Carlina Rivera

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Carlina Rivera is an American politician who served on the New York City Council representing the 2nd district from 2018 to 2025. Her district covers parts of Manhattan, including the East Village, Gramercy Park, Kips Bay, Lower East Side, Murray Hill, and Rose Hill. She is a Democrat.

Rivera grew up on the Lower East Side in Section 8 housing with a single mother who moved from Puerto Rico. She attended Notre Dame School in Manhattan and earned a BA in journalism from Marist College in Poughkeepsie. She worked for GOLES, a nonprofit focused on housing and community development, and served on Manhattan Community Board 3 before entering public office.

She ran for City Council in 2016 and won the Democratic primary in 2017 with about 61% of the vote, then won the general election. She was known for supporting reproductive rights and health care access, including helping fund the New York Abortion Access Fund. She also pushed to improve hospitals, health navigation, pedestrian and bike safety, renter protections during renovations, and other local measures, such as banning foie gras and cracking down on illegal hotel operators.

Rivera ran for the U.S. House in New York’s 10th district in 2022 but finished fourth in the Democratic primary. In 2025 she announced she would resign from the City Council to lead the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. She is married to Jamie Rogers and has two children. They previously lived in a Section 8 apartment and later moved to Kips Bay. She was briefly associated with the Democratic Socialists of America in 2017 but is no longer.