Several Bronx Democratic elected officials, including Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez  (S.D. 34), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), and Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), gathered last month at a campaign event in Fordham Manor to endorse incumbent Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson for reelection in the upcoming Democratic primary on June 24.

 

Also supporting Gibson at the event were Shanequa Charles, a community organizer, executive director of Miss Abbies Kids nonprofit, and a former 2022 candidate for assembly in A.D. 78, Kenny Agosto, a former 2021 city council candidate in District 15 who now works for Gibson, Alyssa Rose Valentine, a Bronx mental health advocate, and others.

 

The councilman, who is also campaigning for reelection in his own northwest Bronx district, which broadly covers some or all of the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, Woodlawn, Wakefield, Riverdale, Fieldston, and Spuyten Duyvil, said it was incredibly important to have a partner and a friend like Gibson in City government.

 

“I’ve known Vanessa for many years; she’s a hard worker, but importantly, she shows up in every single corner of my district,” the councilman said. “She is there, and she is known, and she showed up early in my tenure as councilor. She was showing up helping to give out COVID tests.” He said beyond showing up physically, she showed up with the work.

 

“I know our borough president to be someone who wants a better future for our children and a healthier future for our borough, and this is backed up by the work we have done together,” the former teacher said, adding that one week prior, they were cutting the ribbon on a $5 million football field sports facility at the John F Kennedy high school campus.

 

Dinowitz also mentioned their joint investment of $1.4 million to Montefiore Hospital for services, vans and equipment for cancer screening and added that last year, together, he and Gibson announced another joint investment for “health bucks” at Bronx farmers markets, a way to give Bronx residents access to fresh, healthy food and have the means to purchase that food.

 

“So when I’m looking for a borough president, I’m looking for a partner, one who is there for the community, one who shows up, and one who makes the investments in partnership with local representatives, and that is Vanessa l Gibson,” Dinowitz said, adding that it wasn’t just he who supported Gibson, but a broad and diverse coalition.

 

For her part, Fernandez, who broadly represents a large section of the East Bronx and who ran against Gibson for the borough presidency in 2021, said she was proud to endorse her colleague. “She has proven every single day that she will be there for The Bronx because, literally, every single day she has been on the ground in our communities, listening to our concerns, and delivering,” the senator said.

 

“What I admire most about Vanessa is her attention to women and children. She has made it a focus, a forefront of her presidency, making sure that women in The Bronx are seen, are getting support, advocating for the first birthing center that The Bronx doesn’t have.” She continued in part, “These are the ideas and where Vanessa is in thinking about what our community needs to reduce the maternal mortality rate, to make sure that we have opportunity for our young people, making sure that our sports environments are up to par, and that we have job opportunities for our kids.”

 

The senator added, “Her mind has always been where it needs to be in making sure that we have everything that The Bronx deserves, and it’s been an honor to work with her.” Fernandez added that it was exciting to see what else could be achieved with Gibson at the helm. “She has been so attentive to every detail in the district,” she said. “I can’t tell you how much it amazes me, how much she knows and retains and puts forward in every effort of her job.”

 

Later, Espaillat, who represents the West Bronx and northern Manhattan, and who, as reported, has also endorsed former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo for mayor, said of his support for Gibson as “president” of the borough in a not-so-subtle dig at U.S. President Donald Trump, “It’s great to have a good president somewhere, right? And right here in The Bronx.”

 

Lauding Gibson as a champion of the borough, he said in part, “What I see in her first of all is the Bronx continues to be an affordable borough, where families that work every day to make the city run, live [here] and make our city stronger, because it is those working families and middle-class families that really ensure that New York City continues to move forward,” he said. Many would argue that although rents in the borough might be on average lower than in Manhattan, for example, average market rentals are not affordable to the average Bronx resident.

As reported for example in January 2025, an affordable housing lottery was launched by NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) for 13 affordable housing units at 790 Allerton Avenue for residents earning 130 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $86,400 to $218,010. Other examples can be found here, here, and here.

 

Meanwhile, according to the latest district profile compiled by NYC Department of City Planning of Bronx Community District 7 (CD7), which incorporates Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge Heights, and University Heights, based on the 2010 census (since the 2020 one is not yet available), close to a third (30.8%) of residents living in Bronx CD7 have incomes below the NYC.gov poverty threshold.

 

In City Council District 14, for example, which covers some or all of the Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights and Morris Heights, according to incumbent City Council Member Pierina Sanchez, the average household income is $25,000 per year. HPD officials say housing is considered affordable if it costs about one-third or less of what the people living in the local area earn. Income eligibility and rent for City-financed affordable housing projects are based on a measure called Area Median Income (AMI).

 

The AMI for all cities across the country is defined each year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 2023 AMI for the New York City region was $127,100 for a three-person family (100% AMI), whereas the 2025 AMI, according to HPD, is $145,800. Norwood News asked HUD if it could provide the AMI for a single person. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

“HUD develops income limits based on Median Family Income estimates and Fair Market Rent area definitions for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each non-metropolitan county,” according to its website. Since HUD sets the AMI percentages for all areas across the country, there seems little any borough president can do to affect this.

 

We did ask at least one mayoral candidate, former Bronx assemblyman, Rev. Michael Blake, at his mayoral campaign launch, if he would be open to renegotiating with the federal government the AMIs for New York, given New York City has a much higher cost of living than other parts of the State, and he said he would be. Norwood News readers also weighed in on the topic of affordable housing as part of our regular Inquiring Photographer series last year.

 

Of course, in terms of housing supply there have been examples of low-income, supportive, and transitional housing complexes that have also opened up in The Bronx in recent years, though there has also been some opposition to an oversaturation of such housing, notably for the proposed Fordham Manor transitional housing development at 2586 Bainbridge Avenue in Council District 15, represented by Councilman Oswald Feliz.

 

District 15 broadly covers the Bronx neighborhoods of Morrisania, Claremont Village-Claremont (East), Crotona Park East, Crotona Park, Mount Eden-Claremont (West), Claremont Park, Mount Hope, Fordham Heights, West Farms, Tremont, Belmont, University Heights (North)-Fordham, Bedford Park, Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River, Pelham Parkway-Van Nest, Allerton, and Bronx Park.

 

Of Gibson’s record in office, Espaillat continued in part, “I know that when she speaks about new housing, she wants to make sure that housing is affordable. I know that when she talks to small businesses, I know that her concern is rent. How high is your rent? How can I be helpful? I know that with parents, she’s very concerned about the cost of living, the cost of goods in our supermarkets and our bodegas.”

 

In January, and as reconfirmed in June, Phase II of the redevelopment of the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory includes around 450 units of permanently affordable rental housing adjacent to the Armory, where currently the National Guard operates from two annexes on West 195th Street, between Jerome Avenue and Reservoir Avenue. Gibson was present during the latest partnership announcement between 8th Regiment Partners, the winning bidder, and Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition where the latter also negotiated 20 percent ownership of the City-owned site for community use.

 

Meanwhile, the congressman said New York City couldn’t run without its workers, that The Bronx had many of them and that Gibson represented them “with distinction.” He added, “She is a visionary, a historic leader to be the first African American woman to be a borough president here in The Bronx, but in addition to that, I think she’s one that has a vision for the future. So, she has big projects awaiting for The Bronx that I hope to work with her on.”

 

Espaillat said those projects would take affordability into consideration. “You hear that word being thrown around all over the city, but where it lives permanently full time is in The Bronx,” he said. “Thank you, Vanessa, for your friendship. Thank you for your collaboration, your collegiality. Her demeanor is always elegant, and she gets things done.”

 

Introducing the assemblyman, Espaillat praised Dinowitz, adding jokingly, “He is someone that knows all the nooks and crannies of his district. I’ve been told that he knows every county committee person in his district with name, address and an apartment number, and so I am just hopeful that in addition to that information, he’ll get to learn each and every one of their phone numbers and emails.”

 

He added, “Of course, he’s a great assembly member, someone that has been in Albany for some time and continues to do a great job there and represent us with honesty and distinction.” The assemblyman returned the compliment before moving on to his endorsement of Gibson. “I have never seen somebody so energetic,” he said. “She’s everywhere! Whatever’s going on, she’s there. If there are at least two people together with something. Vanessa Gibson is there.”

 

Dinowitz also credited the borough president’s work on housing, education, and “bringing me resources.” He said she has a plan to get things done and has gotten things done. “I can’t think of anybody who could serve the way you have and I, for one, appreciate it,” he said in part, adding that she was “an incredible partner.” He concluded, “I’m very excited to support her campaign for reelection. I’m confident she’s going to win. But most importantly, when she wins, the people of The Bronx will win.”

 

Gibson later said in part her campaign had “an incredible coalition of elected officials, including Bronx Democratic Party chairman, State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey (S.D. 36).

 

“I am running for reelection for four more years to continue to build upon the work that we have accomplished together in a borough where all families not just get by, but they get ahead, recognizing that affordability is a priority, affordable housing, pathways to home ownership, job growth, economic development, making sure that we invest in residents and families in a real way, dealing with health inequity, and what I call food justice, so that we have access to healthy foods through farmers markets, and so many of our partners, making sure that all of our children and families are safe in our community, that we clean up our borough when it comes to sanitation, and making sure we have a just quality of life,” she said.

 

Later, we asked Gibson how she would differentiate herself from her Democratic opponent, Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. (C.D. 17), who broadly represents the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Hunts Point, Longwood, North & South Brother Islands, Morrisania, Crotona Park East, Concourse-Concourse Village, West Farms, Soundview-Bruckner-Bronx River, and who briefly announced a run for borough president in 2021 before dropping out soon afterwards in light of what he broadly said were the needs of his constituents amid the pandemic.

 

Gibson said she had shown up for three years as a dedicated borough president, invested over $100 million across the borough, created jobs, lowered the unemployment rate, and was working to address health disparities in The Bronx.

 

“I am making a difference in a real way for the families of our borough, and my message is one of accomplishment, of showing up and of proven success,” she said. “I am running on a campaign of not rhetoric, but based on success. We have demonstrated our leadership over three years, and our path for the next four years is one of economic opportunity, job growth, supporting small businesses, creating more affordable housing, keeping the residents of our boroughs safe, and making sure that The Bronx is able to lead in everything that is good.”

 

As a follow-up, we asked the borough president if she felt the fact that she even had an opponent in the primary was an indication of disunity within the Bronx Democratic Party. “Absolutely not,” she said. “No, I hear a lot of when people say, you know, ‘rumbling in the Bronx.’ No, we’re actually as stable and united as we can be.”

 

She continued, “I am running for reelection. I am the incumbent elected official but I take nothing for granted. But I have a tremendous amount of support from elected officials from all across our borough, from members of Congress, state senators, state assembly members, council members. I have the Bronx Democratic Party, I have a majority of our labor unions. Why? Not because I’m an incumbent, but because they know my work, because they have been with me on this journey.”

 

She added, “We partnered together to fight for union workers and union jobs and to make sure that workers are protected and not exploited, and so my record is one that I am highlighting, but I also know we have to keep going and so the message for this campaign is to keep The Bronx moving.”

 

We also asked for Gibson’s comments on the suggestion that there may be some on the left side of the Bronx Democratic Party who may have been critical that a fundraiser was reportedly held for her campaign by Gene DeFrancis, president of the Allerton International Merchants Association, who previously ran as a Republican, and who told Norwood News he had attended a proud boys rally in Washington D.C. some years ago.

 

“Sure, absolutely!” Gibson said explaining that she had come to know DeFrancis from his work leading the Allerton International Merchants Association, whose work she said became “even more profound” following the devastating fire on Wallace Avenue Jan. 10. “Gene stepped up to the plate,” she said. “We identified a location, we gathered items, and we had distributions of clothing, of toiletries, of footwear, of [inaudible] for children and families that were displaced by the fire.”

She added, “So, when the time came to organize and bring together the merchants, that’s exactly what Mr. Francis has done for me. So, I understand the criticism, but I remind everyone to check the facts and do your homework, because there are a lot of other things that have happened on my challenger’s side, where there was money taken by others, and I respect that if people are willing to help me, I have different relationships with everyone. And so I appreciate that Mr. Francis stepped up and helped families that were displaced by a fire when no one else did.”

 

In reference to Gibson’s comments regarding Salamanca Jr., we understand the borough president was referring to campaign contributions received by the council member as referenced in an article by NY Focus in which it was reported that as chair of New York City Council’s powerful Land Use Committee, Salamanca Jr. had the power to determine whether development projects lived or died, and that this allegedly made him a magnet for campaign donations from the real estate industry.

 

We have another story coming shortly on the campaign financing for both candidates. More to follow. In the meantime, Norwood News has reached out to Salamanca Jr. for comment on this point and will share any feedback we receive.

 

Primary Election Day in New York is Tuesday, June 24. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Early Voting runs from June 14- 22. To be eligible to register to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen; be 18 years old on June 24; a New York State resident for at least 30 days before the election; not be in prison for a felony conviction; not be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court; and not claim the right to vote elsewhere. The last day to register to vote in person was June 14. Applications to register to vote by mail should also have been received by June 14. For more information, click here.