Rosie Méndez (born February 28, 1963) is an American Democratic politician who served in the New York City Council from the 2nd district from 2006 to 2017. Méndez's district included all or parts of Chelsea, the East Village, the Flatiron District, Gramercy, Greenwich Village, the Lower East Side, Midtown, Murray Hill, NoHo, and Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan.

She is currently director of Community Affairs for Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.^[1]

Méndez grew up in the Williamsburg Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development. The child of Puerto Rican parents, she attended New York City public schools through high school. She graduated from New York University and Rutgers Law School in Newark.^[2] In 2011, Méndez completed Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett Leadership Fellow.

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She began as a tenant organizer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She then worked on citywide housing issues as a housing specialist at the Parodneck Foundation. In 1995, Méndez graduated from law school and worked as an IOLA Legal Services Fellow at Brooklyn Legal Services. As a legal staff worker she became a member of the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Prior to her election to the Council, Méndez was the Democratic District Leader for her community for four terms. She served for three years as the Chief of Staff and Legislative Aide to her predecessor City Councilwoman Margarita Lopez.

New York City Council

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In 2005, Méndez won the heavily contested Democratic primary for New York City's 2nd City Council district. In the heavily Democratic district, the primary victory was considered tantamount to election. After a landslide victory in the general election in November 2005, Méndez took office as the 2nd district's councilwoman in January 2006. She was re-elected in 2009 and 2013. Méndez was term-limited in the 2017 election, in which she endorsed and was succeeded by her former legislative director Carlina Rivera.^[3][4][5]

Animal rights

In June 2006, Méndez announced legislation to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.^[6] The bill received substantial support from other Council Members, including future Mayor Bill de Blasio, future Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, future Public Advocate Letitia James and future Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. Méndez, at a rally that year organized by the League of Humane Voters of New York City, told the media "We cannot say we’re an enlightened society when we allow animals to be tortured and abused for entertainment purposes." Though the bill had 25 co-sponsors,^[7] Council Speaker Christine Quinn strongly opposed the legislation and the bill died at the end of session. Méndez reintroduced the bill again in 2010^[8] and then again in 2016. In June 2017, the bill was voted out of the Health Committee unanimously. On June 21, 2017, the Council passed Méndez's bill by a vote of 43-6.^[9] From the floor of the Council, Méndez thanked her "friend and constituent" John Phillips, who led the campaign to pass the bill and who brought the issue to her attention in 2006.^[10][11]

Méndez is openly lesbian^[12] and was the chairperson of the New York City Council's LGBT Caucus.^[13]

• List of LGBT people from New York City
• Nuyorican
• Puerto Ricans in New York City