Adolfo Carrión Jr.

Adolfo Carrión Jr. (born March 6, 1961) is an American businessman and former elected official from City Island. He has three sisters Elizabeth Carrión-Stevens, Damaris Carrión-Harris and Lizette Carrión. He served one term as a member of the New York City Council, representing the 14th district. He served for seven years as the borough president of the Bronx, for a year and five months as the first director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs in the Obama Administration, and then for nearly two years as Regional Administrator for HUD's New York and New Jersey Regional Office. He left HUD in February 2012.

In late 2012, Carrión registered as an Independent, to begin exploring a run for Mayor of New York City, and in February 2013 he was granted the Independence Party nomination. Currently, Carrión is serving as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams on January 30, 2022.

Background

Adolfo Carrión was born in Manhattan, in 1961. His family moved to the Baychester section of the Northeast Bronx when he was in fourth grade. He attended public school at PS34 (Manh), PS111 (Bx), John Philip Sousa Middle School and Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx. Later, he graduated from The King's College, a Christian liberal arts college in Westchester County at the time, where he majored in world religions and philosophy. He followed in the footsteps of his father, a Protestant minister, and became an associate pastor at a Bronx church.

Carrión went on to serve as a public school teacher in the West Bronx at Intermediate School 115 and CIS 234. During that time he participated in CCNY-base
Salvadori Center
program which uses the built environment as a teaching tool. Eventually, he went back to school to earn his master's degree in urban planning from Hunter College, part of the City University of New York. Upon graduating, Carrión worked for three years at the Bronx office of the New York City Department of City Planning.

He later served a
district manager
for Community Board 5 in the Bronx (where he was responsible for overseeing the delivery of services to 150,000 residents within his district), was hired as vice president of human services and community outreach a
Promesa
a community development organization, and served as chairman of the Bronx Puerto Rican Day Parade.

He currently lives with his wife, Linda Baldwin, an attorney and former city planning colleague, and his children, Raquel, Sara, Olivia, and Adolfo James (A.J.) on City Island.

Political career

Carrión ran for New York City Council in 1997. He won the election and served one four-year term representing the 14th district, which includes the West Bronx neighborhoods of University Heights, Morris Heights, Kingsbridge, and Fordham. While on the Council, Carrión belonged to its committees on Economic Development, Education, Higher Education, Environmental Protection, Governmental Operations and Land Use. He also served as chairman of the Special Subcommittee on the 2000 Census.

Although council members are allowed to seek reelection, Carrión did not run for a second term. He had been rumored to be a leading candidate to become the next speaker of the city council, but he chose instead to run in the hotly contested 2001 election to succeed Bronx borough president Freddy Ferrer, who was at that time prevented under the City Charter from seeking a third term in office. He edged out then-Councilmember June Eisland and State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. for the Democratic nomination and then won the general election on November 6, 2001, with a landslide 79% of the vote. He easily won reelection in 2005 with 87%.

Adolfo Carrión would have been limited by the City Charter from seeking a third term as borough president until a narrow October 2008 vote of the New York City Council allowed third terms for elected city officials (including incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg). The media frequently speculated that Carrión would be a candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2009. However, on December 13, 2007, Carrión announced that he would be a candidate for New York City Comptroller in the 2009 election.

On December 6, 2008, Carrión announced in a speech at Yale University that President-elect Barack Obama had selected him for a cabinet-level position. In February 2009, he took office as director of the newly created White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy. Carrión's work at the White House resulted in the establishment of a White House Urban Policy Working Group and the first interagency review in 30 years of the federal government's engagement with urban and metropolitan areas.

Carrión's position at the Domestic Policy Council ended on May 3, 2010, when the Obama Administration named Carrión Regional Director for HUD's New York and New Jersey Regional Office. He left HUD in February, 2012. As Regional Administrator, Carrión was responsible for overseeing nearly $6 billion in HUD investments in New York and New Jersey.

On February 26, 2013, Carrion announced during an interview with the EFE news agency, that he will run for the Mayor of New York as an independent candidate. He also unsuccessfully pursued a Wilson Pakula designation to secure a spot in the Republican primary.

Affiliations

;Aspen Institute
Carrión was chosen by the Aspen Institute as one of 24 of America's most promising emerging leaders to be a member of the Aspen-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership. The fellowship consists of 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats and focuses on the ethics and responsibilities of public office and teaching democratic principles. This is only the second class of fellows from the Institute, and Carrión is the only member from New York.

;National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
On July 1, 2007, Adolfo Carrión was elected president of NALEO, the nonpartisan leadership organization of the nation's 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials. As President, he announced an increase in efforts to help file naturalization papers for eligible legal permanent residents before impending fee increases take effect as part of NALEO's "ya es hora" campaign. He previously served as Vice President and Treasurer. NALEO is a national organization that offers training and technical assistance to enhance the leadership skills and political empowerment of Latino appointed and elected officials.

;New York Blood Center
Adolfo Carrión serves as the Chair of the Volunteer Leadership Team of the New York Blood Center in the Bronx. As the Bronx Chair, he helps the NY Blood Center meet its goal of closing the blood deficit that forces the New York region to rely on donations from other parts of the country.

Projects

Yankee Stadium

After his election as borough president, Carrión helped to bring the city and George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, together for negotiations over the construction of a new Yankee Stadium.

Early in his presidency, Carrión had advocated Community Benefits Agreements intended to ensure that construction in the borough would help as many residents as possible. In the end, $800 million will be invested in construction of a new Yankee Stadium with at least 25% of the contracts going to Bronx businesses and at least 25% of the jobs going to residents of the Borough. In addition, $160 million will be invested in many public parks including a running track, tennis facilities, and softball and baseball fields on parkland around and including the original Yankee Stadium. Carrión has helped to bring in funding to improve other parts of the community, including $65 million to be invested in restoration of the pedestrian Highbridge, the oldest bridge in New York City which connects the Bronx to Manhattan, and $91 million to be invested in constructing a new Metro-North Station at the new Yankee Stadium. Also being planned in the area is a Yankee Stadium Sports Museum and a fitness/health club.

Bronx Terminal Market

Just south of the new Yankee Stadium is the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, which replaced a dilapidated public market and the closed Bronx House of Detention.

Hunts Point Vision Plan

Carrión worked with Mayor Bloomberg and community leaders to re-envision industrial area on the Bronx waterfront. Key components of the plan include $110 million invested by the city for infrastructure improvements, $85 million development of the Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point, $25 million development of the Produce Market, the construction of the ne
Barretto Point Park
the South Bronx Greenway Initiative, and a re-use plan for the Marine Transfer Station which is still in negotiations.

Issues and controversies

Party affiliation

Until the New York City Charter

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