Politics

Robert Tucker Sworn in as 35th Fire Commissioner of New York City

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Robert Tucker was appointed as the new fire commissioner of the FDNY and was sworn in on Aug. 12. He is the 35th person to hold the position. City officials said, previously, Tucker worked for the Queens DA’s office and was CEO of a private security and cyber intelligence company, T&M Protection Resources. They said he also worked at the FDNY, though never as a firefighter, served as secretary of the FDNY Foundation, and was also a past honorary fire commissioner. “I can think of no higher calling than serving as the fire commissioner for the City of New York,” he said.

Bronx District Leader & BOE Employee Charged with Bribery, Extortion, Fraud, and Identity Theft

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Nicole Torres, 33, of The Bronx, an elected district leader in the borough, and an employee of the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) has been charged  with illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents to herself and a local organization (the “Bronx organization”) in exchange for selecting those individuals as poll workers, federal prosecutors announced on Aug. 28. 

UPDATE Major Data Breach Affects Bronx Council Members, Assemblymembers, State Senators & U.S. Reps

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) released an investigative report on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in which it was confirmed that several Bronx elected leaders had personal data, which was held with National Public Data, a private company that runs background checks, breached. Torres, who represents a large section of The Bronx stretching from the northwest to the South Bronx, said the report confirms that up to 33.3% of Bronx council members, 70% of Bronx assembly members, 66.6% of Bronx state senators, and 100% of Bronx U.S. representatives had their data breached.

Coalition of Bronx Democratic Leaders Propose Improvements to Election Process

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A coalition of Bronx Democratic and Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club (BFRDC) leaders, including Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), District Leader Ben Jackson (A.D. 81), State Committee Members Michael Heller and Johanna Edmondson (A.D. 81), Emily Hausman, BFRDC member, and BFRDC President Virgina Krompinger, submitted recommendations to the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) in July, which the coalition says were aimed at enhancing future electoral processes.

Inquiring Photographer: Thoughts on Arrest of DL Leader and BOE Employee Nicole Torres

By DAVID GREENE
After federal prosecutors recently announced that Nicole Torres, an NYC Board of Elections employee and a Bronx district leader in Assembly District 81, which broadly covers the northwest Bronx, was arrested for allegedly illegally demanding payments from Bronx residents to herself and to a local Bronx organization in exchange for selecting those individuals as poll workers, and for allegedly falsifying documents to fraudulently obtain poll worker paychecks, this week, we asked readers if they still had faith in the NYC Board of Elections ahead of November’s presidential and other general elections.