Rivera worked as director of programs and services at Good Old Lower East Side, a local nonprofit organization focused on neighborhood housing and preservation, economic development, and community revitalization. Rivera was also a member of Manhattan Community Board 3 and later served as the legislative director for Rosie Mendez.
City Council
Campaign
Rivera launched her campaign for City Council in 2016, running for the 2nd District, which encompasses East Village, Flatiron, Gramercy Park, Rose Hill, Kips Bay, Murray Hill and the Lower East Side. She was a first-time candidate and participated in public financing, raising $176,000 through the City’s matching funds program. Rivera was endorsed by the Working Families Party, former Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, the City Council’s Progressive Caucus, and “21 in ‘21”, an initiative to elect 21 women to the 51-member body by 2021. There were five other candidates in the race. Rivera won the Democratic primary for the 2nd City Council district of New York in 2017 with 60.54% of the vote. She went on to win the general election with 82.86% of the vote against Republican and perennial candidateJimmy McMillan and several third-party candidates. While campaigning, Rivera joined the Democratic Socialists of America and was named one of City & State’s “40 Under 40 Rising Stars.” During the campaign it was reported that Rivera and her husband, Jamie Rogers, lived in a Section 8 apartment. The annual income limit for a family of two is $61,050. After deducting Rivera’s salary, in order to be under that cut off, Rogers would have had to earn less than $20,000 a year, which many thought unlikely considering his real estate holdings and father’s net worth. The New York Post reported that Rivera deleted online photos of Rogers on his father’s yacht. In an interview with The Villager Rivera and Rogers outlined their financial situation and contested that they did qualify for the apartment.
Tenure
In 2019, as a co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, Rivera was involved in securing $250,000 for the New York Abortion Access Fund to provide abortions for women not covered by insurance or Medicaid, including for those who travel from out-of-state. This funding made New York City the first city to allocate money directly to abortion procedures. Additionally in 2019, Rivera introduced legislation to create a patient advocate’s office within the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to help New Yorkers navigate the healthcare system and legislation to create an Office of Active Transportation, and an Office of Pedestrians. Rivera has also introduced and passed legislation to protect cyclists from eliminating bicycle lanes obstructions during construction and street work, and has passed legislation to protect tenants during periods of maintenance, renovation, and construction and immigrant families. She has introduced legislation to reform the child welfare system, and passed bills to outlaw the sale of foie gras and outlaw pigeon trafficking. She has mandated that the City report on the state of small businesses, and strengthened sexual harassment policies for public and private employers. Rivera has called for more aid to reach New York City’s public hospital system, including funding and programs around reproductive healthcare, and has called for support for expecting New Yorkers through an expansion of midwifery programs. She was listed on City & State’s Manhattan Power 100 list, New York City Power 100 list and 2020’s Above and Beyond. In an effort to crack down on illegal hotel operators, Rivera introduced a bill in June 2018 to require short-term rental companies such as Airbnb to report host data to the city. The bill passed the Council 45–0 and was signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio on August 6, 2018. Airbnb is suing to block the legislation from being implemented. Rivera is Chair of the Council’s Committee on Hospitals and member of the Council's Women's Caucus, Progressive Caucus, and Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus.
Personal life
Rivera and her husband, Jamie Rogers, live on the Lower East Side.
