The northwest Bronx saw a flurry of political activity this year starting with a furor over redistricting, the realignment of legislative district lines that happens every decade following the Census.

So politically charged was the debate over district lines that a federal judge had to step in and draw new Congressional lines. (State lines were agreed upon after several delays.) The result of the judge’s decision gave birth to the new 14th Congressional District, which stretches from Harlem through upper Manhattan and into the northwest Bronx. It includes much of Norwood News’ primary coverage area, including Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge and University Heights.

Along with a new Congressional district, a new federal law to assist overseas voters meant that the 14th Congressional District would have its primary in June, months before the regular September primaries.

The early primary meant an abbreviated and furious campaign that pitted incumbent Charlie Rangel, a legislative icon who has served in Congress for more than four decades, against Adriano Espaillat, an assemblyman who represents upper Manhattan (and, until redistricting, a slice of Riverdale).

Espaillat, often seen at the foot of the elevated 4 train stop on Kingsbridge Road, campaigned hard in the Bronx, but Rangel received the backing of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Bronx Democratic County Committee.

Rangel, a one-time student at DeWitt Clinton High School on Mosholu Parkway, ended up winning narrowly and Espaillat conceded on election night. (Espaillat, however, won the Bronx.) But the next day, as votes continued to trickle in and Rangel’s lead continued to shrink to less than 200 votes, Espaillat began raising concerns about potential vote-rigging and incompetence by the Board of Elections.

He eventually filed a lawsuit to prevent the vote from being certified and asked for a re-vote. However, as absentee and other ballots came in, Rangel maintained his lead and Espaillat gave up his challenge just two days before he needed to file paperwork to run for re-election in the assembly. (Legally, he couldn’t run for both offices at the same time.)

In November’s general election, Rangel was easily re-elected for a 22nd term in office.

In terms of population, the Bronx now makes up 26 percent of his district and 19 percent of his registered voters. In an interview, Rangel admitted he didn’t initially want to take on the Bronx as part of his district.

“I am very pleased to say all of my apprehensions about leaving Harlem were shattered because I went up there and my name was so well known, there were groups waiting to welcome me to the Bronx,” Rangel said in an interview shortly after the primary.

Rangel all but guaranteed he would open a district office in the Bronx.

Saying Good-bye to Naomi

The contentious end to one of the country’s most widely watched Congressional races gave way to one of the state’s most intriguing Assembly races, which also happened to involve the Bronx.

Mark Gjonaj, an Albanian real estate broker who grew up in Morris Park, was already poised to make a strong run at 80th Assembly District (Norwood, Bedford Park, Morris Park) incumbent Naomi Rivera, whose poor attendance and paltry legislative record, made her vulnerable to a challenge.

Then the New York Post began running front page headlines that raised serious ethical and legal questions about Rivera’s time in office. Two men who Rivera was linked to romantically both received questionable jobs based on their relationship with her and at taxpayer expense. Soon, Rivera was being investigated by several authorities for wrongdoing and she retreated, refusing to speak with the media or answer specific questions about her hiring practices.

But in the end, it may have been Gjonaj’s work in helping tenants at Tracey Towers fight an enormous rent hike that turned the race in his favor.

Ultimately, Gjonaj won the September primary easily and then cruised to general election victory in November. On Jan. 1, he will become the first assemblyman of Albanian descent in Bronx history. Rivera exits after eight years representing the 80th Assembly District.

Klein’s Bold Move

In the overwhelmingly Democratic Bronx, State Senator Jeff Klein made a bold move in early December. Klein, whose 34th District now runs from the far east Bronx through Bedford Park and into Riverdale, forged a power-sharing agreement with Senate Republicans despite the fact that Democrats won a majority of seats in the election.

Klein, whose Independent Democratic Caucus began working closely with Republicans at the end of 2010, said the move would ensure a productive and bi-partisan approach to legislating.

In a joint statement, Klein and Republican Leader Dean Skelos said the agreement “marks a bold new chapter in this partnership that will allow the Senate to continue pushing New York State forward, while ensuring that there will be no returning to the failed leadership of the past.”

Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who worked hard this fall to win back the majority for Democrats, is skeptical, saying the move essentially keeps Republicans in power when the public voted them out.

He said the new “so-called coalition will present watered-down versions of progressive issues that we, as Democrats, feel are the best way to move New York forward.”

Because the coalition will choose chairmanships, Rivera said it will also be writing the final drafts of bills that reach the floor for a vote, which means “the bulk of us [Democrats] — 27 of us — will be excluded from the conversation.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.