Carlos Sierra
Candidate for City Council District 16

BIOGRAPHY

Carlos Sierra’s vision is that one day our community will elect leaders who will secure the future of our children by placing education, health, housing, jobs and economic development as first priorities on their legislative agenda.

At 13 years old Carlos Sierra came with his parents to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He attended Raphael Hernandez Middle School and Howard Taft High School. Due to financial circumstances Carlos was forced to drop out of high school but eventually earned his General Equivalency Diploma (GED). As a young person he took several jobs to make ends meet, including dishwasher, cab driver, and grocery clerk.

With the support and encouragement of his family he enrolled at Bronx Community College in 1999 where he excelled and reaped the rewards of a valuable education. He then enrolled at Lehman College where he transformed into a true community leader and advocate, for students all across New York City. At Lehman, Carlos was elected Chairman of the City University of New York, University Student Senate and member of the CUNY Board of Trustees. In this role he used a nearly one million dollar budget to create and enrich scholarships, athletic programs, and various family events including health fairs for all CUNY students and their families. He advocated to secure millions of dollars for New York City Public Higher Education and successfully fought against Governor Pataki’s proposed tuition increase. Carlos knows first hand how important access to affordable higher education is.

Sierra has been outspoken about access to healthcare, he feels it is a right not a privilege. In 2006 Carlos teamed up with healthcare providers to get free stress test and diabetes screening for hundreds of Bronx residents further showing his commitment to healthcare for not just students but all residents in the City of New York.

Appointed Chairman in 2008 of the Bronx Department of Youth and Community Development for Neighborhood Youth Advisory Board #4 he represents more than 150,000 residents. He works hard to ensure that hundreds of thousands of dollars are allocated to vital community services. As a board member of Bronx Community Board #4 Carlos immerses himself in a variety of issues impacting the community such as land use and economic development. He brings a voice of fairness and justice to the Board on behalf of every community resident. He has been critical of leaders who have not secured the money promised to the Bronx by the Yankees organization. While he supports economic growth for the Bronx he is against any attempt to “price out” current residents of the 16th District in the Bronx. As President of East Clarke Place Tenants Association he advocates to secure affordable housing, cleaner buildings and a safer neighborhood. He does this by coordinating with neighborhood residents and landlords, ensuring continuous communication between the communities.

Sierra also works for the CUNY Citizen and Immigration project where he provides free services to the immigrant community. He is a supporter of the Dream Act and believes education is a necessity for the success of the Bronx. He is an avid supporter of education for all and is a parent leader currently working with other concerned parents to improve The Department of Education, namely Bronx School District 9. He has demanded a total transformation of all the districts schools, especially PS 64, where so many parents have expressed frustrations over the Department of Education’s slow response to fulfill the needs of students. As candidate for City Council District 16 he has made it clear that he is interested in helping the “average” New Yorker. He has taken every issue which concerns his community and treated it as his own personal problem. Sierra is married to his caring wife Pilar and has one son.