The Slant: Melissa Mark-Viverito’s unfinished business
As New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s final term winds down, she isn’t backing away from an ambitious agenda, taking on issues from criminal justice reform to immigrant rights. But in a March 15 interview with the Slant podcast, Mark-Viverito spoke about what she could do after she leaves office at the end of the year.
“I want to continue to serve and I want to continue to be influential. There’s a lot of projects that will not be completed when I leave office that I want to see fulfilled,” she said, giving closing Rikers Island’s jails as an example.
But Mark-Viverito is also looking nationally. “I feel a real sense of urgency around the federal climate that we find ourselves in,” she said. “With Trump being in the White House, I want to play some sort of a role in the work that needs to get done to push back. That has to crystallize a little more for me.”
Mark-Viverito also talked about her proudest accomplishments as speaker, her position on “Fair Fares” and what she’s looking for in the next City Council speaker
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