“Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing criticism for allegedly misrepresenting her upbringing in the Bronx, now clarifying that she was raised near—rather than in—the famously rough borough.
Ocasio-Cortez, who gained national attention after her 2018 victory as a former bartender turned political star, is walking back parts of her personal narrative following a new report that she attended high school in Yorktown Heights, a well-off suburb roughly 40 miles north of New York City.
The controversy erupted after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fired back at President Donald Trump, who had called her “one of the dumbest people in Congress” following her attempt to impeach him over his military strike on Iran. “Also, I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully,” the left-wing lawmaker replied on social media.
Within hours, AOC’s background came under renewed scrutiny after New York State Assemblyman Matt Slater posted a photo from her 2004 high school yearbook. “@AOC if you’re a BX girl, then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook?” Slater asked in his post. “Give it up already.”
The escalating feud has prompted AOC to clarify that she was raised “between” the suburbs and the Bronx — but that explanation isn’t sitting well with some locals. Residents of Yorktown are calling her out for capitalizing on the controversy in fundraising emails, while omitting any mention of her upbringing in affluent Westchester County.
“You can tell right out of the gate she isn’t from the Bronx. Listen to her!” said retired FDNY firefighter Billy, 47, who still carries a heavy Bronx accent despite moving to the leafy nearby town of Valhalla. “Listen to us!” he told the NY Post while golfing with friends in Yorktown one recent morning. “We’ve been out of the Bronx for years, but we still sound like idiots! It doesn’t just go away. She doesn’t have that in the way she talks.”
A review of property records by Lohud.com reveals that the Ocasio-Cortez family maintained a residence in Yorktown through her high school graduation. AOC was still listed at the suburban address when the home was sold in 2016 for $355,000 — just two years before she launched her unlikely congressional bid.
Richard Kennedy, a local supermarket owner in Yorktown, says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s brief time in the Bronx shouldn’t qualify her to represent the borough in Congress, let alone claim she was raised in its tough neighborhoods. “If you came here when you were 3 years old, you’re from here,” Kennedy bluntly said about her Yorktown origins.
“You think she’d be proud of being from Yorktown,” said one woman who refrained from sharing her name. “It’s a great town.” Yorktown salon owner Sandra Guarriello added: “I don’t get why you wouldn’t want to say you’re from here.”