MEET STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA

Lifelong Democrat Gustavo Rivera was elected to serve as State Senator for the constituents of the 33rd Senate District in November of 2010. Gustavo campaigned on the promise that he would work hard to represent the interests of his Bronx neighbors in Albany and restore the public’s trust in their elected officials.

In thirteen years, State Senator Gustavo Rivera achieved an unprecedented record of accomplishments that the residents of the 33rd Senate District can be proud of. He has passed legislation to empower patients and providers as they navigate a broken healthcare system, fought for historic tenant protections and rent regulation laws, won millions of dollars owed to Bronx public schools, and held the line for economic development and wage increases. He has done it all with the highest standards of integrity, restoring the trust of our community in our public servants.

Senator Rivera represents the Northwest Bronx, including neighborhoods in Fordham Heights, Belmont, Van Nest, Morris Park, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Norwood, Bedford, and Bronxdale. He is committed to the betterment of the Bronx in all of his work in Albany.

He has passed legislation protecting the civil rights and liberties of all New Yorkers, expanded access to quality education, healthcare, and housing, and fought for economic development and wage increases. He has done it all with the highest standards of integrity and honesty, restoring the trust of our community in its public servants.  

As the ranking member of the Health committee in the New York State Senate, Gustavo has been focused on policy aimed at addressing health disparities. He has also been actively involved in issues of public safety and criminal justice as the former ranking member of the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections committee. 

Prior to running for office, Gustavo also worked as a community organizer, working for Freddy Ferrer, State Senator Jose Serrano Jr., and State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins. In early 2008, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) hired Gustavo to manage their activities on behalf of Barack Obama in several states including Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas – even in his home of Puerto Rico. When he returned to New York City, he served as Director of Community Outreach for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.  

For the last ten years, Gustavo has also served as a faculty member and mentor for “Somos el Futuro," the annual Model State Senate program sponsored by CUNY, SUNY, the NY State Assembly, and the Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force. As a State Senator, Gustavo is now a sponsor of the Model State Senate program and continues to mentor and teach students through the process.

Gustavo Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico. In 1998, Rivera came to New York to begin a doctoral program in political science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He has lived in the Bronx, in the same apartment building in Kingsbridge Heights for more than a decade.

Senator Rivera represents the Northwest Bronx and areas of the East Bronx, including the following neighborhoods: Fordham Heights, Belmont, Van Nest, Morris Park, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Norwood, Bedford, and Bronxdale.