Norwood News

BDCC Dinner
What a night at the Bronx Democratic County Committee (BDCC) dinner July 16 at Marina del Rey in Throggs Neck! The political intrigue was kicked up a notch not because of the soiree’s numbers or the bevy of lobbyists and unions in attendance (labor unions were well represented, given all the hootin’ and hollerin’), but from feuding politicos, Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who made scheduled appearances, though the two coincidentally did not cross paths.

Assessing the situation, it’s pretty clear de Blasio and Cuomo purposely avoided being present at Marina del Rey simultaneously. Cuomo came in first, reinforced his Democratic ties implicitly so as to call out anyone who thinks otherwise, and slipped out the kitchen before reporters hounded him. In all, he was there no more than 20 minutes. De Blasio, on the other hand, stuck around to glad-hand guests and pose for pictures. Many longtime Bronx Dems seem to be holding their cards to the chest, dodging any hint they were taking a side.

But more noticeably, we look at the Cuomo/de Blasio arc as two divorcees pining for the attention, or as one seasoned political observer put it, “joint custody,” of their favorite son—Speaker Carl Heastie, still basking in the afterglow of his ascension to speaker. Each publicly thanked Heastie for his leadership and coming through the clutch for assuming the Speaker post in February, and for being a true ally. No side is saying anything about how each benefits, but it’s clear Heastie is critical in any upcoming election.

Heastie’s caught between a de Blasio and a Cuomo, which serves him well as neutrality can only raise your stock value. One ingrained politico, who asked not to be named, preferred to call Heastie “the most needed” politician. Another Bronx pol cautioned Heastie not to take a side, saying it would be “inadvisable” for him to do so.

Some other observations at the soiree:

• De Blasio speaking privately to former Bronx Democratic County Committee executive director Ischia Bravo. The five-minute conversation lasted long enough for reporters to prod de Blasio’s flack, who shed little light into the private chat.
• An appearance by former Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera palling around with her dad, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, and (boyfriend?) Tommy Torres of Brooklyn. Could Ms. Rivera be mounting some future campaign?
• The table collecting funds for the BDCC seemed to be extremely spooked by the Bronx Beltway’s question of how much money it had raised that night, despite it being a matter of public record.

Big nod to BDCC boss, and “rising star” as Cuomo put it, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo for drawing numbers. Kudos to BDCC’s honorees as well. Not sure if the next political powwow, Abrazo Dominicano on July 24, will invite the same political intrigue, but we’ll be watching.

Bratton the Closer

Top cop Bill Bratton can be quite jovial and friendly to general reporters who chronicle his tenure during de Blasio’s reign, but this time he took several snarky shots at reporters questioning his Summer All Out program on July 15. The program has added a contingent of new officers in problem precincts.

Bratton took some of the questions to be presumptuous—one had asked if paid meals to cops is an ethical breach (“Let’s get real. Let’s get real.”). One Bronx reporter inquired whether the Summer All Out program was a ploy for mass traffic ticketing.

“That might be what you’re seeing,” Bratton told the reporter, drawing a burst of laughs from an audience observing the news conference. “Who are you? That’s your opinion. Good luck to you. That’s not what they’re doing.”

Ouch.

His stance with the media did earn some praise from Mayor de Blasio, who was at the news conference. Appearing to ease the tension, de Blasio joked, “If this were a baseball team, Bratton would be The Closer.”

“He just, like – he just shuts that down,” said de Blasio.

“That” was interpreted as any question police brass feel is inappropriate. The role of reporters is to ask probing questions, not make attempts at gotcha journalism or seeing anyone clam up.

How They’d All Do?
In our last column,  The Bronx Beltway reported on how much clout Bronx State Senators have in Albany, promising more on how they stacked up against the rest of the city in number of floor votes achieved. You may remember the Bronx scored 68 floor votes. We ran the floor votes by borough, thanks to dynamite Norwood News summer staffers Jade Chandler and Emmanuel Anokye, and here they are:

• Manhattan state senators with 19.
• Queens state senators with 80.
• Brooklyn state senators with 131.
• Staten Island with 91.

Clearly, the Bronx fared fourth when compared to the rest of the city. Brooklyn’s first place was largely achieved by retired cop turned career politician Senator Martin Golden, a Republican, who racked up a whopping 71 floor votes. Not too far behind was Staten Island Republican state senator Andrew Lanza, with 70 floor votes. But Democratic Senator Tony Avella scored the most floor votes of any Democrat in the city, grabbing a recorded 53 floor votes during the January-June session. It does help Avella to be part of the Independent Democratic Conference, operated by Sen. Jeff Klein.

Still puzzling is the Bronx, despite having an IDC president and Assembly Speaker, placing fourth in the city. Guess the State Senate is still a far-flung dream for Bronx Democrats. It’ll have to wait as Republicans are the dominant party.

Editor’s Note: The Norwood News is taking a breather the first half of August so expect a column to appear on the website, www.norwoodnews.org.