Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera’s Puerto Rican roots are on full display inside his 13th-floor office at One Police Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
In one corner, a large red, white and blue Puerto Rican flag stands prominently, while a smaller version rests on his desk.
Above a doorway, a bright wall decoration featuring the Puerto Rican flag and palm trees adds to the scene, with other mementos arranged throughout the office.
Reflecting on his early years in the NYPD, Rivera, 52, said he worked alongside Puerto Rican detectives, lieutenants and sergeants during his three decades in the department.
Still, he remembered far fewer Puerto Ricans holding top leadership roles at the time. “There really weren’t that many in the executive level,” said Rivera, a father of four. “So that’s something that has changed quite considerably.”
The three-star chief, who reports to Chief of Department Michael LiPetri and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, spoke with The Post on Friday about his career milestones, just two days before the city’s Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Rivera’s dad, Lieutenant Andrew Rivera, was also in the NYPD and so were both of his brothers, he said, calling the NYPD a “family business.”
“There was a lot of Hispanic representation” when he was coming up in the department, he said.
“In fact, my father and his being a member of the Hispanic Society had something to do with that.”
The NYPD is now 36% Hispanic with roughly 15,000 officers, a large increase since his father joined in the early 1960s. It’s not clear how many of them are from Puerto Rico.
Chief of Patrol Estevello became the first Puerto Rican in the history of the NYPD to reach the three-star rank of Chief of Patrol in 2002, Rivera pointed out.
“But to be able to follow in his footsteps like that, you know, it’s a tremendous honor, and obviously it instills a lot of pride in me that I was able to attain the same rank as he did.”
Rivera, whose grandparents were born on the island, plans to be at the parade celebrating his roots even if that means staying up all night after supervising cops patrolling New York Knicks watch parties, he said.
“It’s a celebration of our accomplishments, of Puerto Rico’s accomplishments,” he said. “There’s a lot to be proud of. So it acknowledges the role of Puerto Ricans in every facet of our community, whether it be business or education, and it’s all on display on Fifth Avenue.”
Rivera, who is planning to join his parents at the event, said his mom has been his biggest cheerleader.
“Oh, forget it,” he said of the 91-year-old firecracker. “She’s been a fixture at every promotion up front with her Puerto Rican flag. Not only is it like a display of who we are, but it’s also the sacrifices of everybody who came before us that I’m representing here.”
