On Thursday, Feb. 18, it was announced that Eric Dinowitz, teacher and Democratic male district leader for the 81st Assembly District, who is running for City Council in the 11th District, for which a special election is being held in March, is building on his existing coalition of support, and has received additional trade union endorsements from 32BJ SEIU, DC37, and the Hotel Trades Council (HTC).

 

32BJ SEIU is the largest property service workers union in the country, and represents over 175,000 members across the northeast and Florida – including a critical mass in New York City. DC37 is the city’s largest public employee union, representing over 200,000 members and retirees who help make New York run. Meanwhile, HTC represents 40,000 hospitality employees across the city and state.

 

Kyle Bragg, president of 32BJ SEIU said the union was proud to support Dinowitz for City Council. “He will fight for 32BJ SEIU members and working people,” said Bragg. “The collective strength of essential workers has protected New Yorkers throughout the pandemic. We need leadership at all levels of government, especially in the City Council, that prioritizes and protects working people. We are confident that New York will remain a leader on worker rights and continue a just recovery in 2021.”

Meanwhile, Henry Garrido, executive director of DC37 said, “Eric Dinowitz has spent his career standing up for workers, and DC37 is proud to endorse him for City Council. Garrido said Dinowitz’s activism over the years demonstrated his commitment to improving conditions for working people and giving back. “We need Eric in the City Council to give our communities a stronger voice in government and deliver a fair recovery for all,” he added.

 

Bhav Tiberwal is political director of the Hotel Trades Council (HTC). He said as a union member, Dinowitz knew first-hand what it meant to truly have the backs of workers, and as a fierce champion for immigrants and racial justice, he was the leader the union needed in District 11. “We’re thrilled to support him and look forward to seeing him elected,” Tiberwal added.

 

Reacting to the news, Dinowitz said he couldn’t be prouder to have received the endorsement of the unions. “These organizations have done a phenomenal job creating better working conditions for people across the city, and I will be a strong ally of working families in the City Council.” The district leader said he knew what it was like to negotiate and stand up for workers’ rights, and the dedication of essential workers in every profession. “I will be a tireless voice for the Northwest Bronx,” he added.

 

As reported by the Norwood News, the district leader has also previously been endorsed by Congressman Adriano Espaillat, the United Federation of Teachers, by both U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres and Bronx Democratic Chairperson, State Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey, as well as by Bronx Borough President Ruben Díaz Jr, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA) of Greater New York-FDNY and Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics, and Fire Inspectors Local 2507.

 

He has also been endorsed by New York State Assembly Member Chantel Jackson, New York City Council Members Danny Dromm and Mark Treyger, the Bronx Democratic Party, Central Labor Council, the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, and amid some controversy, by the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club which is based in the Northwest Bronx in District 11.

 

Candidates in the District 11 special election race were required to gather a minimum number of signatures from 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. District 11 special election candidates, Mino Lora, and Jessica Haller, both announced at separate stages that they had each previously contracted the virus.

 

Meanwhile, social worker and adjunct Columbia professor, Abigail Martin, and district leader in the 80th Assembly District, Marcos Sierra, announced last month that they had dropped out of the March special election, citing health related risks linked to the coronavirus, but said they still plan to participate in the June primary.

 

A Board of Elections public hearing was held on Feb. 4 to assess which candidates had collated the minimum number of signatures needed to proceed. Besides Dinowitz, according to the New York City Board of Elections, there are five other candidates in the District 11 special election race.

 

These are retired NYPD detective, Carlton Berkley, Haller, environmentalist and tech entrepreneur, Lora, activist, founder and executive director of the People’s Theatre Project, lawyer and Bronx CB 8 Traffic and Transportation Committee Chair, Dan Padernacht, and conservative and freelance filmmaker, Kevin Pazmino. Dionel Then dropped out of the race last August, endorsing Padernacht, as he did so.

 

In terms of money raised according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Haller leads in campaign contributions with $79,117, followed by Dinowitz with $72,062 Padernacht with $42,446, Lora with $35,810 and Berkley with $10,301. There was no information available for Kevin Pazmino who told the Norwood News he was, in any case, only accepting small contributions to his campaign.

 

The Bronx Democratic Party also recently hosted an informational session on Ranked Choice Voting which can be viewed here in conjunction with the group, Rank the Vote NYC. Norwood News checked with the City’s Campaign Finance Board about the expertise of Rank the Vote NYC and were advised that the group is a reputable source on the topic and is a voter education campaign that is run by Common Cause NY.

 

BronxNet aired the first of a series of debates between the District 11 City Council candidates on Feb. 2, and that debate can be viewed online here. The Norwood News later provided a brief recap of the debate.

 

Northwest Bronx Indivisible and Riverdale Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture hosted a further virtual debate among the candidates on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. This debate can be viewed here.

 

Another debate was hosted by the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition in conjunction with LAAL, a nonprofit supporting Bengali women in the Norwood section of the Bronx on Wednesday, Feb. 10. That debate can be viewed here. A further debate hosted by City Limits was held on Sunday, Feb. 14. That debate can be viewed here.

 

A Woodlawn Candidate’s Forum will be held on Monday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. More details can be found here.

 

A City Council Town Hall, presented by the SAR High School EPG Club, based in Riverdale in the Northwest Bronx, was held on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and can be viewed here.

 

A further District 11 City Council candidates’ forum will be held on Monday, Feb. 22, at 6.15 p.m., hosted by the Fort Independence Park Neighborhood Association, and can be accessed by clicking on this link: https://t.co/Z36adTEx34?amp=1.

 

Riverdale Nature Preservancy will also be hosting a virtual conversation with the District 11 special election candidates on Thursday, March 4 at 8 p.m. The Zoom link to join the conversation is as follows: https://tinyurl.com/RNPForum, and the Meeting ID is 852 4927 7543.

 

The Bronx Board of Elections confirmed that it is now accepting applications for absentee ballots from voters in District 11 (and in District 15) who wish to vote by mail. Further information can be found here or by calling the Bronx Board of Elections at (718) 299-9017 and selecting Ext. 1875. Polls are open on election day from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Early Voting Period is from March 13, 2021 to March 21, 2021. Voters must vote at their assigned early voting site.

Early Voting Hours

Saturday	March 13, 2021	10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sunday	March 14, 2021	10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Monday	March 15, 2021	7:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Tuesday	March 16, 2021	12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Wednesday	March 17, 2021	12:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Thursday	March 18, 2021	10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Friday	March 19, 2021	7:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Saturday	March 20, 2021	10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sunday	March 21, 2021	10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

 

The District 11 special election will be held on March 23, 2021. The district includes Kingsbridge, Norwood, Van Cortlandt Village, Wakefield, Riverdale, Woodlawn Heights and part of Bedford Park. Whoever wins the 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.