Garcia, Robert, 1933-2017

Robert Garcia (January 9, 1933 – January 25, 2017) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably represented New York's 21st and 18th congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1978 to 1990.

Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Garcia attended the New York City public schools and graduated from Haaren High School in Manhattan in 1950. He served in the United States Army from 1950–53 during the Korean War as a radio operator with the Third Infantry Division. He continued his education by attending the City College of New York, the Community College of New York as well as the RCA Institute. He worked as a computer engineer with IBM Control Data from 1957 to 1965. Garcia first ran for political office in 1965 for the New York state assembly in the 83rd District, winning handily. In the state assembly, Garcia earned a reputation as an advocate for housing issues, sponsoring a bill, later signed into law, that gave the New York City buildings department the power to subpoena recalcitrant slumlords.

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