricular resources to first generation high school and pre-high school students and their families—a program acclaimed by today’s Governor Paterson.
Ydanis and his family currently reside in Marble Hill. As City Councilman, Ydanis continues to fight for District 10 residents, in partnership with the community. As he often says, “I’ve not come to do anything by myself. I have an open door policy.”
To keep up to date on what Ydanis is doing as Councilman, please visit the "Get Involved and Stay Informed" Section on the lefthand side of this page or visit the Press Room or Community Reports.
Entered City Council: 11/24/2009 Current Term Expires: 12/31/2013
Represents: Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill. Click HERE for a District Map
Committees: Higher Education, Chair; Transportation; Youth Services; Fire and Criminal Justice Services; Immigration; General Welfare.
Want to make a difference in your community? Here are a few things you can do:
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and/or Volunteer with Ydanis
Volunteers are crucial to our office’s ability to bring the community together and raise their voice at City Hall. They do everything from data entry to organizing town hall meetings to community outreach. Whatever your interest is, there is a way you can get involved. To talk about what you can do, call Yokarina Duarte at 917-521-2616.
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Participate in Community Meetings
Join Your Community Board: Community Boards have an important advisory role in dealing with land use and zoning matters, the City budget, municipal service delivery and many other matters relating to their communities' welfare. Anyone can come to a Community Board Meeting, and if you are interested in being a board member, call your local Community Board Office to get more information on the application.
Manhattan Community Board 12 meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at various locations. For more information contact:
Manhattan Community Board 12
711 W 168th Street
New York, NY 10032
Tel: 212-568-8500 ebsmith@cb.nyc.gov
Community Board 8 (for residents of Marble Hill) meets on the second Tuesday of every month at various locations in the district. For more information contact:
Bronx Community Board 8
5676 Riverdale Avenue, Suite 100
Bronx, New York 10471-2194
Tel: 718-884-3959 brxcb8@optonline.net
Join the Precinct Community Council: Each Police Precinct has a community council that provides for a monthly open forum-style dialogue between the police department and the community. These meetings are an opportunity for the public to share with NYPD what is working and what needs more attention.
33rd Precinct: Encompassing the area between W. 155th Street and W. 179th Street
2207 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10032
Community Affairs Unit: (212) 927-3892/91
The 33rd Precinct Community Council meets on the last Wednesday of the month at 6:30 at 2207 Amsterdam Avenue
34th Precinct: Encompassing the area between W. 179th and W. 225th
4295 Broadway, New York, NY, 10033
Community Affairs Unit: (212) 927-0576 / 0287
The 34th Precinct Community Council meets on the last Wednesday of the month at 7:00pm at 4295 Broadway or in other locations in the precinct. Call 212-927-0576 for more information
50th Precinct: Encompassing Marble Hill
3450 Kingsbridge Ave., Bronx, NY, 10463
Community Affairs Unit: (718) 543-5978
The 50th Precinct Community Council meets on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00pm at 3450 Kingsbridge Avenue
Join the Community Education Council: Community Education Council members are representatives of the parents and community-at-large. Community Education Council members are consulted on many important matters, and in turn, must consult with parents. Their meetings are open to the public, and provide an opportunity for the community to be heard on educational issues. The Councils are responsible for promoting the achievement of educational standards and objectives relating to the instruction of students and should establish a positive working relationship with the community superintendent and local instructional superintendents.
Community Education Council District 6: Encompassing Washington Heights and Inwood
4360 Broadway, New York, NY
917-521-3783 CEC6@schools.nyc.gov
Community Education Council District 10: Encompassing Marble Hill
One Fordham Plaza 8th Fl, Bronx NY
718-741-5836 CEC10@schools.nyc.gov
Releases
Here you can find recent press releases on important issues that the Council Member has been working on:
The Council Member writes a monthly report to the community and a biannual newsletter detailing the legislative items and community issues that he has been working on.
