This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's issue (September 6 -12) of the Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

Chris Lighty's body is removed from the crime scene

* Suicide of rap mogul shocks Riverdale neighbors > Chris Lighty, the influential hip-hop music mogul who fatally shot himself at his $1 million-plus Riverdale home, kept such a low profile in the neighborhood that many locals were unaware of his celebrity status. 
* New draft city council district will look a lot like the old city council district > City Council District 11 is set to gain small parts of Woodlawn and Williamsbridge, and lose tiny sections of Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Heights under preliminary draft maps released by the New York City Districting Commission.
* MTA removes trash cans in new cleanup effort > A pilot program championed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to remove trash cans from subway stations has expanded to The Bronx. Authorities announced all means of garbage disposal were removed from two Bronx stations--the 238th Street No. 1 and the East 143rd Street No. 6 platforms--on September 2
* Slow zone unrolls, very slowly > Speed bumps will be added to certain Riverdale streets by November as part of a staggered implementation of the city's Neighborhood Slow Zone program. Department of Transportation officials have confirmed they are currently evaluating streets for possible future speed bumps near P.S. 24 and M.S/H.S 141 in a bid to improve pedestrian safety. It is unknown how many speed bumps are being considered or where they will be located.
* Man injured in North Riverdale shooting > Police are on the hunt for two suspects who struck and injured a man during a possibly drug-related shooting in North Riverdale. Investigators said two men approached Edwin Figueroa, 31, outside his 6687 Broadway apartment just before 7:50 p.m on Friday, August 31.
* Horace Mann alumni return diplomas over sex abuse scandal > Fresh from organizing diploma returns, the Horace Mann Action Coalition now plans to organize forums to discuss child abuse in schools and is considering creating a fund to be held in escrow until the school does the right thing.
* Former Hebrew Institute rabbi reaches new milestone in New Orleans > Life hasn't been easy lately in The Big Easy, but former Riverdale rabbi Uri Topolosky managed to accomplish his mission there in the lingering wake of Hurricane Katrina. He left his post as assistant rabbi at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in 2007 and headed down to New Orleans with his wife, Dahlia, a psychologist, and their two sons to rebuild Congregation Beth Israel and serve as its spiritual leader.

The fire at 5213 Broadway

* Manhattan College hires two locals > The commute to work will now be very brief for Dr. Joe Cutbirth and Dr. Val Kolesnikov, two new Riverdale residents who have joined the faculty at Manhattan College this semester. 
* Blaze engulfs Marble Hill  discount store > A severe two-alarm fire engulfed a local discount store early Tuesday morning, officials said. The blaze started at 2:48 a.m. at EZ 99 Cent Store, a single-story commercial building at 5213 Broadway in Marble Hill, an FDNY spokesman said. Officials said more than 100 firefighters from 25 units fought to control the blaze and eventually extinguished it by 3:57 a.m. There were no fatalities or injuries. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

Also, in the Bronx Press:
* As Naomi Rivera probes grow, Mark Gjonaj becomes frontrunner in hot Assembly seat > At least five government agencies have launched investigations into Bronx Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera following allegations she used taxpayer funds as her personal expense account and awarded cushy jobs to two lovers.

Districting Commission unveils preliminary plans for City Council District 11

By MIAWLING LAM

It’s a case of you win some, you lose some for City Council District 11 under preliminary draft maps released by the New York City Districting Commission.

The 15-member body unveiled redrawn boundaries for all 51 City Council districts, including eight in The Bronx, today.

The plan reveals only minor changes for City Council District 11, which encompasses Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Woodlawn and Spuyten Duyvil.

According to the draft plan, the district is set to gain parts of Woodlawn and Williamsbridge but will lose sections of Bedford Park and Kingsbridge Heights.

Districting Commission chair Benito Romano stressed the boundaries are not yet firm.

“I want to mention that this map is preliminary,” he said on Tuesday. “It does not purport to endorse any particular lines. It is a starting point.”

Romano said two rounds of public hearings would be held before the commission submits its final plan to the city clerk and Department of Justice in March 2013.

He added that the next round of hearings—one in each borough—is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 2. The locations will be announced in due course.

Districting Commission executive director Carl Hum said New Yorkers would be able to have their say on the lines when the agency’s mapping software goes live this week.

“It will allow users to adjust lines and see the effect of that on districts and adjoining districts,” he said. “It will be preloaded with 2003 lines and the proposed lines.”

Boundaries for the 51 City Council districts are redrawn every 10 years in order to reflect shifts in population and demographics.

According to the last census, City Council District 11 grew by 2,516 people, bringing the total population to 163,226.

But in an attempt to evenly distribute the population among the districts, District 11 will now cover 156,071 residents.

Cliff Stanton, a Van Cortlandt Village resident and the leader of a boycott against the Riverdale Review, is the only candidate who has declared a run for City Council District 11.

The seat, which is currently held by Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, will be vacant during the 2013 citywide elections because of term limits for Koppell.

The only other person currently registered  to run for Koppell’s seat is Ari Hoffnung, a deputy comptroller for John Liu, who mounted a campaign during the last election.

However, Hoffnung has previously indicated that he is not considering a run.

Rumors have swirled about the political aspirations of several other area residents, including Community Board 8 members Andrew Cohen, Daniel Padernacht and Robert Press.

LATFOR lines dropping soon

The southern end of Oppenheimer's district.
The new lines reportedly give the district Eastchester.

The first public draft of the new state legislative lines will (probably) come out later today, drawn by LATFOR, the agency charged with the project.

We haven't seen a map yet, but from sources we've spoken to, state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer's (D) district will be expanded to include republican-heavy Eastchester. State Sen. Jeff Klein (IDC) will be giving up Eastchester and taking over all of the Bronx's Riverdale, which current is split between him and two other senators.

Oppenheimer is retiring this year, so Republicans hope by adding Eastchester to the district, they'll be able to snag the seat away from the Democrats.

From what one of our Democratic sources pointed out, if Klein had anything to do with this change, that would mean he has directly helped the Republicans expand their slim majority. Klein's creation of the Independent Democratic Conference and his involvement with the Republican party last year has already irked Democrats, so this move certainly wouldn't be of any help to mend relations.

Of course, this is just the first public draft, and there's also a chance Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoes the lines altogether and sends them to be drawn by a court, which could create chaos.

Could the Bronx get chopped up even more?

Unfortunately, that's not a clever pun for a story about Fresh Direct, the Hunts Point produce market or any other food related issue in the Bronx. It's the thought of another New York State senator getting a small piece of the Bronx, while the majority of his district remains outside the borough, causing the Bronx to get the short end of the stick, again.

This, from City and State's daily 'Heard Around Town':

Meanwhile, controversial Councilman Dan Halloran apparently formed a state fundraising committee yesterday that could lay the groundwork for a long-rumored challenge to Democratic Sen. Tony Avella. There is talk about extending the district into more conservative Bronx neighborhoods, and Bronx Republican Chairman Jay Savino is said to be on board with the idea.

Could Tony Avella's Queens district enter the Bronx?

This is the first we've heard about it, but checking with some of our Bronx insiders, the possibility that Avella's district goes to the east Bronx is highly unlikely. The only area Queens Republicans could want of the Bronx would be places like Throggs Neck, Country Club and maybe places like Morris Park and Westchester.

However, this would mean they would have to start messing with Sen. Jeff Klein's district.

"Klein has lived in Morris Park his whole life and has had a very good working relationship with the Republicans this last year as he formed his Independent Democratic Conference," a source in the state Senate said. "I doubt very seriously that this is being seriously considered."

If this is being considered, it would be a slap in the face to Bronxites. Only two state senate districts are in the Bronx 100 percent: Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr. and Gustavo Rivera. Four other districts go into another county at some point, which has angered constituents and even some elected officials. At the LATFOR (the government committee charged with redistricting) Bronx public hearing last year, some spoke about creating districts that better represent the Bronx and don't go off into other counties.

If Republicans did chip away at Klein's district, it would only make it more difficult for them to win there when/if Klein decides to run for Congress. The district was first gerrymandered for Guy Velella, a republican, and includes highly conservative areas of Westchester County. It's much more likely that if the Republicans would take away an area of Klein's district to better their chances of beating a Democrat, it would be in the north. This would give them a better shot at stealing a seat from the Democrats if they can win soon-to-be-retired Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer's Westchester seat.

State of Politics: Prison Redistricting Deal Struck

According to political reporting wiz Liz Benjamin, Senate Republicans have struck a deal to count more than 46 thousand of the state's roughly 58 thousand prisoners in their last known address, and not in the prison where they are being held.

The original homes of the other 12 thousand prisoners could not be located, so they will be counted where they are incarcerated, Benjamin reports.

Back in 2010, the legislature passed a bill requiring prisoners to be counted in their home neighborhoods for redistricting purposes. Senate Republicans sued arguing the law was unconstitutional, and lost. They did file an appeal to the states highest court, the Court of Appeals, but now appear to have dropped that lawsuit.

As we have talked about extensively on Capital Tonight, upstate prison populations have been utilized in the past by the Senate GOP to carve out districts that are more friendly for their conference. One example has been Senator Little’s district in the North Country, which contains about 12 thousand prisoners.

Dinowitz says Common Cause proposed redistricting lines are anti-reform

The Bronx has begun speaking as one voice, borough politicians have been noticing. But that will all disappear if Common Cause had its way.

Proposed Bronx Assembly districts by Common Cause.

Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is highly critical of proposed redistricting lines drawn by Common Cause, a government watchdog group. He says the lines make things worse for the Bronx; it would dilute the Bronx's ability to influence government, both at the state and federal level, he says.

His northwest Bronx district, currently all of which is in the borough, would become a 'Hispanic district' and expand into northern Manhattan. Another district would also go into Manhattan, and two Assembly districts would reach into Westchester (see the photo, right).

He also rips into the Congressional lines, calling them "absurd."

Their “reform” proposal would give the Bronx parts of four Congressional districts, yet none would be totally within the borders of the Bronx. One only has to look at the Brooklyn-Queens-Manhattan district they drew for Nydia Velasquez to realize that racial- and ethnic-based gerrymandering in their plan trumped the neighborhood integrity that they claim is so important.

Jump below for the full statement, as well as photos of the Congressional districts in the Bronx, the state Senate picture and Nydia Velasquez's doozy of a district.

Espaillat hails court ruling upholding prison gerrymandering reform

Espaillat applauded a court ruling that
upholds gerrymandering reform.

While there is absolutely zero consensus on what the state and federal districts will look like next year, at least one part of the process has taken a step forward: prisoners will be counted in the district they called home before incarceration, not the district where they reside during their sentence.

State Senator Adriano Espaillat congratulated Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (who represented Espaillat's district before winning the AG seat) on successfully defending the state law that Senate Republicans challenged.

Criticized by civil rights and good-government groups, prison gerrymandering wrongly counted prisoners as residents in areas where they are temporarily incarcerated, instead of the communities they come from, Espaillat says. Prison gerrymandering is especially harmful to minority, urban districts because that is where many of the prisoners come from, but then are incarcerated in upstate, rural districts.

“Prison gerrymandering harmed Downstate communities, particularly those with high numbers of minority constituents, like the ones I represent," Espaillat said. "It cost our communities valuable resources and equal representation in government. We commend Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for successfully defending the ill-conceived challenge to prison gerrymandering reform that we passed in the legislature last year.

“We must immediately implement requirements of the prison gerrymandering reform as part of the redistricting process and count incarcerated individuals as residents of the communities they come from. Additionally, we must move aggressively towards independent redistricting and restore New Yorkers’ faith in government." 

“As a lawmaker, I fought to end the practice of prison-based gerrymandering that distorted the democratic process and undermined the principle of ‘one person, one vote.’ This decision affirms and applies a fair standard to the drawing of state legislative districts and makes it easier for counties to do the same by providing them with an accurate data set," Schneiderman told the Daily News.

Here's the court ruling.

Prisoners Decision and Order

NAACP releases redistricting maps

The state NAACP has released a handful of maps they gave to LATFOR, the committee charged with redistricting the state.

The maps created are just the NAACP's opinions on what they would like see, which would be to ensure the African American population continues to be represented in Congress. They are not the final product.

"The big picture here is to preserve New York's black congressional districts and black New Yorkers' voting rights," NAACP State President Hazel Dukes said in a statement. "I urge our faith and civic leaders, grassroots activists, good government and legal defense groups, politicians and others to join with the NAACP in this fight."

This district would be the 15th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Charlie Rangel. They also created maps for Queens/Nassau and Brooklyn.

The new district would run from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Marble Hill, through to the reservoir, then up through Norwood and Wakefield to Mount Vernon, also spanning further east to Co-Op City.

This map takes away from Rep. Eliot Engel more than anyone else, which would push Engel--who is white--further into Westchester and Rockland counties. Engel would keep Rivedale, Woodlawn and Van Cortlandt Park but lose Jerome Park Reservoir and everything east and south of Van Cortlandt. He would also lose Mount Vernon.

It would take Co-Op City from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who has parts of the Bronx and Queens.

NYS-NAACP_PrelimPlan_BlackVtgRts_CD15

Contest of the Day

Anyone who's been paying attention notices that I'm interested in the redistricting process: the unlimited possibilities of the outcome is hypnotizing, and the blatant corruptness of politicians gerrymandering their lines to fit their own needs rather than communities is astonishing. So of course when I saw this, I retweeted it immediately and decided to make it today's 'Of the Day.'

The Center for Electoral Politics at Fordham University and the Public Mapping Project, in an attempt to foster awareness of the new opportunities available to become involved in the redistricting process, have launched the “2012New York Redistricting Project.”

We are challenging teams of students representing New York colleges and universities to design New York State’s congressional and state legislative districts. The mission of the competition is to build public awareness about redistricting in New York and to facilitate hands-on experience in using the available software tools. In teams of 8-10 people, students will produce congressional and state legislative redistricting plans that will be judged upon the following criteria: contiguous; compactness; equal in population; in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act; encompassing communities of interest; and respectful of existing political subdivisions. An award of $1,000 will be issued to the teams that produce the winning congressional, state assembly, or state senate map, as judged by a panel of redistricting experts.

The University is asking students to put together redistricting maps based on the state Senate, Assembly and/or Congressional seats. The winning team scores a cool grand. While people outside of Fordham can't enter the contest, it looks like anyone can still download their free software and play around with the information and technology for their own fun. Best of luck to the Rams (Though I bet the Jaspers could create better maps!)

2014: Klein vs. Clinton?

Earlier this year, I theorized that redistricting in New York State could pit Sens. Jeff Klein and Rev. Ruben Diaz against one another for a state Senate seat in 2012. Well, this is another theory that has no hard facts to back it up, but instead only assumptions, hopes and possibility.

Politico tossed up the idea of Chelsea Clinton running for Congress, specifically for Rep. Nita Lowey's seat after the Congress woman retires:

The specter of someone with the last name of Clinton edging into public service inevitably raises the prospect of public office – perhaps an appointment by her mother’s boss, the president of the United States, or by an old family friend, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Or perhaps a run for Congress. Clinton allies suggested that option as a possibility for her, either in New York City where she lives, or farther north.

Rep. Nita Lowey, an old family ally who represents the official Clinton home in Westchester County, turned 74 in July and two Clinton supporters suggested that Chelsea Clinton might be a natural for her seat should Lowey decide to retire in coming years.

But Politico also added that a Lowey spokesperson was adamant in noting that Lowey is most definitely running for reelection in 2012.

But that got us thinking, because we remember a Bob Kappstatter column in the Daily News about state redistricting that said this:

Some quarters think Jeff may now have shifted his long-term goal from becoming the party's Senate leader to eying a run for Congress although Jeff has denied it in the past.
A lot would depend on the upcoming redistricting battle in Albany and whether 11-term Rep. Nita Lowey is up to serving another term in her lower Westchester district, which takes in a chunk of Jeff's senate district. We shall see . . .

So when Lowey eventually does step down, could we see the Bronx senator go toe to toe with Clinton? Again, just pure speculation...

2012: Klein vs. the Rev?

While it's far too complicated to accurately figure out how redistricting will end up, it's really fun to wonder.

Check out this map the Daily Kos put together of the New York State Senate districts--the Bronx is pretty much torn apart and put back together in a completely new way, and it makes for some very different looking districts that what we currently have.

Lets start in Riverdale and move our way eastward.

31st Senate district: The DK calls it the 59th (they randomly moved the numbers around, so I'll just ignore them), and instead of just peaking into Riverdale and consisting mostly of upper Manhattan, the new district would not only hold all of Riverdale, but some of Yonkers as well. Last year, Sen. Adriano Espaillat dominated Riverdale with the backing of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and the Ben Franklin Democratic Club, so adding more of Riverdale would probably work out fine (Someone did point out that Dinowitz would hate this new district. He currently has three senators within his Assembly district (Klein, Rivera and Espaillat), which can definitely come in handy when trying to find bill support in the state Senate).

All images from dailykos.com

Jump below for much more analysis of the Bronx, including one district that could pit Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz against Sen. Jeff Klein.