Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY15) returns to the show. With all that’s going on in his New York City hometown, the state, the country, indeed the world; his unique perspective is right on time.
Born to an Afro-Latino family and raised in the Bronx, he grew up in public housing. His mother worked two jobs to cobble together a subsistence income. As Ritchie, his sister, and twin brother grew up with mold, lead, leaks, and no reliable heat or hot water in the winter, he watched New York City’s government spend over $100 million dollars across the street from his housing project to build a golf course for Donald Trump’s organization.
That fact of New York life―that disparity in American life―was his call-to-action. In 2013, at 25, he was elected the youngest City Councilman in the city’s 400-year history; a glass-ceiling breakthrough for LGBTQ rights as well. In 2020, he was elected to Congress; taking his seat just days before January 6th.
The Janus Adams Show airs and streams live Saturdays at 12:00 noon ET on WJFF Radio Catskill. Subscribe to our podcast on Apple, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Stitcher. New episodes uploaded Mondays.
Congressman Ritchie Torres, New York District 15