Politics

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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Illegal Gas Line Eyed as Cause of Paulding Avenue Explosion that Injured Nine

By DAVID GREENE
At least nine people were injured in Westchester Heights, including several children and one firefighter, after a gas explosion inside a multi-unit residential home shook the building’s foundation and blew out many of the windows and doors. Two of the victims were reported in serious condition.   The explosion occurred inside 1522 Paulding Avenue in the Westchester Square section of the Bronx at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. At the scene, FDNY Deputy Chief John Sarrocco issued a brief statement that was later released on Twitter. “We received a call for an explosion,” he said. “Units arrived on scene


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Update: New Schools Chancellor Offers Hope to Second-Chance Students

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The following article is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.   Shanti Sledge was 24 when he took the courageous step to return to education after a seven-year absence, attempting, once more, to obtain his high school diploma, having dropped out of public school in his mid-teens. “I feel like the first time around, I wasn’t as motivated or felt like I really paid attention,” he said. “I was just all over the place. I had dropped out of high school and I went to Job Corps to pursue my trade, my career.


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Update: District 11 City Council Race: Dan Padernacht Endorsed by Progressive Activist, Bill Samuels

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Lawyer and City Council candidate in the District 11 race, Dan Padernacht, has received the endorsement of Bill Samuels, a business leader, lawyer, and founder of the Council on Economic Priorities, EffectiveNY, the New Roosevelt Initiative, and New Yorkers for a More Effective Constitution.   Samuels wrote in a press release on Monday, March 1, that Padernacht’s history of leadership in the Northwest Bronx has amply prepared him to represent his district in the city council. “He has a facile understanding of the economic and social issues within the district and innovative approaches to post-pandemic recovery,” Samuels said. “Dan will


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Update: Nathalia Fernández Calls for Mass Vaccination Site in the North Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Assemblywoman for the 80th Assembly District in the Northwest Bronx, Nathalia Fernández, called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday, Feb. 24, to bring a mass COVID-19 vaccination site to the North Bronx. Despite the City providing free transportation for seniors to get vaccinated as well as efforts to deliver expanded access to the COVID-19 vaccine across those communities most at risk, vaccination rates are still relatively low, as reported earlier this week by the Norwood News, particularly in low-income and minority communities.   “If the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is


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Woman Who Pushed 2nd Woman onto Bronx Subway Track Arrested for Attempted Murder

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Police Department has arrested a woman in Manhattan, for attempted murder for pushing another middle-aged woman onto the subway tracks at a Bronx subway station earlier this month.   The police had asked for the public’s assistance on Feb. 9, in ascertaining the whereabouts of the unidentified woman seen in the attached photos and video, who had been sought in connection with the incident, which took place in the 42nd Precinct / Transit District 12.   It was reported to police that on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at around 7.50 p.m., on the platform of the 174th


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