Exit Interview: Carlina Rivera is advocating for affordable housing on Mamdani’s transition team

Carlina Rivera feels like she has returned back to her roots. 

The former New York City Council member stepped down in August from her term-limited seat four months early. While District 2 is still home, she said she feels more grounded now, working in housing advocacy as the president and CEO of New York State Association for Affordable Housing.

“Organizing around Essex Crossing, the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area, being on the community board, these are all things that I enjoy doing,” Rivera said in an interview with City & State, recalling her background in city organizing. “And now to be able to do so in a space that’s exclusively focused on housing, which has always been my passion, and to build and preserve affordable housing, it’s really, to me, a really sweet space.”

The city has seen an increased focus on building more affordable housing, in large part due to New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes zoning plan and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s popular affordability campaign. Rivera sat down with City & State to discuss her role in the affordability movement, how her background in the council is shaping her advocacy and the bittersweet retirement news of fellow Puerto Rican politician Rep. Nydia Velázquez. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You were recently announced as a member of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Committee on Housing, as a part of his transition team. What do you think you bring to the team?

That experience that I have from the council, but also in working with the membership and really addressing issues like homelessness, like how do we ensure that we are addressing distressed buildings? How do we build the 200,000 units of housing promised by the mayor-elect? These are things that I’m really passionate about. We need to preserve our existing housing stock and deal with the very real ordeal of homes that need to be preserved. The need for more supportive services is also critical. We have many vulnerable tenants and families who need wraparound services, and that is something that Mayor-elect Mamdani has been supportive of and he clearly has included that amongst the many committees that are part of his transition of social services, and really brought together leaders and experts from across the city with diverse backgrounds and ideologies, and that is also very similar to the membership of NYSAFAH. These are very different members, all with the same mission to create and preserve affordable housing. So I feel like that’s what Mayor-elect Mamdani has done in assembling this team, and I feel very honored and privileged to be a part of it.

The district that you used to represent, District 2, is one of the lower producing districts for affordable housing in the city, with just 497 new units of affordable housing created since 2014. Do you think affordable housing in the city needs to be more equitably built?

I think all districts have to contribute. I think the speaker’s Fair Housing framework was a step in the right direction, and City of Yes was absolutely necessary. In my district, it was interesting, because right before I took office, they had actually downzoned a large (part of) Alphabet City in East Village, and in doing so, it really did make it difficult to see where you could create and build more affordable housing. And when we took on the SoHo and NoHo rezoning, that was my goal: How do we figure out which parts of the district could contribute more and then how do we use zoning as a tool to increase density in these areas, especially areas that are by transit? That is something that is also the mayor-elect’s priority, which is absolutely the smart way to go. It makes a lot of sense. And when we did City of Yes, that was something that required serious collaboration, and I felt like it’s building on the tools and the sort of vision that we’re going to need for the next few years. Where are the districts that are not contributing as much? We should certainly go and look back at council District 2. We should look at other districts where we think we can build, especially near transit, and where there’s opportunity and there is a workforce component. I think there are a lot of areas where we can work with the elected officials in the area, but also with people like NYSAFAH members. These are talented people who are experts in what they do. They know how to build affordable housing, and what we need to do is really make sure that the partnership is there and Mayor-elect Mamdani’s team has been very direct in saying they know they need affordable housing developers. They know they need people who are part of the NYSAFAH membership, and that is how we increase the supply, and that’s certainly how we preserve the existing housing stock that we certainly need for the families that are living here.

What are your thoughts on Mayor Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission-sponsored ballot proposals on housing that the city voted in favor of during the general election? You released a joint statement in July when you were on the council condemning these ballot proposals. Has your view changed on that now, especially with Mamdani voting in support?

Now that the voters have spoken, and they’ve pushed through the ballot proposals, that’s going to be part of the transition team and the administration to figure out how we implement them effectively. Any time that we can cut, in terms of the length of time it takes to build affordable housing, I think is always a good thing. You always want to balance a proposal and a decision based on the merits, based on what your constituents need. And I think now that we’re here, it’s going to be really important that we keep moving forward. It’s how do we cut some of the red tape? How do we cut out some of the bureaucratic delays that have led to a pipeline at (the Department of Housing Preservation and Development) that is full of potential projects that could lead to more housing? And how do we do that as quickly as possible?

Because of your background in the City Council, do you believe that these proposals will undermine the power of the council in a harmful way?I think with good leadership at the mayor’s office, you can still engage the community in a robust way, even with the changes that have come out of the ballot proposals. You can still bring the right senior leadership to your community, the right agencies to answer questions. You can still participate in a way where you can be your district’s best advocate. There have certainly been representatives that I thought have maybe challenged or hindered a few projects that I thought would be good for the city. And then there are council members I know who I’ve seen champion great projects through the land use process, and the council, and that was absolutely necessary to getting it done. So I think you can still have robust community engagement. You can still make sure that your voice is heard and actively participate in negotiations, no matter what it depends on your style as a council member. I think land use is always critical in New York City. It’s always going to be a point of contention and negotiation, and really need to just step up and be vocal for your constituents. You know what your constituents need. I hope that’s why people run, because you know your district really better than most, and we need housing. We need housing now. It’s timely. It’s urgent. And all council members just really need to get onboard.

Another contentious topic in housing right now is the Elizabeth Street Garden. What would you like to see Mamdani do in terms of affordable housing on that site?

That’s a difficult one, because the moves made by Mayor Adams certainly make it more difficult knowing that Mayor-elect Mamdani committed to building, to seeing that project through. So if we can take on the process of parkland alienation and going through with the project, I think, between the developers and the service providers, and a lot of the organizing that took place with the people that were in support of the project, (it) would certainly be nice to see more affordable housing than not. Any alternative sites that were identified, we should build housing on those sites as well. So I hope that that commitment and the drive to create and preserve more homes is seen as often as possible by the administration. So I hope we can see more housing as possible. I think we can do it and still include green and open space.

Harvey Epstein just won the seat to represent District 2 in the council. Any thoughts on your successor?

He’s someone who said he’s very pro-housing, so I expect to hold him accountable to that, and especially (since) we have been aligned on so many issues, and that includes supporting families that live in public housing, ensuring that they can live with dignity. And some of these homes – I've knocked on thousands of doors across the city, and I’ve seen people’s homes. My family was raised in public housing, and the conditions there require deep, deep investment and thought as to how we can really restore the dignity that these families deserve. So those are really major items. And of course, preservation always, there are buildings who really need that support from their government. So I think he’s up to the task. He’s someone who’s been an elected official for the area, who knows the community really well, and I’m looking forward to working with him.

As a Puerto Rican, what are your thoughts on Rep. Nydia Velázquez announcing her retirement, and the people who may try to fill her shoes?

It’s kind of a sad moment, but I really respect her decision. She’s someone who has worked tirelessly for our city, who has been very clear in supporting the self-determination of Puerto Rico and realizing the significance of the diaspora of Puerto Rican people here, and I’ve certainly learned a lot under her mentorship. And it’s when you have someone like that who is a giant in so many ways, not just for the people of Puerto Rico or our culture. I mean, she’s a superstar, she’s a pop star, but someone who has so much institutional knowledge, who has done so much for the recovery and the sustainability of our city.

Her ideals and her values are going to be important, and who steps into her position. If she’s looking to support someone, I stay close to her, I stay in touch with her and I want her to know that her legacy is solid. I want her to know the district is going to be in great hands. So there are some good people who are looking at it right now. ... It’s going to be a fiery one. It might get a little crowded. It’s a really interesting district, but it’ll be fun to watch. And I think people are really going to be invested in it because the New York congressional delegation, clearly, is shifting, right? It’s going to change dramatically. Also, there are people that are stepping down or moving on or being challenged. And we are a really strong delegation in the House. So we need to retain that strength as much as possible, even though we’ll have people who are junior and who are brand new. It’s going to be important that we continue to be that bold city and that innovative state that people look to for leadership.