Meet the City Council’s New Members: Ritchie Torres

Ritchie Torres’ education in city politics came under the watchful eye of New York City Councilman Jimmy Vacca, for whom Torres served as housing director and chief of staff. Vacca, who was a longtime Bronx district manager before being elected to the Council in 2005, placed a premium on delivering reliable constituent services and building on the community relationships he developed over the years that now allow him to be, as Torres describes it, “an independent force” as a councilman. 

“When you’re in the City Council, you can’t just think of yourself as a legislator. That’s only half of the job,” Torres said. “Equally as important is to provide consistent constituent services, to work your district and be a visible presence. That’s the greatest lesson I’ve drawn from Council Member Vacca.”

Aside from being one of the youngest incoming City Council members, what sets Torres apart from the rest of his freshman colleagues is his personal experience growing up in public housing in the Bronx. That background spurred and informed Torres’ interest in affordable housing, an issue that has picked up steam of late with the election of incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“The Bronx has a crisis of housing maintenance and affordability. Even though the Bronx has the lowest rents compared to Brooklyn and Manhattan, we also have the lowest incomes,” Torres said. “Bronxites contribute a greater share of their income towards rent. Nowhere is a crisis of affordability or maintenance more serious than the Bronx, so that’s going to be my highest priority. My staffers are not going to function as bureaucrats who are shuffling paper in a cubicle. I intend to make them organizers.”