NEW YORK —

New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez — a trailblazer known by the nickname “La Luchadora” or the fighter — announced Thursday that she will retire next year after more than three decades in Congress.

Velázquez, 72, is the second long-serving New York Democrat to say she’ll step aside after Rep. Jerry Nadler, 78, announced in September that he’d exit at the end of his current term.

Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress, said representing the people of New York City has been the “privilege of a lifetime.”

“This was not an easy decision, but I believe that the time is right for me to move on and for a new generation of leaders to step forward,” Velázquez said in a statement.

Her retirement, just weeks after 34-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was el

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