District 14 City Council Member Pierina Sanchez is pressing ahead with her reelection campaign by focusing on her accomplishments and largely ignoring the challenge to her seat in the upcoming Democratic Primary on Tuesday, June 27, by her opponent, Rachel Bradshaw, State committeewoman for Assembly District 78. Sanchez won her seat for the first time in the November 2021 general election and took office at the beginning of 2022.

 

District 14 broadly encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Bedford Park, University Heights, Mt. Hope and Morris Heights. It is bordered to the south by the Cross Bronx Expressway.

 

It was a jam-packed first year in office for the rookie councilwoman, a former White House staffer under former U.S. President Barack Obama. As reported, Sanchez was one of many first-time female candidates who took office in 2022 and who now make up the majority of the City Council. She started her first year dealing with the Omicron surge, and a number of fires in her district, among other tragedies, including the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old female bystander in Fordham Heights.

 

She was also involved in the recovery efforts after the Jan. 9, 2022 Twin Parks fire, though the towers fell into adjacent District 15, represented by fellow City Council Member Oswald Feliz. Sanchez later supported Feliz’s May 19, 2022 vote on the first package of fire safety legislation to pass in response to the tragic fire. The councilwoman also co-sponsored and introduced a further bill which aims to expand the city’s Heat Sensor Program (HSP). The program identifies buildings with recurring heat violations for enhanced monitoring and enforcement.

 

In July of that year, Sanchez attended the groundbreaking of the new Starhill affordable housing complex, located in the Morris Heights section of the borough, and since the end of last year, has also been heavily engaged in the Kingsbridge Armory development, a topic which has been covered extensively by Norwood News down through the years. The councilwoman was also involved in discussions on the billion-dollar Fordham Landing development in University Heights.

Later that year, she gave a Commencement address to graduates at Bronx Community College, her alma mater and where she chose to be inaugurated, in July announced a $350,000 investment for upgrades to Bean Morris Garden, and in August held a basketball tournament with anti-gun violence interrupters, Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.) at P.S. 279 in Fordham Heights. [This was all before giving birth to a baby the same year.]

 

According to the Sanchez campaign team, since taking office, the councilwoman and her team have served over 4,500+ residents, helping people apply for housing, receive free legal support, apply for citizenship, and access food pantries. They said the 2022 participatory budgeting process enabled over 1,500 residents to vote for their preferred capital improvement projects within the community.

 

In terms of legislation, in the face of a steep housing crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, they said Sanchez passed laws to improve housing quality, protect rent stabilization, and expand access to housing vouchers for low to moderate income families. They said as chair of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Buildings, she held 36 hearings addressing the housing crisis and sponsored 532 bills and resolutions, with 127 adopted or passed into law.

 

On economic opportunity, they said Sanchez launched the “Together for Kingsbridge” process to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory, which they said directly engaged 4,300 individuals, via 70 plus events, events, between November 2022 and June 2023, in partnership with the area’s elected officials and community organizations from across the neighborhood.

 

They added that successful redevelopment of the armory could bring community facilities and hundreds of good-paying jobs to the neighborhood. They said Sanchez also hosted a hiring fair with DC 37 and Mayor Eric Adams at Monroe College, attended by over 800 community residents, and maintained a “hiring bank” at her community office, listing job openings available to community residents.

 

In terms of funding schools and infrastructure, they said she brought over $25 million in capital funding to schools, community centers, and the Kingsbridge Armory in the first budget she voted on, and dedicated $7 million to the construction of a new community center which is to be built at 183rd Street and Walton Avenue in Fordham Heights.

When it comes to safer streets, they said Sanchez worked with NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to commence over 30 traffic studies to improve lighting, pedestrian safety, and traffic safety near parks and schools, including having a stop-sign installed at Grand Avenue and 181st Street in University Heights. They said she also worked with local precincts, precinct councils, and cure violence organizations to prevent violence and get guns off the streets.

 

Safer streets from a traffic perspective is also a major concern for many of Sanchez’s constituents, as reported. In terms of quality-of-life improvements, her campaign team said her office removed trash and blight that residents had complained about for years from parks and empty lots in the neighborhood, including at the Davidson Community Garden, Fordham Landing lot, and Grand Playground, and brought in cameras to improve enforcement. They said she also ensured bus stop placements served seniors at Burnside Avenue.

 

Meanwhile, Bradshaw, who, as reported, is president of the local political group, Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change, and a founding member of Friends of Devoe Park, has already taken aim at the councilwoman’s record in office on various fronts, and her supporters also called on Sanchez to debate Bradshaw.

 

Her critiques of the councilwoman have been broadly covered here. Additionally, one of Bradshaw’s supporters, Ali Perez, Manhattan city council candidate for District 10, spoke to Norwood News about his support for Bradshaw, and alleged that Sanchez supports draft City Council bill 0737-2018 which relates to the creation of a small business lease program to establish an environment for fair negotiations in the commercial lease renewal process in order to determine reasonable lease terms.

 

Perez alleges the bill, if passed, would be unfair to small businesses and that it favors landlords of commercial buildings. He said this is one of the reasons he supports Bradshaw over Sanchez. “Eighty percent of small business owners cannot survive in business without a law, giving them the right when their leases expire…82 percent of those immigrant owners will be unable to continue paying both rent and landlord property taxes to survive,” Perez said.

 

Norwood News raised the point with the councilwoman’s campaign team on June 20. We were informed that if it’s the bill they think it is [they answered at an event while on the campaign trail, so were not at their desks] it has not been re-introduced and is not before the council or under consideration.

 

On the same day, for the second consecutive year, Sanchez unveiled a $1 million investment in capital specifically aimed at enhancing quality-of-life resources for young people and seniors in District 14 through the participatory budgeting process. According to New York City Council, Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.

The process began in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989. Today, there are more than 3,000 participatory budgeting processes around the world, most at the municipal level. It was launched in New York City in 2011.

 

According to the Sanchez campaign, with close to 1000 votes cast by residents on how to spend $1 million within District 14, five projects were announced on June 20, including $750,000 towards an M.S. 390 gymnasium upgrade; $50,000 for cafeteria renovation for BronxWorks Senior Center; $64,470 for a technology upgrade/mini STEM lab for Francis Martin Library; $51,234 for a new Media Center for P.S. 206; and $55,500 for tree planting for University Wood Park.

 

“I am proud of this year’s allotments, focused on universal services we all use, but that our younger and aging constituents frequent the most,” the councilwoman via a press release. “These funds will bring about transformative improvements, from upgrading school facilities to creating vibrant community spaces. Together, we are building a District 14 that thrives on the voices and aspirations of its residents. I extend my deepest gratitude to all who have participated and contributed to this remarkable initiative. Your dedication and commitment are an inspiration to us all,” she added.

 

The councilwoman later told Norwood News, “We had a thousand people vote this year, 800 last year, which is pretty high, especially when you look across the city and engagement and so, it’s just really telling to me when we put out the word for the community and the community decides to invest in schools, invest in our senior centers, invests in our [inaudible], it just speaks volumes about what the community cares about and it gives me guidance about what to prioritize and what to fight for.”

 

When we mentioned that $1 million seemed like a substantial amount of money for the community to decide how to spend, Sanchez said each council member can decide on the allotted funding amount in the context of the PB process.

 

Though not in her district, but in light of the recent, serious scooter accident in the South Bronx on June 19, the new NYC Parks’ pilot program allowing light-weight scooters to be driven on designated pathways in the City’s public parks since June 20, and knowing the councilwoman had been hospitalized after she was hit by a scooter at the end of 2021, we asked Sanchez for her thoughts on the new pilot scooter program.

 

On the topic of the flier, Bradshaw later told Norwood News, “As far as my endorsements, they are clearly on the back on my mailer,” a copy of which she shared and which is attached below. In reference to the question of the debate, Bradshaw added, “Pierina is not ignoring the challenge. Sanchez has sent out a mailer every day for three weeks. Is this ignoring [the] challenge? She also had her campaign manager come in to the debate she chose not to participate in.” Bradshaw highlighted to Norwood News that her other fliers outline her campaign’s vision for the future.

 

Bradshaw insists that Sanchez is not ignoring her campaign, citing the fact that the councilwoman sent a mailer to 6,100 voters in District 14, including but not exclusively to voters at Fordham Hill. The mailers did not attack Bradshaw however. They simply promoted Sanchez. Additionally, we could not find any article where Sanchez directly discusses Bradshaw’s campaign or policies, unless she was asked to directly respond to points raised by the Bradshaw campaign about Sanchez’s own candidacy or record.

Darney Rivers, who supports Bradshaw, also issued a press release on the debate issue, saying, “As you know, it is required by law that elected officials engage in at least one debate unless they do not have any challengers. By not attending the debate, Sanchez has shown a lack of respect for the community and the people who voted for her. This is concerning as elected officials should be accountable to the people they represent.”

He added, “Sanchez’s absence from the debate has left voters with unanswered questions and concerns. The community has a right to know where their elected officials stand on important issues that affect their daily lives. It is disappointing that Sanchez did not take this opportunity to engage with her constituents.” Norwood News has reached out to Sanchez’s campaign for comment.

Bradshaw has also alleged the incumbent councilwoman “has several BOE complaints filed against her.” Norwood News contacted New York City Board of Elections (BOE) on Saturday, June 24, and asked for confirmation and details of such complaints. Vincent M. Ignizio, BOE deputy executive director, responded on Monday, June 26, saying,  “I have not been made aware of any complaints thus far.”

 

The BOE later said they had been informed on Monday, June 26, that the 100-foot rule for campaigning has been an issue at a Bronx polling site, and that the BOE legal team was in touch with Bronx BOE office staff regarding the matter. We asked which polling site they were referring to and which candidate they were referring to and will update this story upon receipt of a response. The 100-foot rule precludes candidates from actively campaigning within 100 feet from any polling site.

 

In February, Sanchez introduced a bill, together with New York City Public Advocate Jumanne Williams, that, if passed, would require co-op boards to justify their reasons for denial of applicants to co-op housing.

 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story reported incorrectly that campaign fliers for Rachel Bradshaw were placed under the doors of the apartments of residents of Fordham Hill Co-op. In fact, they were sent in the mail. Also, we previously misidentified Fordham Hill Co-op board member Blandón Casenave as former assemblyman Michael Blake in the campaign flier. This has since been corrected. We apologize for these errors.