1. Fernando Mateo is a Dominican-American businessman, activist, and politician who ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New York City in the 2021 mayoral election.
21 Facts About Fernando Mateo
1. 2.
Fernando Mateo's father, Kristobal, worked as a taxi driver and later opened a bodega, while his mother, Carmen, was a stay-at-home mom.
3.
Fernando Mateo attended Seward Park High School, but dropped out at the age of 15.
4.
In 1989, Fernando Mateo founded the Fernando Mateo Institute of Training, which worked to train non-violent, first-time offenders at Rikers Island in vocational trades such as plumbing and carpetlaying.
5.
In 1993, amid a wave of gun violence sweeping New York City, Fernando Mateo started Toys for Guns, a program by which residents could voluntarily turn in guns to the NYPD in return for gift certificates to local toy stores.
6.
In September 1998, after a spate of murders perpetrated against taxicab drivers in Brooklyn and The Bronx, Fernando Mateo was appointed president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
7.
Fernando Mateo continues to hold the position as of 2021, frequently acting as a spokesman for the city's taxi drivers as well as for the employees of ridesharing companies such as Uber.
8.
Fernando Mateo is a spokesman for United Bodegas of America, an organization which advocates for the owners of bodegas.
9.
In 2010, Fernando Mateo helped run a campaign to encourage New York's bodega owners to buy handguns as a deterrent to robbery.
10.
In 2005, Fernando Mateo served as Hispanic Director for the re-election campaign of then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
11.
In 2012, Fernando Mateo supported Texas Governor Rick Perry's presidential campaign, organizing a fundraiser for Perry in Manhattan's Inwood neighborhood.
12.
In June 2016, the New York Post claimed Fernando Mateo had admitted to illegally donating $18,800 to Mayor Bill de Blasio's re-election campaign.
13.
The incident was part of a larger controversy around de Blasio's campaign fundraising activities; the same year, Fernando Mateo was questioned by the FBI about his role in introducing de Blasio associates Jona Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg to Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, all of whom subsequently became embroiled in a corruption scandal.
14.
Fernando Mateo was not charged with a crime for these activities, and blames de Blasio for the scheme.
15.
In 2007, Fernando Mateo was part of a group that bid on a New York City Parks Department concession license to renovate and operate a marina and restaurant on parkland near Dyckman street in Upper Manhattan.
16.
Geoffrey Croft of the advocacy group NYC Park Advocates accused Fernando Mateo of using his political connections to prevent the contract from being enforced.
17.
On February 3,2021, Fernando Mateo announced that he would be running for Mayor of New York City in the 2021 mayoral election.
18.
Sara Tirschwell withdrew from the Republican primary case in April 2021 after Fernando Mateo allies challenged her petitions; Tirschwell subsequently endorsed Sliwa.
19.
Fernando Mateo espoused the belief that Trump won the 2020 presidential election; by contrast, Sliwa did not support Trump in either 2016 or 2020, and does not support Trump's election claims.
20.
Fernando Mateo is Vice President of San Mateo Construction and a partner at Penserra Securities.
21.
Fernando Mateo owns and operates Zona de Cuba, a Cuban restaurant in The Bronx.