Background
Ferrer grew up on Fox Street in the Longwood section of the South Bronx and was raised by his mother and by his grandmother, who worked in the kitchen of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Ferrer graduated from Catholic schools in the Bronx: St. Anselm Elementary School and Cardinal Spellman High School. As a high school student, he was a member of Aspira of New York, where he was elected to the post of Vice President of the citywide Aspira Clubs Federation (ACF), which included other future Puerto Rican leaders like Ninfa Segarra and Angelo Falcón. In 1968, as an Aspirante, he was part of a major student protest at the NYC Board of Education that resulted in such reforms as bilingual report cards and the recognition by the public schools of Puerto Rican Discovery Day (November 19).
He attended New York University before he got involved in community service as a student. Ferrer entered politics, and was elected to the New York City Council at the age of 32. Remembering how he had to translate for his grandmother when she was hospitalized, he authored legislation requiring interpreters in city emergency rooms. Ferrer went on to chair the Health Committee, fight for anti-discrimination laws on behalf of gays and lesbians, and lead the fight for a Civilian Complaint Review Board for the NYPD.
Currently, Ferrer resides in the relatively affluent Riverdale section of the Bronx. Though both Riverdale and Ferrer's native Hunts Point are located in the Bronx, they are the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods in the borough, respectively. He worked to establish an insurance company in New York City, Poder Insurance Agency, with longtime political allies Luis Miranda, Jr. and Roberto Ramirez, Sr. (New York Magazine, October 16, 2006), and he appears regularly on NY1 News' "Wise Guy" segment along with former NYC Mayor Ed Koch and former US Senator Alfonse D'Amato.
Ferrer earned his B.A. degree from the University Heights Campus of New York University and M.P.A. from Baruch College.
Read more about this topic: Fernando Ferrer
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