Photo courtesy of Dan Padernacht
New York City Council candidate in District 11 and real estate attorney, Dan Padernacht, received the endorsement of Michael Blake, the former New York State Assemblyman for District 79 and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, it was announced on Jan. 20.
“I have worked with Dan on local Bronx issues and continue to be impressed by his holistic approach to the district,” Blake said in a written press release. “He appreciates the interconnectivity of issues and of neighborhoods. I endorse Dan for City Council so the Northwest Bronx can benefit from his vision of equity across the district and the skill set he has honed in over 12 years of community board leadership.”
Blake added, “As a lawyer and community expert, he alone will be ready to work with city agencies from Day 1. He will fight for inclusivity in The Bronx, and it will be reflected in his legislation.”
Reacting to the announcement via a press release, Padernacht, who was profiled by the Norwood News last year, said, “I am honored to receive the endorsement of such a distinguished leader.” He added, “I have great admiration for the work that Assemblyman Blake has done at the national level, as a member of President Obama’s staff and key figure in his presidential campaigns, and especially as an agent for change within The Bronx.”
Padernacht added that, like Blake, if elected, he would work to empower communities of color both politically and economically. “To accomplish this, we must do more than provide essential services across the district,” he said. “We must build opportunity by nourishing our public schools, creating affordable housing, and identifying new avenues for economic development.”
According to Padernacht’s campaign, he is a third generation Bronxite. He has served in various capacities on Bronx Community Board 8 (CB8) over the course of 12 years, and currently serves as chair of the Traffic and Transportation Committee, a position he previously held from 2011 to 2014. He also previously served as CB8 Board Chair from 2014 to 2017, and as vice chair of the Land Use Committee from 2017 to the present date.
Source New York City Campaign Finance Board
A nonpartisan special election was called by the mayor on Jan. 4 and will take place on March 23 to find a replacement for former District 11 City Councilman, Andrew Cohen, who was elected as a judge to the Bronx Supreme Court in November and resigned from his City Council seat on Dec. 31.
Other candidates in the District 11 special election race include retired NYPD detective, Carlton Berkley, Bronx Democratic district leader in the 81st Assembly District and teacher Eric Dinowitz, environmentalist and tech entrepreneur, Jessica Haller, activist, founder and executive director of the People’s Theatre Project, Mino Lora, and freelance filmmaker, Kevin Pazmino, who is the most recent candidate to join the race.
As previously reported by the Norwood News, adjunct professor and social worker, Abigail Martin, and Bronx Democratic district leader in the 80th Assembly District and former CB7 member, Marcos Sierra have withdrawn from the District 11 special election, both citing health risk concerns linked to the coronavirus as a result of mass person-to-person contact with the public. Both have said they plan to participate in the June primary.
Martin announced on Jan. 15 that she had raised $39,360 from 445 contributors in the first five months of her campaign, 163 of which were from contributors in District 11 more than double the number required by the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) to qualify for its matching funds program.
Dionel Then dropped out of the District 11 race in August, endorsing Padernacht, as he did so. Padernacht has also received the endorsement of the Northwest Bronx Democrats, along with Martin.
Candidates are required to gather a minimum number of signatures by local residents in order to qualify for the ballot in the special election. As reported by the Norwood News, that minimum had been 450 signatures until Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Jan. 7 that he was reducing it to 315. Some candidates had raised concerns during prior weeks about the impact of the signature collection process on people’s health, and had called for for the minimum signature requirement to be waived amid fears of exacerbating the spread of the coronavirus through mass person-to-person contact.
Lora, announced on Jan. 7 that she had contracted the coronavirus and was self-isolating as a result. She added she had not been out collecting signatures, though her staff had been.
In terms of the latest campaign contribution filings (excluding refunds), according to the CFB, Jessica Haller now leads in contributions with $77,742, followed by Eric Dinowitz with $65,386, Dan Padernacht with $39,986, Mino Lora with $32,667, and Carlton Berkley with $7,180. For the District 11 special election, the most recent disclosure period ran from “Beginning of Fundraising” to January 11, 2021. There was no information available for Kevin Pazmino on campaign contribution filings with the CFB. We understand Pazmino announced his candidacy on Jan. 18.
admin
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.
English
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese (Simplified)
French
Spanish