Photo: FelizNYC
U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) – the nation’s first Dominican American elected to Congress – has endorsed Oswald Feliz for the upcoming City Council special election for the 15th District in the Bronx. Oswald – a tenant lawyer and Hostos Community College professor – previously served as a campaign aide to Rep. Espaillat.
Oswald has also been endorsed by Bronx Assemblyman Victor Pichardo.
“Oswald has spent his life in the Bronx, and deeply understands the challenges our families face. He understands the need for affordable housing, funding for our public schools, and access to economic opportunity,” said Congressman Adriano Espaillat. “Oswald knows our community and he is the trusted partner I need in the City Council to help create more economic opportunity for Bronx working families. He has my full support and I know he will provide the 15th District the representation and results that they deserve.”
“Congressman Espaillat has been a transformational and inspiring leader in the Bronx, and I am truly humbled by his enthusiastic endorsement,” said Oswald Feliz. “Together, we’ll make sure the people of the 15th District are heard and get the support we need to secure better jobs, stable housing, thriving public schools, and safer streets in the Bronx. For decades, opportunity has been severely limited for too many Bronxites based on the neighborhoods we live in. The fight to change this reality has never been more urgent.”
The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Feliz was born in New York City and raised in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, where he attended local public schools. As a tenant attorney, he successfully defended vulnerable Bronx residents who were at risk of eviction, and sued landlords who were in the practice of tenant harassment. Feliz helped form a tenant association of over 50 tenants, and successfully negotiated a settlement from a powerful landlord in the Southern Boulevard section of the Bronx to provide tenants with nearly $100,000 in damages due to the deplorable conditions in the building.
Prior to his work as an attorney, Feliz served on behalf of Bronx families as a legislative staffer for State Senator Gustavo Rivera. He then joined the historic 2016 campaign of Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the 13th Congressional District. Feliz also co-founded the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change, where he has worked to increase political participation by organizing community town halls and holding voter registration drives in the Bronx.
