Election Q&A: Meet NY-13 Candidate Theo Chino-Tavarez 

HARLEM, NY — Democratic candidate Theo Chino-Tavarez is running for Congress in District 13 in New York City's primary election on Tuesday, June 23.

Chino-Tavarez will face off against fellow Democratic candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier, Oscar Romero, and Adriano Espaillat, the incumbent.

District 13 includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx, including all of Inwood, Washington Heights, Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, East Harlem, Randall's Island, and parts of the Upper West Side and Upper East Side, as well as Marble Hill, Kingsbridge and Fordham.

Ahead of the election, Patch posed several questions to Chino-Tavarez about his platform, priorities, experience, and district. See his replies below.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article contains information about one of several candidates who have announced their campaigns for NY-13 in the 2026 primary election. Patch has contacted the other candidates with the same questions and will post replies as they are received. None of what Chino-Tavarez said during this interview has been fact-checked.

PATCH: What neighborhood are you from?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: Hamilton Heights

PATCH: What languages do you speak?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: French, Spanish, English

PATCH: What’s your professional and educational background?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: Computer Programmer

PATCH: Renter or owner?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: Both, renter and my wife is a owner.

PATCH: The cost of living in NYC is going up. What’s your plan to make New York City more affordable?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: I am running for Congress, not City Hall. It is not the job of Congress to make New York City more affordable, it is the job of the Mayor to work with their members of Congress so we can bring his agenda and our collective priorities to Washington in order to secure funding for given projects.

Affordability is ultimately a question of the economy, and individual politicians have limited leverage on their own. They can only try to create a favorable environment. Real change happens when elected officials work together with the people and for the people.

PATCH: What is your position on bike lane expansion and street redesigns?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: My personal position is irrelevant, as this is a matter for the Community Board to decide. Whatever position or priorities the Community Board adopts, I will support and advocate for.

PATCH: List two ways you plan to make New York safer.

CHINO-TAVAREZ: This is a question for the Mayor of New York City. Matters of this nature fall within the responsibilities of city government, and any response should come from the Mayor and the relevant city agencies.

PATCH: What are your thoughts on the buffer zone bills sparked by protests in the borough?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: That is a question for the courts. It is a matter that should be decided through the judicial process and interpreted according to the law.

PATCH: What type of relationship will you have with the Trump administration?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: I will be auditing everything they do and providing oversight to ensure accountability and transparency.

PATCH: It’s a large field: what sets you apart from the other candidates?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: I am the Peña Gómez Socialist candidate, inspired by the principles of democracy, social justice, liberty, and solidarity championed by José Francisco Peña Gómez. We have a pretty good manifesto our of policies at https://socialists.us/direct/manifesto/congress.

PATCH: What local experience most shaped your politics?

CHINO-TAVAREZ: The fact that politicians at every level—from the Community Board to Congress—have pointed fingers at one another has allowed them to avoid addressing why nearly every HDFC conversion in District 13 has become a cesspool of corruption and displacement driven by Wall Street-backed nonprofits.

I am being evicted after my rent increased from $160 to $2,060 in April 2025. Based on inflation adjustments, the rent should have been approximately $1,300. Despite this, every candidate I approached refused to look into the matter for the past 10 years.

As a result of that experience, I co-founded the Socialist faction within the Democratic Party through Social Democrats of America (https://socialists.us) and helped create Rep My Block, a platform designed to increase transparency and participation in the political process (https://repmyblock.org).

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.