With campaigning almost at an end, and as the last remaining hours of voting remain on Election Day 2021, District 11 Republican and Conservative Party candidate, freelance filmmaker, Kevin Pazmino, is reminding voters why they should vote for him in the general election race.

Pazmino, previously profiled by the Norwood News [Kevin Pazmino] ahead of the March 2021 special election, ran unsuccessfully in that race against then candidate and now Councilman Eric Dinowitz. Speaking to Norwood News on Nov. 1, Pazmino said, “I would say if people are unhappy with the Democratic Party’s leadership, they should vote for change.” He added, “The progressive left has taken over the Democratic Party and are pushing to destroy our constitutional republic. They continue to step on our civil liberties with unconstitutional mandates. Their irresponsible spending.. is destroying our economy. If they (voters) want to bring back accountability to city council, they should vote for me.”

In the March District 11 special election, it was not Dinowitz, however, who was regarded as the candidate who represented the progressive left.  In fact, that was nonprofit theater executive director, Mino Lora, who finished in second place. Dinowitz, who has been described by some as the Democratic Party machine candidate, due to the longstanding links his father, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), holds within the party and which, arguably, helped to elect him, went on to retain his seat in the June primary, as reported. Lora, once again, finished in second place. The two had sparred on a number of issues, not least of which were their differing views on policing and school safety.

For his part, since winning his seat in March 2021, replacing former Councilman Andrew Cohen, Dinowitz has concentrated his efforts on promoting the acceleration of vaccination efforts, saying this will safeguard the community and allow the recovery of the City to begin in earnest. A former special education teacher, Dinowitz wrote on his website, “Misinformation continues to harm the public’s trust in the process.” In recent weeks, he has openly, verbally tussled with Pazmino over their differing views on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Meanwhile, at a recent Bronx Community Board 7 meeting, Dinowitz gave a run-down of the different types of legislation he has been working on at City Council since taking office, touting recent wins, for example, in terms of restoring the City’s composting service. As reported, he was also one of 20 City Council members who recently signed a letter asking State officials to reform the previously passed bail reform laws, which went into effect in early 2020 and which, as reported, have been criticized by some, including law enforcement, as being a contributing factor to the uptick in gun violence, particularly among teens.

The councilman, who serves on the aging; civil service & labor; consumer affairs & business licensing; education; mental health, disabilities & addictions; oversight & investigations; parks & recreation; and small business committees at city council, held an event in Norwood in mid-September in conjunction with Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80) to highlight the services available to the community by the City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH).

The OATH Help Center, for example, assists regular New Yorkers who often have no legal representation to understand the law, the hearing process and other processes to help them respond and resolve summonses which they may have received from various City agencies.

Indeed, Dinowitz has made a conscious effort to hold more constituency office hours and community events like Skate Night and Movie Nights in some of the less-affluent neighborhoods in District 11, like Norwood and Wakefield, as well as in the more wealthy neighborhood of Riverdale, where some argue much of the political power of the district is wielded, a point which was raised by former NYPD Detective and District 11 candidate, Carlton Berkley, during the special and primary election seasons.

As reported, Dinowitz also claims credit for the restoration of access by James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center volunteers to Meg’s Garden, located on the grounds of DeWitt Clinton school campus in Jerome Park, following a longstanding dispute between the center’s volunteers, NYC Department of Education and school officials.

We reached out to Dinowitz for a comment on Pazmino’s pitch to voters and on his views regarding the Democratic Party being controlled by the progressive left. We did not receive an immediate response.

Polls close at 9 p.m. on Nov. 2. Find your poll site at https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc.

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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.