Politics

Students Join Faculty Members & Continue to Rally over CUNY Lay-offs & Cuts

By DAVID GREENE
Employees and students at the City University of New York (CUNY) held a noisy, caravan-style protest on Jan. 30, in opposition to ongoing cuts and lay-offs which have affected both students and faculty alike. The group taped signs to their cars, hung out their windows, honked their horns and generally shattered the usual, peaceful tranquility known to some residents of the Northwest Bronx.   The estimated 20-vehicle, caravan rally formed outside Herbert H. Lehman College on West Bedford Park Boulevard, between Paul Avenue and Goulden Avenue in Bedford Park, and later deliberately drove past the homes of Bronx Community College


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Bowman to Join Students & Tenants Breaking Down Relief from Federal Stimulus Package

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) will join a teach-in on March 15 for all New York residents on how the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed last week will translate to emergency relief for tenants, homeless individuals, and students and families across New York. Bowman’s representatives said that over the weekend, the New York State Assembly and Senate released their one-house budget proposals, which included some reversal of tax breaks for the rich to raise $7 billion in progressive tax revenue. They said the “Invest in Our New York” campaign — a coalition of over 170 organizations and dozens of legislators


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District 15 City Council Race: “Our City” Endorses Crespo, Plans to Spend Five-Figure Amounts in Ads

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As candidates step up the pace in the final weeks ahead of the District 15 City Council special election, which takes place on March 23, Elisa Crespo, an education liaison to the Bronx borough president, received another boost to her campaign with news that the progressive group, Our City, is backing her as their first choice candidate in the race.   According to the group’s website, Our City is a project to win a progressive governing vision for New York City in 2021, centered around the agendas and voices of citywide grassroots movements. “Leading up to the June 22 Democratic


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Update: District 11 City Council Race, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi Backs Jessica Haller & Mino Lora

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi has endorsed both tech entrepreneur and environmentalist, Jessica Haller, and Mino Lora, founder and executive director of the People’s Theater Project, in the District 11 City Council race, for which a special election is being held on March 23rd.   In the context of the announcement, Biaggi said Haller would be a dedicated, passionate advocate for the people of the 11th District. “Her vision for the Bronx is one that I share,” she said. “We need a more equitable, resilient and sustainable Bronx and I look forward to partnering with Jessica as she takes


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Update: District 11 City Council Race: Dan Padernacht Endorsed by Ironworkers Union

By SÍLE MOLONEY
City Council candidate Daniel Padernacht, lawyer and chair of Bronx Community Board 8’s Traffic & Transportation committee, has been endorsed by Local 46 of the Metallic Lathers Union and Reinforcing Ironworkers in his bid to win the District 11 City Council seat in the Northwest Bronx, for which a special election is taking place on March 23.   Union representatives said Padernacht will be an elected official that will understand his district’s needs and concerns and will do his best to address them. “Dan understands that good-paying jobs are the means to lift a community,” the statement read.   Reacting


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Update: District 11 City Council Race, Eric Dinowitz Endorsed by Local 802 Musicians’ Union & Others

By SÍLE MOLONEY
On Wednesday, March 10, the Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802, AFM announced its endorsement of Eric Dinowitz, teacher and Democratic male district leader for the 81st Assembly District, who is running for City Council in the 11th District, for which a special election is being held on March 23.   Local 802 is the largest local union of professional musicians in the world. “We are proud to support Eric Dinowitz for City Council District 11,” union representatives wrote as part of the announcement. “A native of the Bronx, he [Dinowitz] received a degree in music and went


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Update: District 15 City Council Race, Ischia Bravo & Elisa Crespo Garner Additional Endorsements

Community Board 7 Finds New District Manager...Again
By SÍLE MOLONEY
Yesterday, March 8, on International Women’s Day, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, City Councilman Brad Lander, and The Jewish Vote (TJV) announced ranked choice endorsements of certain progressive women candidates ahead of the Bronx special elections on March 23 in District 15 and District 11.   According to a joint press release, with early voting starting on Saturday, progressives are looking to support transformative candidates and send more women to represent them in the City Council. Rivera, who represents the 33rd senatorial district in the Bronx, and TJV, a project of Jews for racial and economic justice, announced on Monday a


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Update: District 11 City Council Race, Mino Lora Bags Additional Endorsements

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As the District 11 City Council special election, scheduled for March 23, draws closer, Mino Lora, an educator and executive director of the People’s Theatre Project, has picked up a series of additional endorsements. One of six remaining special election candidates running, Lora got the backing of two progressive women’s groups and a labor union on Thursday, March 4.   The labor union, UNITE HERE Local 100, joined two local organizing groups, Downtown Women for Change and Progressive Women of New York in endorsing Lora on Thursday. UNITE HERE Local 100 is a union representing workers in cafeterias, airports, executive


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Elections 2021: Carlton Berkley on Equality, Policing & Being the Underdog Candidate

By MICHAEL HOROWITZ
Carlton “Chucky” Berkley, a retired NYPD detective, who is seeking election in the 11th City Council District, is someone who doesn’t accept that the status quo has to remain as it has always been. As a case in point, Berkley doesn’t accept that the winner of the district’s upcoming special election has to be from Riverdale, just because District 11 council members have hailed from that neighborhood for decades.   Berkley, who lives in Wakefield with his wife, has a history of battling against the system, sometimes emerging victorious either for his own benefit or for the benefit of his


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