Elections

UPDATE Norwood Daycare Center Owner Formally Charged with Alleged Child Sexual Assault & Child Pornography Possession

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Monday, June 27, that a 32-year-old Norwood man, who was the owner of a Norwood daycare center, has been charged with alleged predatory sexual assault against a child, as well as other charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a boy, and for allegedly possessing child pornography.   According to the investigation by the NYPD and the prosecution’s case, on May 3, authorities with the U.S. Secret Service and the NYPD conducted a search inside Lina’s Garden Daycare, located at 3525 Decatur Avenue in Norwood, which was owned by the defendant, Silfredo Castillo Martinez,


Read More

UPDATE Court Overrules Decision to Allow Non-Citizens the Right to a Path to Vote in Municipal Elections

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A court has overruled a New York City Council vote taken in December 2021, which would allow non U.S. citizens the right to a path to vote in municipal elections in New York City. As reported in April, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, community partners, and pro-bono counsel, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, collectively filed a motion to challenge a lawsuit which sought to reverse the recently approved municipal voting rights bill in New York City, which extended the right to vote to eligible non-citizens in municipal elections.   In the case of Fosella v. Adams, a group of Republican voters and elected


Read More

UPDATE Elections 2022: Dinowitz, Altagracia Woolford Tussle over Housing, Public Safety, Campaign Financing & More

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) and challenger and mutual aid organizer, Jessica Altagracia Woolford, who was recovering from a recent bout of COVID-19, discussed their positions on the priorities for voters in Assembly District 81 on Tuesday, June 21, during a debate aired on BronxNet, hosted by Gary Axelbank, and co-sponsored by Norwood News, the League of Women Voters, City Limits and The Bronx Times. Both candidates will be on the ballot in the upcoming Democratic Primary on Tuesday, June 28.   On the question of candidate experience, Dinowitz, who has represented the district since 1994, spoke to the fact that


Read More

UPDATE Elections 2022: Jessica Altagracia Woolford Says Politics is not Binary

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this story, it was stated incorrectly that a donation of $405 to the campaign for Jessica Altagracia Woolford came from Ivet Contreras, spokesperson for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14). In fact, the donation was from Ivan Contreras from Brooklyn, unaffiliated with the congresswoman. We apologize sincerely for this error.    Jessica Altagracia Woolford is running for office in Assembly District 81 in the June 28 primaries. Growing up in Kingsbridge, she is a community organizer who has previously worked for the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office, and has


Read More

UPDATE NYC Districting Commission Kicks Off Redistricting Schedule, Publishes Explanatory Guides on Process

By SÍLE MOLONEY
The New York City Districting Commission published the “NYC Districting Commission 101 Primer” on Tuesday, June 21. The commission is responsible for drawing new city council maps, and the 16-page primer explains this process, covering everything from the U.S. Constitution to the U.S. census, and the Charter of the City of New York.   Commission officials said the primer also includes the “2022 Five Percent Deviation Guide” that commission mapmakers are using to draw the new 51 city council maps. The city’s population grew by 630,000 people based on the 2020 Census count, and now totals 8.8 million people. Under


Read More

UPDATE Elections 2022: Jeffrey Dinowitz Looks Forward Not Back

By SÍLE MOLONEY
As the incumbent assemblyman representing Assembly District 81 since 1994, Jeffrey Dinowitz is both a seasoned politician and candidate when it comes to election campaigns. He has seen off a number of political challengers over the course of his political career to retain his Northwest Bronx seat and appears adamant to keep it that way.   Given his many years in office, and the countless pieces of legislation on which he has worked throughout his career, Norwood News asked Dinowitz if he could speak to what he felt were the top three priorities for his current campaign. “It’s really hard


Read More

UPDATE Elections 2022: All Tracey Towers Residents Will Vote Onsite After Poll Site Change Reversed

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Board of Elections has said all residents at Tracey Towers can finally vote at the Tracey Towers polling site (located onsite in the community room) in the upcoming primary election on June 28, bringing relief to some senior residents who had not relished the prospect of having to travel further afield to cast their ballots. However, the precise reason for the poll site change, which came within weeks of Election Day and before a subsequent reversal of the decision, remained unclear until Wednesday, June 15.   Sallie Caldwell, a Tracey Towers resident, told Norwood News on Tuesday,


Read More

Elections 2022: Candidates Face Off at NWBCCC Forum Ahead of June Primary Assembly Elections

By EMILY SAWAKED  
The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.    The Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) hosted a candidates’ forum at Monroe College on Wednesday, May 26, for candidates running in the 78th and the 81st Assembly Districts in the upcoming June Democratic primaries. Both Assemblyman José Rivera (A.D. 78), who was not present on the night, was re-elected to his seat in 2000, having previously served in the Assembly from 1982 to 1987 and who won in 2020 with over 86 percent of the vote, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81),


Read More

AOC Holds Virtual Town Hall for NY-14 Constituents, Discusses Redistricting

By DAVID GREENE
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) held a town hall on Friday, May 27, to discuss how the latest redistricting maps approved by a court-appointed special master on May 20, 2022, have impacted her constituents in The Bronx and Queens.   As reported, the approval of the latest redistricting maps concludes a long and drawn out redistricting process, overseen by New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, which has been ongoing following the latest census in 2020.   Referring to the latest approved map for NY-14 as of May 20, the congresswoman thanked all those who had joined the


Read More