January 4, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COALITION OF LATINO LEADERS SUPPORT JENIFER RAJKUMAR FOR ASSEMBLY SEAT VACATED BY SHELDON SILVER

A coalition of Latino Leaders from the Lower East Side has come together to support Jenifer Rajkumar for the Assembly Seat vacated by Sheldon Silver. The group consists of Latino tenant leaders, worker’s rights advocates, and community activists.

Jenifer Rajkumar is a lawyer, professor, and district leader. She has served as a District Leader in the Assembly District for the past 4 years. She is a civil rights lawyer at Sanford Heisler Kimpel LLP, where she was recently selected to the 2015 Super Lawyers’ ­Metro Rising Stars List, an honor given to no more than 2.5 percent of lawyers in the state. She is also a Professor of Political Science at CUNY, where she teaches Immigration & Citizenship.

Nelly Quinones, former 20 year Vice President of the Tenants Association at the Rafael Hernandez Houses, a NYCHA complex on the Lower East Side, said: “We have always been able to count on our District Leader Jenifer Rajkumar to roll up her sleeves and help the residents of the Lower East Side. As the daughter of immigrants, Jenifer understands the issues facing the Latino community. As a civil rights lawyer, she has the skill set and track record of fighting for the voiceless— and winning. As a Professor at CUNY, Rajkumar has dedicated herself to sculpting the next generation of Latino youth. As our District Leader, she has been energetic, accessible, and effective. I urge all members of the Latino community in Lower —and th everyone from across the 65 ​ Assembly District— to support her candidacy for the New York State ​ Assembly.”

Janette Suarez, a tenant leader from NYCHA’s Rafael Hernandez Houses in the Lower East Side, said: “Jenifer Rajkumar is a tireless advocate for the Latino community on the Lower East Side, and I believe she can best represent the interests of the Latino community as a member of the State Assembly in Albany. Just this year, she spearheaded a free legal clinic for over 1,000 residents of public housing here on the Lower East Side. At the legal clinic, lawyers provided legal help to tenants in Spanish, and it was a packed room. For the past several years, Jenifer has been a constant and tireless presence working for our community. After Sheldon Silver’s 40 year reign, Jenifer represents the fresh energy the Lower East Side needs.”

th Quinones and Suarez are Members of the County Committee in the 65 ​ Assembly District, which will soon ​ vote on the Democratic Nominee to succeed Sheldon Silver.

Louise Velez, an affordable housing advocate from the Jacob Riis Houses, a NYCHA complex on the Lower East Side, said: “Jenifer Rajkumar has always stood up for our community, taking on the tough fights. I have worked in the trenches with her many times on issues facing the Latino community in the Lower East Side, including fighting for affordable housing, for an affordable grocery store in the neighborhood, and for an end to 421(a) tax breaks that benefit the billionaires at the expense of hard working Lower East Siders. Jenifer has stood up time and again for low­income and middle class residents of the Lower East Side. She has been an eloquent advocate against the displacement of thousands of Latino residents from the Lower East Side. When others shrunk from the fight, Jenifer Rajkumar stood up. She has proven that she is the one who can best serve our interests in the New York State Assembly.”

Maggie Martinez, a worker’s rights leader on the Lower East Side whose family was one of the first residents of NYCHA’s LaGauardia Houses, said: “For too long, the interests of the Latino community in the Lower East Side have been overlooked. To change this, we must elect Jenifer Rajkumar. Jenifer has fought tirelessly for the rights of Latino workers on the Lower East Side. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with her working to pass a worker’s rights bill in Albany which would allow Latino workers collect their stolen wages. Jenifer has the combination of skills as an organizer, lawyer, and educator that will make her the most effective advocate for the Latino community on the Lower East Side. We must do everything we can to elect her to the New York State Assembly to succeed Sheldon Silver.”

David Nieves, Lower East Side activist and resident of NYCHA’s Extension, said: “If I could describe Jenifer Rajkumar in one word it is: Courageous. I have worked with her over the years, and I can tell you that she stands up for the community even when it is hard, during the tough fights. I have seen firsthand her tenacity, hard work, and guts. When we elect Jenifer to the Assembly, the Lower East Side will have a champion in Albany.”

Press Contact: Nohelia Quiroz [email protected] 929.230.0899