Power Lists
The 2025 Bronx Power 100
The power brokers of New York City’s northernmost borough.
City & State presents the 2025 Bronx Power 100. Assembly
The Bronx is a bastion of political power. Local officials are flexing their muscles across the state, whether it’s Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie wheeling and dealing in the state Capitol on behalf of his conference and his constituents or District Attorney Darcel Clark pushing through revisions to New York state’s discovery laws. Younger politicians are eyeing opportunities to climb the political ladder, like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (who’s dominating U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer in a hypothetical Democratic primary matchup) and Ritchie Torres (a potential gubernatorial candidate who’s increasingly focused on Albany). It’s also the epicenter of one of the biggest clashes of the current election cycle, with voters weighing in this month on New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr.’s intraparty challenge to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
City & State’s Bronx Power 100 tracks the latest exploits of these and many more public officials, along with the borough’s top real estate titans, health care executives, nonprofit leaders, college and university presidents, and an array of activists and advocates fighting for change. This list ranks these individuals, all of whom live or work in the Bronx, based on their wins and losses over the past 12 months. We’re pleased to introduce the 2025 Bronx Power 100.
1. Carl Heastie
Nearly a quarter century into his time in Albany and just over a decade atop the Assembly, Speaker Carl Heastie shows no sign of loosening his hold on power. His dealmaking with Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins secured policy wins in the latest budget for his constituents in the Bronx and his members across the state. He even kept the governor happy, thanks to a favorable compromise on changes to the state’s discovery laws that largely kept intact the 2019 reforms he has defended and advocated for in the face of a torrent of opposition.
2. Jamaal Bailey
State Sen. Jamaal Bailey has settled into leading the Bronx Democratic Party after a few years of his authority being challenged by progressives, insurgents and the first Republican New York City Council victory in the borough in 40 years. Last year’s general election was a clean sweep for the party. Now, Bailey hopes to retake that GOP-held City Council seat with a labor-backed candidate. While he still prioritizes criminal justice reforms, Bailey moved over from the Codes Committee this year to chair the state Senate Insurance Committee, overseeing the influential and deep-pocketed industry.
3. Darcel Clark
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark teamed up with other county prosecutors to successfully push for tweaks to discovery laws in this year’s state budget. In her third term, Clark has pushed for parole reform while pushing back on policies she sees as going too far. A deft navigator of New York City politics, Clark can both earn praise from Mayor Eric Adams – “no one has done it better than District Attorney Clark,” he said in April – and spar with New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch while fighting to keep her borough safe.
4. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The coming years will be defining ones for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has spent the past few months drawing historic crowds across the U.S. alongside U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders as crucial anchors of Democratic resistance to a second Trump administration. Both nationally and at home, progressives look to her as the future, and she made a splash ranking Zohran Mamdani first in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. Early polls show her in enviable positions for a 2028 U.S. Senate run or a 2028 presidential bid as she rakes in eye-popping amounts of campaign cash.
5. Ritchie Torres
Rep. Ritchie Torres secured a New York City Council seat at age 25, punched his ticket to Washington, D.C., at 32 and today his staunchly pro-Israel politics and antagonism of both President Donald Trump and the left has earned him powerful allies and a prominence that has him openly considering primarying Gov. Kathy Hochul next year. While his engagement with international and national politics has garnered national headlines, his advocacy for the Bronx includes battling with Con Edison over rate hikes, championing federal lithium-ion battery safety legislation and fighting for the capping of the Cross Bronx Expressway.
6. Nathalia Fernandez, Robert Jackson, Gustavo Rivera, Luis Sepúlveda & José M. Serrano
State Sen. Gustavo Rivera is the first person of color to chair the chamber’s Health Committee, which he has led since 2019. In the post, he has passed legislation targeting medical debt and expanding coverage for older, undocumented New Yorkers and new mothers. The progressive lawmaker, who called on New York CIty Mayor Eric Adams to resign, endorsed fellow state legislator Zohran Mamdani as his top-ranked choice for mayor, followed by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
State Sen. Robert Jackson’s district straddles northern Manhattan and the Bronx, including Kingsbridge and Morris Heights. Jackson, who chairs the Civil Service and Pensions Committee, is a longtime education activist. He has touted development plans underway for the Kingsbridge Armory in his district.
State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez introduced a parkland alienation bill to pave the way for the Bally’s casino proposal in the Bronx by allowing green space to be rezoned. As the chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders, she recently introduced a bill that would designate all money collected from the opioid tax credit toward drug treatment and public education on the matter.
State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda is most proud of passing the José Peralta New York State DREAM Act, allowing undocumented college students to qualify for student financial aid, and the Green Light Law, authorizing undocumented New Yorkers to get driver’s licenses. In 2022, the Puerto Rican senator was granted Dominican citizenship.
State Senate Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks & Recreation Committee Chair José M. Serrano is a proponent of arts and culture in the Bronx. Before entering public office, he worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival, which was the predecessor to Shakespeare in the Park. Since then, he has continued to champion cultural causes, securing $100,000 in additional funding for Bronx libraries last year and advocating for more arts and music in schools. He also holds a leadership role as chair of the majority conference.
7. Adriano Espaillat
As chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat has emerged as a major voice of opposition to the Trump administration and an advocate for families targeted by the president’s deportation campaign. Back home, his “Squadriano” of allies continue to solidify their foothold in the Bronx as he successfully fought off a political hit by the Manhattan Democrats. And he has thrown his weight behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York City mayoral bid as Cuomo continues to lead in Democratic primary polls.
8. Rafael Salamanca Jr.
Facing term limits, the powerful chair of the New York City Council Land Use Committee is pursuing a new gig: Bronx borough president. Rafael Salamanca Jr. launched his primary challenge to incumbent Vanessa Gibson last fall – and the latest fundraising numbers show him barely outpacing the incumbent. He has been traveling the borough, often with oversized checks of city funds in tow for the Bronx’s Little League teams, recreation centers and schools. During his nine years on the council, he has boasted of bringing in more than $400 million to the South Bronx.
9. Vanessa Gibson
As Vanessa Gibson nears the end of her first term as both the first woman and the first Black Bronx borough president, she is backing a community-driven redevelopment of the old Kingsbridge Armory, with a land use review process just getting underway. She has also championed small businesses and relaunched Savor the Bronx Restaurant Week. On the health care front, Gibson has urged New York City to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle diabetes while also battling the opioid epidemic and the maternal mortality crisis. Her reelection campaign has been endorsed by 1199SEIU and the New York Working Families Party.
10. Michael Benedetto, Jeffrey Dinowitz & Karines Reyes
Assembly Codes Committee Chair Jeffrey Dinowitz is working to combat antisemitism in New York. Dinowitz spearheaded a measure that makes it a crime to wear a mask while committing another crime, a proposal that stemmed from his opposition to pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks. Dinowitz, a political heavyweight in the Bronx, also was the lead Assembly sponsor of the Climate Change Superfund Act that requires fossil fuel companies to fund efforts to adapt.
Assembly Education Committee Chair Michael Benedetto has dedicated much of his career to education, spending 35 years as a teacher in public and private schools, with a specialization in special education, and running the state’s first “very special” Olympics for children with multiple disabilities. Recently, he opposed the governor’s complete bell-to-bell school cellphone ban, proposing instead that school districts be able to craft tailored policies that work for their specific school environments.
In the wake of the Trump administration’s increase in deportations, Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Chair Karines Reyes is pushing legislation to reduce state and local cooperation with federal immigration officials. The Assembly member is focused on increasing Medicaid coverage for obesity treatment. Reyes also wants the Army Corps of Engineers to address electrical grid issues in Puerto Rico following the latest widespread power outage there.
11. Adolfo Carrión Jr.
When New York City Mayor Eric Adams needed a steady, experienced hand to join the highest levels of his administration earlier this year, he turned to Adolfo Carrión Jr. to be one of his deputy mayors. Carrión had already been serving in the administration as the commissioner for the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The former Bronx borough president and Obama administration veteran dove into the deep end to implement the mayor’s City of Yes housing agenda ahead of an election year.
12. Stanley Schlein
Stanley Schlein, a top election lawyer in New York City, is still in high demand well into a career that was in full swing in the 1970s. Schlein, who has long worked alongside the powers that be in Bronx Democratic politics and held considerable sway over judicial endorsements, has already assisted the 2025 campaigns of Bronx City Council Members Eric Dinowitz and Kevin Riley, Borough President Vanessa Gibson, City Council candidates Elsie Encarnacion and Justin Sanchez and Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar, who is running for New York City public advocate. In Albany, Schlein is on the lobbying rosters of Major League Baseball, Bally’s and the New York Yankees.
13. Philip Ozuah
One of the leading health care executives in the country, Dr. Philip Ozuah oversees Montefiore Medicine’s sprawling and vital network of Montefiore Health System hospitals and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Morris Park. A crucial health care provider, employer and economic pillar in the Bronx, Montefiore Medicine has opened 34 in-school health clinics serving more than 40,000 students, or 1 in 4 Bronx public school students. In 2024, Einstein brought in nearly $200 million in National Institutes of Health grants.
14. Randy Levine
Randy Levine has spent a quarter century parlaying the most iconic baseball franchise into a multibillion-dollar global sports and entertainment empire. Now, his old friend Donald Trump is back in the White House and his second term has already been a boon for the president of the New York Yankees. Levine was with Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk when the freshly victorious Trump marched into Madison Square Garden for a UFC fight in November. And when Levine’s YES Network was in a dispute with Comcast, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr sided with the Bronx Bombers.
15. Eric Dinowitz, Amanda Farías, Oswald Feliz, Kevin Riley, Pierina Sanchez & Althea Stevens
New York City Council Member Amanda Farías became the first Latina council majority leader last year, and now she’s gearing up to run for council speaker. Farías, who also chairs the Economic Development Committee, has focused on industrial development and access to ferries. After a sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, lawmakers passed her legislation limiting nonessential helicopter flights.
New York City Council Housing and Buildings Committee Chair Pierina Sanchez passed a bill in December that sets eligibility and design requirements for ancillary dwelling units, or secondary housing units on a property. Another recent Sanchez measure established a pilot program to convert existing basement or cellar apartments into legally authorized units. She also co-chaired a community planning process for the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory.
New York City Council Member Eric Dinowitz, the Jewish Caucus chair, is battling antisemitism. He introduced a bill to require the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes to notify elected officials of all hate crimes in their districts. As the Higher Education Committee chair, he passed a resolution calling for a ban on legacy admissions to increase college access.
New York City Council Small Business Committee Chair Oswald Feliz is pushing for safer needle exchange sites. After a city-sponsored needle exchange was opened in front of the Bronx Library Center, Feliz called for it to be relocated. He also proposed legislation requiring needle exchange programs to gather used needles and blocking such programs within 450 feet of schools or playgrounds.
New York City Council Member Kevin Riley is co-sponsoring a bill to allow more short-term rentals in the city. Recently, the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises chair has been seeking to expand pre-K and 3-K programs. He’s facing a primary challenge from former City Council Member Andy King.
Young people may get a direct say in municipal funding and programming for teens and young adults if a bill introduced by Children and Youth Committee Chair Althea Stevens is signed that would require at least three of the Department of Youth and Community Development’s advisory youth board members to be ages 16 to 24.
16. George Latimer
A longtime Westchester politician, Rep. George Latimer now represents a piece of the northeast Bronx, including Co-Op City. He garnered major endorsements from former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and longtime former Bronx Rep. Eliot Engel on his way to ousting his progressive predecessor, Jamaal Bowman, last year. Latimer pledged to earn his Bronx constituents’ trust and support, and he has opened a Co-Op City office, honored Bronx community board members on the House floor and denounced cuts to veterans’ services while touring the James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He serves on the Small Business and Foreign Affairs committees.
17. Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez has led the 50-year-old Urban Health Plan in its growth to 12 health centers across the Bronx, Harlem and Corona, as well as 12 school-based health centers and two mental health facilities serving a total of 89,000 New Yorkers – predominantly in the Bronx – each year. A newly constructed, 52,000-square-foot health care facility on Southern Boulevard in the South Bronx is set to open this year, in part funded by $20 million secured by New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. Izquierdo-Hernandez is also board chair of the National Association of Community Health Centers.
18. Marcos Crespo & Ruben Diaz Jr.
The dynamic duo that once ran the Bronx alongside Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has opted for a quieter life helping run one of the borough’s most important institutions: Montefiore Einstein. Ruben Diaz Jr., the longtime borough president who was once one of the youngest lawmakers in state history, was pursued for his endorsement by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York City mayoral campaign (a poll of Democrats in December even had Diaz polling slightly ahead of Mayor Eric Adams). Diaz and Marcos Crespo have brought their decades of experience to Montefiore, helping it expand, advocating for greater transit options and forging community relationships. Crespo, the former Assembly Labor Committee chair and Bronx Democratic Party boss, also serves on the SUNY board of trustees.
19. Lisa Sorin
Lisa Sorin is the first woman president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. Sorin, who was previously the chamber’s board chair, founded a scholarship program for college-bound female high school seniors. Recently, Sorin was, alongside Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, appointed co-chair of the Greater Morris Park Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The $20 million state effort aims to bolster the central Bronx community through beautification and infrastructure projects and the addition of two Metro-North Railroad stations.
20. Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez was appointed commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging in 2022, after a long career in the government, nonprofit and business sectors. One of her proudest achievements in the role was founding the Cabinet for Older New Yorkers, which created a path for city agencies to coordinate and collaborate on work related to aging adults. Her goals are to eliminate ageism, improve quality of life for older adults and make sure resources are distributed equitably among the diverse senior population.
21. George Alvarez, Landon Dais, Chantel Jackson, Amanda Septimo, Yudelka Tapia, Emerita Torres & John Zaccaro Jr.
Assembly Member Chantel Jackson chairs the New York State Black Legislative Task Force and Assembly Subcommittee on Micro Business. The lawmaker, who was first elected in 2020, recently passed legislation requiring landlords to inform tenants of bedbug infestations within 72 hours of becoming aware of the problem, which went into effect in December. In another win for third-term lawmaker, the Department of Financial Services and Department of Health were required to report findings and recommendations related to covered benefits and childbirth, including costs and length of stay.
Assembly Member Amanda Septimo, who was also elected in 2020, said President Donald Trump wasn’t welcome in the Bronx after he held a campaign rally there last year. She’s focused on equity in her borough, sponsoring a bill to require the state to publicize air quality standards for various contaminants and another bill requiring methadone clinics be fairly distributed across the city.
New York has one of the country’s lowest organ donor registration rates, and the Bronx has the state's lowest rate. Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia, a lawmaker since 2021, is on a mission to change that. Two of her sons have kidney disease and undergone dialysis, and Tapia is working with nonprofit Donate Life New York State to raise awareness of the need for more donors.
Since taking office in 2023, Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr. has introduced bills dealing with advertising for cannabis sales and has advocated for a crackdown on illegal dispensaries. One bill prohibits pot advertisements within certain distances from schools and penalties for failure to adhere. Another would require the state to notify lawmakers when an application for a dispensary in their district is filed.
Assembly Member George Alvarez, a Dominican-born lawmaker who grew up in a single-parent home, first took office in 2023. In his short tenure, he has secured $140 million in funding for St. Barnabas Hospital and introduced the Housing is a Human Right Act as well as a measure to protect bodegas from crime.
In his first year in office last year, Assembly Member Landon Dais passed legislation to create more judgeships throughout the state, including the addition of 16 Family and Civil Court judges in New York City, to speed up the judicial process. He also secured $2 million for STEM labs in local schools.
First-term Assembly Member Emerita Torres succeeded Kenny Burgos after he resigned abruptly last year. Her core focus in office is economic equity, from the high cost of living to a lack of affordable housing. She is sponsoring a measure that would create an affordable housing insurance relief fund program.
22. Fernando Delgado
Fernando Delgado has led CUNY’s Lehman College for four years, attracting millions in grants for projects like the hiring and training of 120 bilingual teachers to reflect the diversity of the Bronx, establishing partnerships with institutions as wide-ranging as NASA and NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, and solidifying Lehman’s position as a leading federally designated Hispanic-serving institution. Last year, he joined then-President Joe Biden in the Oval Office for the signing of an HSI-related executive order. He also serves on the boards of the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.
23. Tania Tetlow
In already uneasy times for university presidents, Tania Tetlow has now been tasked with guiding her university as it’s targeted by the Trump administration with student visa revocations and tens of millions of federal grant cuts. Fordham University has sought to shield its immigrant students, discovering visa revocations by manually checking a government database daily and supporting a lawsuit against the federal government to fight the visa policy. Earlier this year, she announced a record $100 million gift to the school for its STEM programs.
24. Christopher Mastromano & Cristina Contreras
Christopher Mastromano is at the helm of not one but two Bronx medical facilities in the extensive NYC Health + Hospitals network, leading both NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. The longtime health care executive oversees 670 beds across the two sites, which were combined into a single hospital with two campuses on Mastromano’s watch. Jacobi Hospital, a teaching site for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, has been undergoing major stormwater drainage upgrades by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
Last year, another veteran of the city’s municipal health system, Cristina Contreras, took the top spot at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. Contreras, who previously led NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan in East Harlem, was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and has a long track record of being engaged with local communities and reaching underserved populations in her work.
25. Jason Laidley
A close ally of and former chief of staff to state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, the Bronx Democratic Party’s executive committee chair, Jason Laidley is a major player in the borough’s Democratic politics. The Bronx Democrats rely on Laidley’s firm London House for a significant portion of its campaign operations, with a particular focus on judicial elections. Recent clients include Bronx City Council Member Kevin Riley, state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and Assembly Members George Alvarez and Chantel Jackson – as well as corporate clients like Airbnb, the New York Botanical Garden and Queens Future.
26. Miguel Fuentes
Miguel Fuentes has a lower profile than many top health care executives in New York City, but the BronxCare hospital that he has run for decades has an outsized presence in the Bronx. The nonprofit hospital, which serves the South and central Bronx, has 859 beds and 4,500 employees – and a reputation for serving the local community. As a teaching hospital, it is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It also has a clinical collaboration with the Mount Sinai Health System.
27. Daisy Cocco De Filippis
Serving a bilingual, multiracial student body, the majority of which are first-generation college attendees, Hostos Community College President Daisy Cocco De Filippis has a six-year plan to bolster the school as it continues to punch above its weight in its sixth decade of serving the South Bronx. Her motto is “manos a la obra” – all hands on deck – and she has lived up to that, attracting a $15 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott and millions more from other donors. Hostos recently was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Postsecondary Success Recognition Program.
28. Kristy Marmorato
The first Republican to be elected to serve in the Bronx in nearly 20 years, New York City Council Member Kristy Marmorato is representing the northeast Bronx as the borough saw an 11-point shift toward President Donald Trump in last year’s election. Marmorato, who’s facing another competitive election this year, is set to play a significant role in the fate of the downstate casino licenses up for grabs, with a say over zoning changes sought by Bally’s to as part of its bid build a casino at the Throggs Neck golf course formerly owned by Trump.
29. Daniel J. Kane
As president of Teamsters Local 202, Daniel J. Kane Jr. is a dedicated leader of organized labor in the Bronx, advocating for the workers at Hunts Point Produce Market as well as workers in a wide swath of industries around the city. He’s fighting for fair wages for direct support professionals who provide care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The fourth-generation Teamster also serves as a trustee for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, helping oversee the major union’s finances.
30. Nicholas Rodelli
Nicholas Rodelli is back in the produce market groove. The former general manager of the Hunts Point Produce Market returned to his old position last year after Phillip Grant departed. Rodelli has continued the produce market’s efforts to persuade New York City officials to either renovate or expand the market. New York City Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión Jr. recently announced the addition of a new blue highway port to service the produce market and the Fulton Fish Market next door, allowing for the marine transport of goods.
31. Donald Eversley
Together with partner Urban Health Plan, the Greater Hunts Point Economic Development Corp. and its executive director, Donald Eversley, continue to champion the Hunts Point businesses that serve as a vital economic engine for the Bronx and all of New York City. Eversley recently welcomed New York City’s backing of a blue highway barge system to serve Fulton Fish Market and Hunts Point Produce Market that will reduce trucks on the road in the congested neighborhood by 1,000 per month.
32. Robb Menzi & John Calvelli
At the Wildlife Conservation Society, Robb Menzi oversees one of the most iconic destinations in the borough, the Bronx Zoo. Last year, Menzi presided over the society’s annual gala, which recognized the 125th anniversary of the Bronx Zoo and honored longtime zoo Director Jim Breheny. The zoo will also be opening a world of darkness this summer to showcase 25 nocturnal animals. Menzi’s colleague, John Calvelli leads the society’s public affairs work. Calvelli also chairs the National Italian American Foundation and co-founded REEL WILD, a wildlife film festival. He praised a January decision by then-President Joe Biden to protect marine resources off the coast of New York and New Jersey. Adam Falk, the president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will become the society’s new president and CEO in July, with Menzi returning to the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer.
33. Ramon Tallaj
As the founder and chair of Somos Community Care, Dr. Ramon Tallaj is on a mission to transform community health care in New York City. At Somos, which is headquartered in the Bronx, Tallaj boasts 2,600 health care providers in his network with a focus on preventative and chronic care. He has been striving to increase mental health services available to New Yorkers, including in immigrant communities. Tallaj, who was honored with a Vatican order of merit by Pope Francis, worked with the late pontiff on health care issues.
34. Roberto Ramirez
Roberto Ramirez has parlayed his former leadership of the Bronx Democrats, time at the helm of Fernando Ferrer’s mayoral campaigns and his decade of service in the Assembly into a successful consulting and lobbying career atop MirRam Group and the Hamilton Campaign Network. Notable recent clients include Rep. Adriano Espaillat, state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez and New York Mets owner and aspiring casino operator Steve Cohen. As he has his whole, trailblazing career, Ramirez continues to fight for Latino representation in government.
35. Larry Scott Blackmon
Larry Scott Blackmon is a well-connected consultant in the Bronx, New York City and beyond. Blackmon, who served for years as a vice president at the Bronx-based online grocer FreshDirect, now heads up his own firm, The Blackmon Organization, a government relations and community engagement firm that specializes in “investment networking.” The former New York City Council candidate and ex-staffer in city and federal government roles remains active and engaged in civic life and as a public speaker.
Editor’s note: Larry Scott Blackmon is a member of City & State’s advisory board.
36. Susan Burns
Entering her fifth year as president of the University of Mount Saint Vincent, Susan Burns has overseen an era of transformation for the Riverdale institution. The school, which is pushing its 170th birthday, upgraded from a college to a university last year and also opened Seton College, a commuter-centric associate degree program with free tuition, transportation and school supplies for its students. Burns, an accomplished academic in the field of psychology, has also boosted enrollment in recent years and launched the borough’s first accredited physician assistant program.
37. Mark Stagg
Mark Stagg continues to expand his Bronx portfolio, recently closing a $40 million deal for a planned 800,000-square-foot development on Webster Avenue to build hundreds of dorms for Fordham University and hundreds more units of affordable housing. His buildings dot the Bronx and Westchester. An engaged philanthropist and leader of the Bronx business community, Stagg Group has supported the Camp Bronx Fund for disadvantaged youths and helped sponsor the Bronx Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala emcee last year: an artificial intelligence-powered, humanoid robot.
38. Blanca Ramirez
As president and CEO of Comunilife, Blanca Ramirez is responsible for the nonprofit’s 3,000 units of housing for homeless and low-income New Yorkers, with more on the way at the La Central development in the South Bronx. Gov. Kathy Hochul partnered with Comunilife to provide seniors – including some who were formerly homeless – with on-site support as part of an upcoming affordable housing project that has earned the organization praise from top Bronx officials, including Borough President Vanessa Gibson and state Sen. Gustavo Rivera.
39. Mychal Johnson
Mychal Johnson has been fighting for the South Bronx to have greener spaces and more breathable air for a long time. But the city’s latest environmental achievement, congestion pricing, may have left the South Bronx behind – and Johnson is sounding the alarm. He led calls for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to go beyond its promises to throw money at mitigation efforts and fund significant, permanent changes to the status quo. And he has worked to salvage an environmental justice program for teens run with Columbia University that saw funding cuts by the Trump administration.
40. Yaron Tomer
Dr. Yaron Tomer may be in the envy of medical school deans, presiding over a school that received a $1 billion donation last year to become fully tuition free. At the helm of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Tomer has been working to develop and implement a new strategic plan for the school, along with providing a new direction to medical education. Tomer is also supporting innovative medical research – in such areas as malnutrition-related diabetes – while training the next generation of doctors. He’s also the chief academic officer at Montefiore Einstein.
41. Rob Walsh
A former New York City Department of Small Business Services commissioner, Rob Walsh is now hyperfocused on bolstering the Bronx economy. He has partnered with the Bronx Borough President’s Office on the $20 million downtown revitalization initiative in Greater Morris Park, which has drawn support and state grants from the Hochul administration. He launched a microloan program for borough small businesses and helped secure over $1 million to improve storefronts in retail corridors. Walsh is working closely with the financial community on a series of technical assistant seminars to help with business growth.
42. David Pomeranz
For nearly four decades, David Pomeranz has helped lead RiverSpring Living and the Hebrew Home in Riverdale to be on the cutting edge of senior care and expand into a billion-dollar operation. Last year, he transitioned to the top job at the nonprofit serving over 18,000 New Yorkers He started working at the Hebrew Home as a Manhattan College student pushing wheelchairs in 1985 and now finds himself running an organization with several different kinds of robots helping to provide care to seniors.
43. Lourdes Zapata
Lourdes Zapata leads the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, facilitating the MTA’s commitment to billions of dollars in contracts with minority- and women-owned businesses and overseeing equity and civil rights policies for the 70,000 workers who keep New Yorkers moving. For four years before the born-and-raised Bronxite joined the MTA in 2023, Zapata led the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp., where she worked for 17 years before stints at Empire State Development and as the state’s chief diversity officer.
44. Peter Madonia
As a former chief of staff to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Peter Madonia came to the Belmont Business Improvement District after a long career in city government and as chief operating officer of The Rockefeller Foundation. He owns a family bakery on Arthur Avenue that has been a staple of Bronx’s Little Italy since its founding in 1918. Madonia continues to be a strong voice in debates over the future of Belmont and the city as a whole.
45. Wilma Alonso
For three decades, Wilma Alonso has fought for Fordham Road businesses and been a central advocate for the Bronx’s busiest commercial corridor. This spring, she welcomed a $1 million investment from Capital One into the area, including $200,000 to fund the Fordham Road Business Improvement District’s programs supporting small businesses. Alonso has also joined forces with other BIDs to push for reforms to the city’s new trash containerization program.
46. Gabriella Madruga
In January, Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Rep. Adriano Espaillat and other Bronx officials announced that 8th Regiment Partners LLC had been selected to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory. The point person for the winning bid by 8th Regiment Partners LLC is Gabriella Madruga of Maddd Equities, a Long Island-based real estate firm. In May, the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure got underway for the project, a mixed-use development dubbed El Centro Kingsbridge.
47. Sandra Lobo
Sandra Lobo is leading the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition through a merger with the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative – where she also serves on the board – to take the fight for justice and equity boroughwide after the group’s 50 years of advocacy. As the city moves forward with a plan to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory, Lobo has continued to work tirelessly to ensure the community she fights for is not neglected. Her organization is also driving the borough’s first federally certified comprehensive economic development strategy with the Bronx Economic Development Corp.
48. Plinio Ayala
As CEO of the tech workforce development nonprofit Per Scholas, Plinio Ayala has helped 30,000 people find tech careers over 30 years and has set the organization’s sights on launching another 30,000 careers over the next five years. The South Bronx native has overseen Per Scholas’ spread to two dozen cities across the country and secured partnerships with the NFL and Fortune 500 companies.
49. Nilka Martell
After fighting for years to cap the Cross Bronx Expressway, Nilka Martell and her environmental advocacy group Loving the Bronx have gained allies like Rep. Ritchie Torres and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. Now she faces a new fight against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to renovate the highway by adding lanes in the already heavily polluted borough. The movement to cap the expressway took a step forward this year with a $2 million, federally funded study showing that adding green space and reducing traffic is feasible. Martell also chairs the Bronx River Alliance.
50. Ariana Collado
The Bronx Democratic Party is one of the most influential county political organizations in New York, and it’s Ariana Collado who keeps everything running. Collado, who has been the executive director of the Bronx Dems since 2021, helps with everything from campaigning and voter outreach to engagement with elected officials and members of the community. On her watch, the party has made strides in electing more women in the Bronx. The former New York City Council staffer is also part of the team at Jason Laidley’s London House Consulting.
51. Arthur Goldstein
A veteran of City Hall dating back to the Koch administration, Arthur Goldstein chairs Davidoff Hutcher & Citron’s city government relations practice, lobbying for and advising the top firm’s downstate clients. Among his many clients is the Hunts Point Produce Market, which is currently embarking on a redevelopment project to help the market expand and adapt as it continues to feed millions of New Yorkers and employ thousands. Other clients in the Bronx include nonprofits such as the Hope Program and the Doe Fund.
52. Bharati Sukul Kemraj
Bharati Sukul Kemraj has built off her career in media, government and nonprofit work to rise through the ranks at Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates, earning the bump to vice president last year. An Indo-Caribbean leader in the Bronx and an advocate for New York’s Hindu community, she serves as vice chair on the Bronx Democratic Party’s executive committee and promotes Caribbean and Hindu culture through her foundation. She was recently recognized as part of Fidelis Care’s Women of Impact awards.
53. Prisca Salazar-Rodriguez & Jose Rodriguez
A native Bronxite, Prisca Salazar-Rodriguez had an extensive career in government and government relations that informs her work as a partner at Bolton-St. Johns. At the top-tier lobbying firm, she is known for her practical approach and crisis management expertise. She has assisted high-profile political campaigns, including Hillary Rodham Clinton’s U.S. Senate race and Ray McGuire’s New York City mayoral campaign. Previously, Salazar-Rodriguez served as deputy chief of staff to former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. Her husband, fellow Bronxite Jose Rodriguez, is a senior vice president at Bolton-St. Johns, focusing on government relations and community engagement. Rodriguez was New York City Council Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala’s chief of staff and the district manager of Bronx Community Board 4 for more than eight years.
54. Paul Thomas
Budgets, corporate government relations and nonprofit successes are Paul Thomas’ trade at The Parkside Group, lending his years of experience as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s chief of staff, various roles throughout city and state government, and campaign work to his clients at one of New York’s top lobbying and political consulting firms. He helped lead the charge for FreshDirect to set up shop in Mott Haven and serves on the New York City regional board of the New York League of Conservation Voters.
55. Jennifer Rivera & Michael Stinson
At New York City’s top-ranked lobbying firm Kasirer, Jennifer Rivera is a senior vice president on the corporate and legislation team, capitalizing on her background in city and state government to deliver for her clients. Rivera was a top aide to former Bronx New York City Council Member James Vacca and is also a former Democratic State Committee member in the borough. She was an aide to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo for six years and senior director of government affairs at Altice USA. Michael Stinson, a vice president focusing on corporate clients and legislation, utilizes his city, state and federal government experience. Stinson was Manhattan borough director in the city comptroller’s office under Scott Stringer, the chief of staff to Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon and the New York City adviser to then-Rep. Steve Israel.
56. Eileen Torres
For 30 years, including a decade as executive director, Eileen Torres has helped BronxWorks carry out its mission to provide social services to more than 60,000 Bronxites. Torres, who took on a new title of CEO last year, has been advocating in Albany for fair wages for human services workers, working with Gov. Kathy Hochul to expand maternal health services in the Bronx and developing affordable housing in Morris Heights. She also serves as secretary on the board of directors for the Human Services Council.
57. Odetty Tineo
In New York, labor unions play a major role in politics and policy – and few have as much clout as District Council 37, the largest public sector union in the city. That makes Odetty Tineo, the political and legislative director for DC 37, a key player – and not only in doling out coveted endorsements in election years but also in ensuring legislation and regulations take into account the impact on workers. Tineo, who has been at DC 37 for three years, was previously at the New York State Nurses Association.
58. Arline Parks
A longtime Mott Haven community leader, Arline Parks runs the nonprofit Diego Beekman Mutual Housing Association, overseeing 1,200 units of affordable housing while seeking to build more. Last year, she helped launch the Mott Haven Neighborhood Service Collaborative aimed at uniting the neighborhood’s stakeholders and providing health and social services, community outreach and other support to those struggling the most in the rapidly changing neighborhood.
59. Marc Jerome
After more than 90 years, Monroe University graduated from being a college to a university last fall, with President Marc Jerome at the helm of what has been a family business since his ancestors founded it in 1933. Jerome remains dedicated to Monroe’s Bronx campus, as well as the university’s campuses in New Rochelle and St. Lucia in the Caribbean. He focuses not only on Bronx high school students but also providing their parents and other working adults in need with academic opportunities.
60. Michael Max Knobbe & Gary Axelbank
When locals want to know what’s going on in the borough, they tune into BronxNet. The public service multimedia network has been led for the past 22 years by Michael Max Knobbe, who oversees its six channels and the BronxNet Media + Technology Studios that he launched in the South Bronx. He recently used a major grant from Creatives Rebuild New York to fund local artists developing new programming for BronxNet. He also co-founded the New York state chapter of the Alliance for Community Media and serves on the board of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. A longtime colleague is Gary Axelbank, a public face of the network as the host of “BronxTalk” and other shows. Axelbank, a three-decade veteran of BronxNet, interviews many influential political players and candidates in the borough. Last year, he launched “The Bronx Music Podcast,” with a new episode each month. He was also inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in May.
61. Nicole Ackerina
Nicole Ackerina is an experienced waterfront leader. The Fulton Fish Market Cooperative moved from lower Manhattan to the South Bronx. Building on her experience with NYC Ferry, on ferry development in Puerto Rico and on offshore wind boats, Ackerina is connecting the fish market to New York City’s blue highways, unveiling a barge port to allow for a water-driven seafood supply chain. She is the board chair of The Cosanti Foundation, which emphasizes sustainable urbanism, and is on the board of Rocking the Boat, an educational nonprofit focusing on boating on the Bronx River.
62. Charles Moerdler
Charles Moerdler’s day job is serving as of counsel at the Manhattan law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, but he’s known for his decades of civic engagement in the Bronx and beyond. He served on the boards of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and was New York City’s housing and buildings commissioner. The real estate and land use expert is a member of Bronx Community Board 8 and serves on the boards of the SBH Health System and the New York City Housing Development Corp.
63. Daniel Barber
The New York City Housing Authority is home to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, so it’s no small task to advocate for these public housing tenants. But that’s what Daniel Barber does as chair of the Citywide Council of Presidents. Barber, who represents NYCHA’s Jackson Houses, has spoken out about lead contamination, inadequate heat or hot water, crumbling brick facades and other maintenance issues. He has also weighed in on policy matters, such as efforts to restructure the finances of NYCHA developments.
64. Rocky Bucano
The Bronx is famously credited for giving birth to hip-hop over half a century ago, and Rocky Bucano is committed to telling the story of how the art form evolved. Bucano’s 55,000-square-foot Hip Hop Museum is scheduled to open in the Bronx next year, with backers who include Kurtis Blow and Grand Wizzard Theodore and a number of corporate partners, including Microsoft. Bucano is spearheading a $150 million capital campaign and is aiming to raise the final $50 million for the institution this year.
65. Juval Scott
A former federal public defender who led the national Sentencing Resource Counsel training for other federal defense attorneys, Juval Scott became the first Black person and first woman of color to lead The Bronx Defenders last year. She has pushed the New York City Council and the Adams administration to increase funding for public defenders, backed a lawsuit fighting to block federal immigration officials’ access to Rikers Island and joined the effort to stave off the most drastic of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed rollbacks to the state’s discovery law in Albany.
66. Tomas Ramos & Augustina Warton
Tomas Ramos founded Oyate Group, the antipoverty nonprofit born out of pandemic necessity, and has continued its mission of reaching the most underserved Bronxites. His programs help undocumented students find paid internships, provide microgrants to Black, Latino, Indigenous and Asian restaurateurs in New York, fund college scholarships and help inform and protect the Bronx’s immigrant communities. The one-time congressional candidate has stayed involved in Bronx politics, running a well-funded super PAC involved in City Council races. Last year, he was honored with President Joe Biden’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his volunteerism. Ramos’ colleague Augustina Warton is the organization’s director of programs, a role in which she oversees youth development programming, small-business support, food justice, public safety and community initiatives.
67. Liz Neumark
Headquartered in Mott Haven, Liz Neumark’s Great Performances catering company has exclusive partnerships with some of New York’s most iconic institutions, including the Apollo Theater, Wollman Rink, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Riverdale’s Wave Hill. Among its main goals, Great Performances aims to nurture New York’s artist community and employ Bronxites from the community where it built its multimillion-dollar headquarters. Neumark serves on the Bronx Chamber of Commerce’s executive committee, and Great Performances was a founding member of the NYC Food Distribution Alliance to push for reforms to congestion pricing.
68. Sean Ebony Coleman
A national LGBTQ+ leader, Sean Ebony Coleman is having an impact along the East Coast. Coleman, the first African American transgender individual to run a LGBTQ+ community center in New York, has been expanding beyond Destination Tomorrow’s South Bronx roots in the past year, opening centers in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. Back home, Coleman is working with the New York City Department of Homeless Services to launch a homeless center for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals and is partnering with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson on LGBTQ+ policy issues.
69. Andrew Joblon & Ryan Nelson
Turnbridge Equities’ Andrew Joblon and Ryan Nelson are responsible for the real estate firm’s 1.3-million-square-foot Bronx Logistics Center in Hunts Point and the planned 6,600 solar panels that would make it one of the largest solar projects in New York City. It’s one of the city’s largest buildings, plus it’s connected to freight rail and is located just two miles from the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. Joblon, the founder and managing principal of Turnbridge, has built the firm into a national real estate group, including a number of logistics-related properties in the New York City metro area. Nelson, the managing principal at Turnbridge, runs point on the development of the Bronx Logistics Center.
70. Michael Fosina
Health care executive Michael Fosina has gone from Bronxville to the Bronx, where he now leads the 200-bed Calvary Hospital site in Morris Park. Fosina, who joined Calvary Hospital last year and became its president in January, was previously the president of NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital in Westchester County. Calvary Hospital, which also has locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, has a unique focus on providing palliative care for adults with cancer and other terminal illnesses.
71. Ninfa Segarra
Originally known as St. Barnabas Hospital, SBH Health System has been running for 160 years. As the hospital’s senior vice president of community and government affairs as well as its chief diversity officer, Ninfa Segarra spearheads initiatives to increase inclusivity in medicine in order to improve health outcomes for Bronxites across six SBH locations. The former New York City deputy mayor has also focused on building and sustaining relationships with community partners to improve services.
72. Thomas Brown
As the vice president of development at Trinity Financial, Thomas Brown is driving the firm’s work in the Bronx as part of the overall development growth across the borough. Among the work being done by Trinity Financial is 425 Grand Concourse, an under development 26-story, 277-unit project. In addition to the mixed-income residential section, the development will include a supermarket, an educational center, a community health clinic and a cultural center that will be an economic cornerstone in the South Bronx.
73. Matt Abrams Gerber & Bob Kaplan
At the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Matt Abrams Gerber and Bob Kaplan are weaving together the multicultural tapestry of New York City into a cohesive community. Abrams Gerber is the vice president for JCRC’s Center for Shared Society and Kaplan is a senior adviser for the center. Abrams Gerber joined JCRC last fall, after nine years as chief operating officer of the Riverdale Y, to succeed Kaplan in leading the center, with Kaplan transitioning to the senior adviser role. The Center for Shared Society sponsors programs to bridge demographic divides in the city and engage emerging community leaders citywide. Among the center’s programs are the Blumberg Fellowship for Jewish Community Relations, which seeks to connect Jewish young professionals to the city’s civic life; YouthBridge, a teenage leadership development program; and the BridgesNY fellowship program, which trains community leaders through meetings with city leaders and trips to Israel, Palestine and the annual Somos conference in Puerto Rico.
74. Melissa Sigmond
Melissa Sigmond runs a crucial center of Jewish life in the Bronx and has forged close ties with elected officials, securing millions in city funding and traveling to Israel with Rep. Ritchie Torres last year. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, Sigmond has rallied the community, including supporting efforts to send an ambulance to Israel. She hosted a visit by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Bronx elected officials to discuss the borough’s priorities in February. And Torres honored her on the House floor in March.
75. John Okon
Rear Admiral John Okon, a retired U.S. Navy officer with an extensive resume in his 33 years of service, was appointed by the SUNY board of trustees last summer to serve as the president of SUNY Maritime College, his alma mater in Throggs Neck and where he met his wife. His senior roles in the Navy included serving in the Office of the Oceanographer and Navigator of the Navy and, from 2023 until his retirement in 2024, as the vice commander of the U.S. Cyber Command’s 10th Fleet.
76. Nadia Arroyo, Sharlene Brown & Meishay Gattis
YMCA facilities are precious to the Bronx, with borough officials fighting for 30 years to have a new one built until Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie secured the city’s commitment to build the 50,000-square-foot Northeast Bronx YMCA near the New York City Housing Authority’s Edenwald Houses, followed shortly by the La Central YMCA in the South Bronx. Led by Meishay Gattis, a 20-year veteran of YMCA of Greater New York and the Boys’ Club of New York, the Northeast Bronx facility is open and serving the community, even attracting then-Vice President Kamala Harris for a visit. All three locations, including the Castle Hill YMCA, serve as community hubs and offer fitness classes, swim lessons, youth sports and summer camps. Castle Hill YMCA Executive Director Sharlene Brown has led her institution for 15 years, managing 200 staff members, a $5 million budget, after-school programs and a senior center. La Central YMCA Executive Director Nadia Arroyo has 20 years under her belt in the YMCA system.
77. Dan Leventhal
The seeds of Bronx Lacrosse first planted in 2015 as Dan Leventhal taught seventh grade math at Highbridge Green Middle School have now grown into a fully formed anchor of the community, offering youth development, tutoring, mentorship and college prep for over 300 students at Bronx middle and high schools. Leventhal’s student-athletes can boast of a 100% graduation rate, a 100% rate of students pursuing higher education, greater attendance rates than the average at Bronx schools and reduced absenteeism.
Last year, boys and girls teams in the program won the city’s Middle School Athletic League championships.
78. Steven Westreich
As development continues to grow across the Bronx, Steven Westreich is a leader in the borough’s real estate development community. Westreich, who leads Westbridge Realty Group and Westorchard Management, recently completed 2077 Ryer Ave., which has 93 units, and is in the process of completing developments at 1801 Weeks Ave., which has 99 apartments, and 2351 Lorillard Place, which will have 90 apartments. In April, he filed permits for a new four-story development on East 215th Street in Williamsbridge and a two-tower project with over 150 units in Kingsbridge.
79. Pedro Suarez
A veteran of the New York City Department of Sanitation, Pedro Suarez came to the Third Avenue Business Improvement District last year after four years with the antipoverty nonprofit LIFT-New York. The Cardinal Hayes High School product has hit the ground running at “The Hub,” the Bronx’s oldest commercial district, by forging partnerships with the city and the New York City Police Department, and garnering the support of elected officials to tackle illegal drug use in his neighborhoods. He also secured a $300,000 grant for commercial revitalization programming and a needs assessment.
80. Denise Miranda
After naming Denise Miranda acting commissioner last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated her in February to serve in a full capacity atop the state Division of Human Rights, and she was just confirmed by the state Senate. She previously served as the head of the state’s Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs for seven years. The Bronx native began her career in the Bronx District Attorney’s Office working with domestic violence survivors. As the first Afro-Latina in her current role, she increased the division’s staffing by 40%, secured a 30% budget boost and launched a statewide anti-hate campaign.
81. Milton Santiago
Approaching the end of his nearly two-year tenure as Bronx Community College’s interim president, Milton Santiago is no stranger to serving in senior leadership roles at New York’s public colleges, including several vice president roles at Lehman College. On his watch, BCC has revamped its media and digital film production program with the help of a cohort of Bronx City Council members, Sony and Panavision. Enrollment is up, BCC’s IT infrastructure is being upgraded by CUNY, and city and state lawmakers awarded the school $4 million in funding for its athletic fields.
82. Frederick Bonato
An academic and administrator with a background in aerospace medicine, Frederick Bonato was named interim president of Riverdale’s Manhattan University last fall, pledging an emphasis on undergraduate research opportunities, new enrollment strategies and active engagement with the student body. In his tenure so far, he has pushed his students to embrace civic life, oversaw a record-breaking fundraising dinner featuring Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian that brought in more than $4 million for the school and announced a nearly 50% increase in fall 2025 applications compared to fall 2024.
83. Ray Oladapo-Johnson
With decades of horticulture experience under his belt, Ray Oladapo-Johnson has been running the gardens at Riverdale’s Wave Hill since 2023. Stints in Denmark and Massachusetts have been interspersed by career stops helping manage Manhattan’s famed High Line and working at the Wildlife Conservation Society, which oversees New York City’s zoos, including the Bronx Zoo. On his watch, Wave Hill hosted its first Juneteenth celebration and first Pride event as it looks ahead to its 60th anniversary. He also oversaw upgrades to garden infrastructure to improve accessibility.
84. John Doyle
A passionate advocate for City Island and the East Bronx, John Doyle is a man of many hats. He manages the public affairs of NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and has also advised Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, a longtime ally. His organization, City Island Rising, is a major contributor to civic life in the island neighborhood, doing everything from holding monthly meetings and community cleanups to pushing the city to repave roads and institute reduced speed limits. A Democratic district leader, Doyle also serves on the 45th Precinct Community Council and the Chippewa Democratic Club board.
85. Sally Page Connolly
Sally Page Connolly is a passionate advocate for the Long Island Sound. The chair of City Island Oyster Reef, Connolly leads the group comprised primarily of volunteers in increasing the amount of oyster reefs in the Long Island Sound. This year, the organization obtained additional funding from the New York City Council and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which is being used to design new oyster reefs, run a shell recycling program with local restaurants and expand marine education programs. Connolly also obtained grant funding for the group for a pollinator garden on a shoreline next to a local school.
86. Timothy Tapia
A longtime aide to state Attorney General Letitia James with a deep history in Bronx politics – including as a New York City Council aide, a campaign manager and as a district leader – Timothy Tapia now works as AT&T’s director for external affairs for New York City, Long Island and Rochester. He manages AT&T’s political action committee, meets with lawmakers on the telecommunication giant’s behalf and coordinates with city government. He also helped AT&T open four Connected Learning Centers in nonprofits across the city to provide digital training.
87. J.C. Polanco
A former Republican candidate for New York City public advocate and a frequent presence on the New York City TV political show circuit, Bronx-native and Fordham School of Law and Fordham University Gabelli School of Business graduate J.C. Polanco now imparts his years of political wisdom on students at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. He previously served as chair of the New York City Board of Elections and as Assembly Republicans’ chief liaison to the city. He recently stepped down as the president and CEO of the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, a national nonprofit dedicated to furthering law career opportunities to aspiring attorneys of all backgrounds.
88. Kathleen Carrasco
For two decades, Kathleen Carrasco worked her way up in the New York Public Library system, and now runs the Bronx’s 35 libraries. She previously managed the Westchester Square and Grand Concourse branches, with a five-year stint at the Parkchester Library before that. The Hunts Point Library reopened in February after a $32 million renovation and the Melrose Library reopened just a few months prior. In a borough short on bookstores and students falling behind, the public library system has never been more important.
89. Denise Rosario Adusei
The Bronx Children’s Museum is thriving under the leadership of Denise Rosario Adusei, who took over in 2023. The museum opened a teen tech center and digital arts lab co-developed with Grand Street Settlement and The Clubhouse Network. Adusei has led the museum in passing the 150,000 visitor mark. She also launched a toddler time program and expanded educational programs for teachers. She has partnered with the New York Yankees and The Players Alliance to fund field trips for Title I students and develop inclusive, sensory-friendly exhibits.
90. John McDonald
John McDonald oversees The Doe Fund’s more than 1,900 units of transitional, affordable and supportive housing already housing New Yorkers or under development. With over 30 years of experience, McDonald coordinates city, state and private stakeholders to provide housing in a borough in desperate need of it. The Doe Fund’s Bronx residences already include 928 units after buildings in Wakefield and Bedford Park opened last year. Another 150 units are being built in Crotona Park East, 109 are slated for Norwood and 96 are planned for Hunts Point.
91. Rachel Batista-McChain & Swannie Batista
Rachel Batista-McChain wants to empower and uplift those who are trying to navigate their way through complex legal issues. Batista-McChain and Swannie Batista founded Paralegals FTC with the goal of bringing legal services to immigrants and underserved populations. Batista-McChain has worked with pro se litigants from over 36 countries to navigate the immigration process. The nonprofit organization provides a variety of non-immigration legal services, including helping clients navigate the divorce process and financial legal issues.
92. Jerelyn Rodriguez
For a decade, The Knowledge House – the nonprofit co-founded and led by CEO Jerelyn Rodriguez – has trained more than 3,000 people from underserved communities for careers in the tech space. First starting the organization in her home borough of the Bronx, Rodriguez has overseen its expansion across the city and into Newark, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., in recent years. Her work has garnered the support of the country's largest financial institutions, a fellowship funded by chart-topping Bronx rapper French Montana and major gifts from MacKenzie Scott, the NBA and the venture philanthropy fund New Profit.
93. Tina Cardoza-Izquierdo
This spring, the older adult nonprofit Riverdale Senior Services brought on its new leader, Tina Cardoza-Izquierdo, after a yearlong search for its next executive director. The longtime advocate for the aging has focused on community outreach to the growing aging population and bringing together older adults across several generations. Riverdale Senior Services, which is based in the Bronx’s Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood, provides older adults with health classes, social and educational programs and meals. Cardoza-Izquierdo had previous stints at the Rockland County Office for the Aging, Atria Senior Living and Nyack Hospital.
94. Angel Hernandez
Maybe one day the Bronx’s official historian, Angel Hernandez, will reclaim Marble Hill, officially part of Manhattan, for the borough. But for now, he will keep educating people on the Bronx’s history (and holding annual, tongue-in-cheek marches attempting to recapture the neighborhood). Hernandez succeeded Lloyd Ultan in the post, and in that capacity, he weighs in on who should be honored on the Bronx Walk of Fame. He’s also the New York Botanical Garden’s director of government relations and president of Westchester Square’s Huntington Free Library.
95. Richard Martinez
Ponce Bank has come a long way since it was founded in the Bronx in 1960, and Richard Martinez ensures the federally designated Community Development Financial Institution is positioned to serve its clients during an age of technological innovation. Martinez has a long history with the bank, coming on as a teller in Brooklyn in 1995 and working his way up to his current role as a vice president overseeing information technology. Martinez has been based in the Bronx for the past 25 years.
96. Abe Fernández
Abe Fernández has been committed to uplifting the Bronx throughout his career, including in his current role at the Children’s Aid as vice president of collective impact. He’s also director of the National Center for Community Schools, a role in which he oversees place-based collective impact initiatives. Previously, he was a senior adviser at South Bronx Rising Together, and he led the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative in the Bronx.
97. Charles Madray
For the past 11 years at Samaritan Daytop Village, Charles Madray has been on the front lines of the fight against the opioid epidemic, overseeing the human services nonprofit’s sprawling opioid treatment and prevention efforts, including a number of facilities in his home borough of the Bronx. Madray runs treatment and community-based programs that serve more than 3,000 people a year. The former Montefiore Medical Center physician assistant is also pushing to destigmatize methadone use and train the community on using Narcan kits.
98. Anddy Perdomo
Through her day job with the anti-poverty organization Volunteers of America-Greater New York, Anddy Perdomo has informed policies and run programs helping veterans, asylum-seeking families and other underserved communities experiencing homelessness and financial challenges for 15 years. On her watch, the organization is set to open its Economic Empowerment Center in the Bronx, with a vocational rehabilitation program, a rapid rehousing program for domestic violence survivors and other services. She also has served on Bronx Community Board 3, the New York City Continuum of Care’s Veteran Task Force and on the BronxCare Health System’s board of trustees.
99. Erin Clarke
A former Bronx beat reporter for NY1, Erin Clarke has spent the past five years advising nonprofits at the firm Anat, playing a key role in helping the Bronx Economic Development Corp. and the Bronx Tourism Council revitalize the Savor the Bronx Restaurant Week. She also serves on the boards of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, serving as a Legacy Council member to help advise and oversee the latter organization’s project reimagining the park’s Enslaved African Burial Ground.
100. Ardhmir Malziu
A large Albanian American population resides in the Bronx, and in his role as a Democratic district leader for Assembly District 80, Ardhmir Malziu is New York City’s only Albanian American elected official. Malziu is also the community coordinator for Bronx Community Board 8 and previously worked for the New York City Council and the New York Yankees. He is committed to empowering underrepresented communities and increasing Albanian American representation. As a district leader, he has focused on recruiting more young people and individuals from underrepresented communities to serve as poll workers.
Correction: This post has been updated with current clients for Arthur Goldstein at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron.
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