Profile: Ritchie Torres

Ritchie Torres, Council District 15, Bronx
Neighborhoods: Belmont, East Tremont, Bathgate

Website: Torres2013
  TorresforCouncil
  @RitchieTorres

Focus On (StreetsPAC article): "No street in District 15 is so complete so as to be a model for streets elsewhere in the District. Having said that, Fordham Road is moving in the right direction (the Fordham Plaza reconstruction and the Select Service 12 are reasons for hope)." Read more

What caught our attention from Ritchie's questionnaire/interview:
"Build it, and they will come. If the City builds alternative methods of transit (like pedestrian plazas, bike sharing, Select Bus Service, and an upgraded subway system), as it has been doing under the Bloomberg administration, then more people will avail themselves of those alternatives. A change in the way we build will produce a change in the way we move around."

StreetsPAC's Endorsement Announcement:
“I’m a walker,” says Ritchie Torres. “The car should not be the center of urban life.”  As a child in the Bronx, Torres grew up with asthma as a result of the pollution spewed by traffic on the Cross Bronx Expressway.  He will work to improve health in his district through the transformation of major thoroughfares, like the Grand Concourse and East Tremont Avenue, into complete streets with room for transit users, cyclists, and pedestrians.  He will also aim to improve the walking experience around Arthur Avenue, a mecca for visitors.