Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • News
    • All
    • By Neighborhood
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Coronavirus
    • Development
    • Education
    • En Español
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Police & Fire
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Transit
  • Best of
  • Things to Do
    • Local Events
    • Post an Event
    • Business Events
    • Games
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Our Network
    • amNY
    • Bronx Family
    • Brooklyn Paper
    • Brownstoner
    • Caribbean Life
    • Gay City News
    • QNS
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • News
    • All
    • By Neighborhood
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Coronavirus
    • Development
    • Education
    • En Español
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Police & Fire
    • Politics
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Transit
  • Best of
  • Things to Do
    • Local Events
    • Post an Event
    • Business Events
    • Games
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Our Network
    • amNY
    • Bronx Family
    • Brooklyn Paper
    • Brownstoner
    • Caribbean Life
    • Gay City News
    • QNS
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
Bronx Times: Your neighborhood, your newsBronx Times: Your neighborhood, your news
  • News
  • All
  • By Neighborhood
  • Arts
  • Business
  • Coronavirus
  • Development
  • Education
  • En Español
  •  
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Police & Fire
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Transit
  • Things to Do
  • Post an Event
  • Business Events
  • Games
  • Our Network
  • amNY
  • Bronx Family
  • Brooklyn Paper
  • Brownstoner
  • Caribbean Life
  • Gay City News
  • QNS
  • Home Pros
  • Jobs
  • Best of
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Digital Editions
  • Print Subscriptions
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
News

Councilman Ritchie Torres partners with Generation Citizen to encourage civic participation

By Jaime Williams Posted on November 30, 2014
Councilman Ritchie Torres partners with Generation Citizen to encourage civic participation
Community News Group / Jaime Williams

One local councilman is making youth civic engagement a priority.

Councilman Ritchie Torres, who represents the central Bronx, is pushing for young people to get involved in the political processes in order to give the youth a voice and combat low voter turnout rates.

Torres sponsored a successful city council resolution to allow 16 and 17 year-olds to join community boards, which was passed into law this summer.

He has also began Participatory Budgeting in Council District 15, a process that allows community residents to propose, develop and then select projects for City Council Capital funding. Torres is trying to bring young people into that process as well.

“Youth civic engagement is who I am, it’s what I value,” said Torres, who at 26 is the youngest current city councilmember. His interest in government began as a teen, when he acted as ‘district manager for a day’ in Community Board 10.

Close

Get the Full Story

News, events, culture and more — delivered to you.
Thank you for subscribing!

As part of his mission to encourage youth participation, Torres is partnering with educational group Generation Citizen, which teaches students about the political process through practice. Torres has allocated $10,000 to Generation Citizen to increase their capacity to place volunteers in and partner with schools across the city.

Torres announced the partnership on Friday, November 14t at the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus, speaking to a group of students from Belmont Preparatory Academy, Bronx High School for Law and Community Service, and Fordham High School for the Arts, whose classes have participated in Generation Citizen’s programs.

Generation Citizen places ‘Democracy coaches’ from nearby colleges—in this case Fordham University—to co-teach a semester long civics curriculum that emphasizes taking action locally, said Sarah Andes, Generation Citizen’s NYC site director.

The classes discuss issues in the student’s community, pick one that is important to them, and then develop a plan to address it.

Issues have included the need for security cameras in public housing and pedestrian safety.

In their quest to address the problem, the students learn how the various levels of local government work.

“Ultimately, we want young people to understand how to inform the political process, believe they have a voice, and know how to use that voice productively,” said Andes. “We believe when we get a broader population of people engaged, our democracy will be stronger because of it.”

Students who have experienced Generation Citizen in their classrooms spoke highly of the experience and the program’s mission at the announcement.

“It teaches us skills to go out and do, not just listen, “said Belmont Preparatory Academy student Petula Stanislas about the program. “I feel a sense of pride my peer and I are taking part in a greater cause.”

“We are united in the understanding that young people engaged in the community through the political process can only result in a positive outcome,” said Bronx High School of Law and Civics student Kyara Beaty.

“Leaders are born when you allow youth to express themselves,” she added.

Reach Reporter Jaime Williams at 718-260-4591. E-mail her at jwill‌iams@‌cnglo‌cal.com.

About the Author

More in News

  • Police at crime scene in Queens77-year-old Bronx woman found murdered, husband questioned
  • mother ‘She was more than how she died’: Bronx mother mourned after brutal killing
  • raid Authorities raid luxury Mott Haven apartment, seize cannabis, cash, and fireworks
  • deed theft Retired NYPD detective, nurse, and attorney indicted in Bronx deed theft case, AG says

Jobs in New York

Add your job

  • Auburndale ChiropracticFront Desk/Receptionist
  • MDG Design & Construction LLCM/WBE Job Opportunity
  • Hahn's Old Fashioned Cake CompanySE BUSCA AYUDA EN PANADERÍA

View all jobs…

Crime

  • Police at crime scene in Queens77-year-old Bronx woman found murdered, husband questioned
  • shooting Bronx shooting leaves man critical after bullet passes from neck to head: sources
  • mother ‘She was more than how she died’: Bronx mother mourned after brutal killing
  • raid Authorities raid luxury Mott Haven apartment, seize cannabis, cash, and fireworks
  • deed theft Retired NYPD detective, nurse, and attorney indicted in Bronx deed theft case, AG says

Things to do in the Bronx

Post an Event

7-day advanced booking required. Every T
Today, 11 am

Afternoon Tea
Wave Hill

This program will take place in person a
Today, 11 am

Little Movers Storytime
Belmont Library and Enrico Fermi Cultural Center

This event will take place in person at
Today, 11 am

Little Movers
Woodstock Library

Love the arts? Join the staff at Belmont
Today, 1 pm

Teen Arts Studio
Belmont Library and Enrico Fermi Cultural Center

This event will take place in person at
Today, 3 pm

Summer Adventure: Brilliant Buttons
Clason’s Point Library

This event will take place in person at
Today, 3 pm

Open Studio
Mott Haven Library

View All Events…

News

  • Police at crime scene in Queens77-year-old Bronx woman found murdered, husband questioned
  • mother ‘She was more than how she died’: Bronx mother mourned after brutal killing
  • raid Authorities raid luxury Mott Haven apartment, seize cannabis, cash, and fireworks
  • deed theft Retired NYPD detective, nurse, and attorney indicted in Bronx deed theft case, AG says
  • RMA 1698-25 Assault 49 Pct 07-06-25 Photo 2Police hunt for gunman who shattered man’s femur during Bronx July 4 cookout

Things to do in the Bronx

Home Pros

More from Around NYC

Summer Isn’t a Break for Working Parents: Here’s What to Do About It
New York Family

Summer Isn’t a Break for Working Parents: Here’s What to Do About It

Police at crime scene in Queens
amNY

77-year-old Bronx woman found murdered, husband questioned

Hanks10Close2
Schneps Podcasts

EA Hanks, Thank You For Coming Out

Outside of The Monster in Greenwich Village.
Gay City News

Man allegedly brandishes knife, defaces Pride sign in Greenwich Village: NYPD

  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Networking Events
  • Home Pros
  • Advertise
  • © 2025 Schneps Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Sections
  • Jobs
  • Home Pros
  • Events
  • Contact