Oswald Feliz, the quietly spoken, tenant lawyer and Hostos Community College adjunct professor, who is also a candidate in the District 15 City Council special election has taken a strong, early lead in the race, following the release by the New York City Board of Elections of the unofficial, early, first-round count results, which it is understood include first-choice early votes, first-choice election day votes but exclude first-choice absentee ballots.

Feliz leads with 28.42 percent, followed by Bronx Community Board 7 District Manager, Ischia Bravo, with 21.54 percent, and Bronx Community Board 6 District Manager, John Sanchez, with 20.21 percent, with over 96 percent of voting scanners reported.

Reacting to the news, Feliz, whose candidacy was previously profiled by the Norwood News, said, “Tonight, it’s clear that families across our district are calling for fresh leadership that will get results for our community. I am thrilled and humbled by the support our campaign has received from so many Bronxites, and I urge everyone to be patient as the ranked choice tallying takes place.”

He continued, “Thank you to every voter who turned out today and over the past few weeks, and to all the volunteers who have dedicated so much time and hard work to bring meaningful change to our community. I am especially grateful for all of my supporters.”

The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Feliz was born in New York City and raised in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, where he attended local public schools. As a tenant attorney, he has defended Bronx residents who were at risk of eviction, and has sued landlords who he said were prone to harass tenants. Feliz helped form a tenant association of over 50 tenants, and successfully negotiated a settlement from a powerful landlord in the Southern Boulevard section of the Bronx to provide tenants with nearly $100,000 in damages, due to the deplorable conditions in which they were living in the affected building.

Prior to his work as an attorney, Feliz worked on behalf of Bronx families as a legislative staffer for State Sen. Gustavo Rivera. He then joined Congressman Adriano Espaillat’s 2016 campaign for the 13th Congressional District, which the congressman won. Feliz also co-founded the Northwest Bronx Democrats for Change, where he has worked to increase political participation by organizing community town halls, and holding voter registration drives in the Bronx.

Sanchez also released a statement on election night, saying simply, “I congratulate Oswald Feliz on his victory tonight.”

In terms of the remaining unofficial results pertaining to the remaining seven candidates, so far, Elisa Crespo has won 15.08 percent of the vote, followed by Latchmi Gopal with 4.04 percent, Altagracia Soldevilla with 2.77 percent, Kenny Agosto with 2.57 percent, Bernadette Ferrara with 2.18 percent, José Padilla with 1.68 percent, and Arial Rivera-Diaz with 1.21 percent.

Special elections typically result in low voter turn-out. A special election was called in early January by the mayor following former councilman and now Congressman Ritchie Torres’ win in the 15th congressional district race last November.

Whoever wins the City Council District 15 March 23 special, nonpartisan election will serve until Dec. 31, 2021. Future representation in the District beyond that point will likely be determined via a June 2021 primary and a November 2021 general election. The count continues.

City Council District 15 covers Fordham, Mount Hope, Bathgate, Belmont, East Tremont, West Farms, Van Nest, Allerton, Olinville and parts of Bedford Park.

Matthew Pitt from the New York City Campaign Finance Board attended the Bronx Community Board 7 general meeting on Wednesday, March 24, and said results should be expected in another two to three weeks.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.