During a calm, thoughtful forum on environmental issues for candidates in the race to replace term-limited Oliver Koppell in the 11th Council District, the focus was on Riverdale.

There were several reasons for this: The forum was held in at the Riverdale Y, nestled deep in the heart of northwestern Riverdale; all of the panelists and organizers were Riverdalians; only one of the three candidates doesn’t live in Riverdale.

In fact, Cliff Stanton, who lives in Van Cortlandt Village, was the only candidate to mention areas not directly connected to Riverdale.

He made a big point out of it too, saying the person elected to the district, which also includes parts of Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge Heights, Norwood, Bedford Park, Woodlawn and Wakefield, should be a council member to the whole district, not just the “land of milk and honey” that is Riverdale.

He also mentioned Williamsbridge Oval Park as an area in need of improvements, only he called it “Williamsburg” Oval. Twice.

Still, Stanton has openly courted the outside of Riverdale vote, making appearances at rallies in Norwood and Bedford Park and winning an endorsement from the Northwest Bronx Democrats. (Although it should be noted that Anthony Rivieccio, the founder of the Northwest Bronx Democrats, has been paid for working on Stanton’s campaign.)

In talking about other environmentally-friendly ideas outside of Riverdale, Stanton also mentioned having regular car-free days on the Grand Concourse, which have happened only occasionally over the years.

When asked what he would do for areas outside of Riverdale, Andrew Cohen, who has the backing of almost every Bronx elected official, several unions and most Democratic mayoral candidates, talked about improvements to Van Cortlandt Park, which, he says, connects to almost all areas of the district.

For her part, Cheryl “Shelly” Keeling, a 61-year-old track coach and business woman who is in impeccable shape (and mentioned that several times), talked about bringing the city’s new bike share program to the district.

Stanton also endorsed the bike share program, while Cohen was kind of luke warm on the idea, saying Riverdale was very “hilly” and that he often walked his bike up Riverdale Avenue. Keeling, on the other hand, said she always biked up Riverdale Avenue.

CAP: The candidates for the 11th Council District field questions from panelists at a forum on environmental issues in Riverdale.
Photo by Alex Kratz