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), who was present on the night, who first won his seat in a special election in 1994, and who won again most recently in 2020 with over 80 percent of the vote, face challenges from younger candidates.

 

In 1987, Rivera also served as a Council Member for the 15th District in The Bronx. Of those candidates running for office, present for the District 78 forum were community leader, Shanequa Charles, previously profiled by Norwood News, and Emmanuel Martinez, who was elected as chair of Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) in 2019. Martinez had also participated in a candidates forum organized by the Louella Hatch Democratic Club on May 24, which can be watched here. (Scroll to May 24).

 

Meanwhile, of those candidates running in District 81, both Dinowitz, who was recently endorsed by the Tenants PAC, among others, and progressive community organizer and former staffer for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Jessica Altagracia Woolford, attended the forum. Few audience members approached the podium to greet the candidates ahead of the forum, which began with a moment of silence to remember those lost in various tragedies during the preceding weeks. The purpose of the forum was then laid out by the event moderator.

 

In his opening statement, Dinowitz, who, since the forum was held, announced his sponsorship of a new climate law, the Climate Change Superfund Act, said he had only been made aware of the event two weeks ahead of time and thus had to leave towards the beginning of the evening. “I have three events which I am going to be late to all of them,” he said.

 

In her opening statement, Charles, also executive director of the nonprofit, Miss Abbies Kids Inc., described the origin of her community work. “On Feb. 18, 2012, a few things became abundantly clear to me,” she said, explaining that this was the date she lost her mother. Stressing the importance of family, especially mothers, she outlined some of the societal problems prevalent in the borough, adding, “People should not be criminalized for the chemical drugs that have infected our community.”

 

Charles later emphasized both education equity and health equity, adding, “I’m trying to bring my people with me [to freedom]. Nobody 30,000 miles in the sky is going to save a community from suffering.” Her core message was one of community, saying only Bronxites could improve their own lives.

 

Martinez opened, saying, “We need a representative who is present.” He said he had built the necessary relationships to be the right person to represent and uplift The Bronx. “Our schools need funding, our police officers need support,” he said, emphasizing also the need for better housing, food, and jobs. The CB7 chair added that he was leading a “community-based program in Kingsbridge” that he vowed would generate more employment.

 

Meanwhile, Altagracia-Woolford began in Spanish, introducing herself and saying where she was from [Kingsbridge]. She said she grew up in The Bronx and would watch her “abuela” [grandmother] take care of others despite dealing with her own hardships. “Now, I can barely afford to keep my own apartment, and I’m one of the more lucky ones,” she said.

 

She highlighted the importance of women being afforded dignity, LGBTQ+ rights, housing access, and the need to tackle the climate crisis. “We can no longer wait for any politician to catch up to us,” she said.

 

The candidates were each asked as part of a lightning round about their support for the following policy areas: the New York Health Act, better education and employment, the Climate and Community Investment Act, voting rights, community control of public land and the Community Land Trust Act, taxation, and the Banking Act.

 

Since Dinowitz had to leave early, he answered the lightning-round questions in his opening statement, saying that he was in favor of bettering all of them. On his support for the New York Health Act, as previously reported, he said, “Already doing it and will continue to do it.” Altagracia Woolford, George Diaz and Dinowitz had each participated in a prior candidates’ forum held in March hosted by Northwest Bronx Indivisible during which they each discussed the act, among other policies. Diaz, profiled previously by Norwood News, is no longer on the ballot in the upcoming primary.

 

Questions from residents focused on issues of importance to them. The first was about support for “solutions not suspensions” in schools, to combat the referenced “school-to-prison pipeline” in communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities. The candidates were asked what, in their view, was the role of State legislators in addressing the pipeline.

 

Altagracia-Woolford said, “It is essential we listen to leaders like you.” She then announced her position as the only “openly queer candidate” in the race, adding that, in her opinion, there should be no cops in schools. “We need to start listening to students who have to walk through metal detectors on the way to history class,” she said. “In one of the richest cities in the United States, you can’t tell me we don’t have enough funds,” she added, referencing the need to fund alternate ways to address such situations.

 

In her response, Charles said, “It has to be in conjunction with the community and the people.” She added, “We have to give access to young people without money.” She emphasized the need for State legislators to work with the community to improve the way education was valued and handled.

 

Martinez referenced his own background and schooling, saying, in his opinion, the educational system in The Bronx demoralized students. He explained how his own friends and other classmates had dropped out of school because they saw no value in continuing education in The Bronx. To increase morale, he said more work was needed to improve the educational system.

 

Another audience question was on the need for clemency and its accessibility, as deportations and incarcerations take place, leaving communities of color and immigrant families the most vulnerable.

 

Altagracia-Woolford, who recently received the backing of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others, said, “We need to reunite our families, and close our detention centers.” She then spoke to the trauma that came with that, especially, she said, for immigrants and transgender immigrants. “I will commit my body on the line… to free our people,” she added.

 

Martinez then shared his family’s own struggle with wrongful conviction. “I am dealing with a family member who has been wrongfully incarcerated,” he said. The family member, he explained, was allegedly accused of murder. However, he said the apparent victim was “living in a mansion” out of the country now. Norwood News  contacted Martinez on May 25 for further clarification on this point. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

For her part, Charles said, “This is not a question for us, and it shouldn’t be.” She committed to continuing to work to resolve the issue.

 

The next topic raised was by Linda Peterson, a member of NWBCCC, on the Tenant Opportunity Act. Martinez answered first, saying, “Landlords, at the end of the day, are going to sell.” However, he said he believed the people landlords should be selling to were Bronxites. “Give rights to the individuals who have been living here that long; they deserve it,” he said.

 

Charles brought up the Rent Guidelines Board, which decides the rent each year for every county. She said, in doing so, the board didn’t consider each county’s actual median income. Norwood News has contacted the board for clarification on this point, and will follow-up.

 

“They made a decision [about my rent] unbeknownst to me,” said Charles. “I’ll continue to make a stand. Our education suffers, our economic survival suffers.  I’m down for the get down.”

 

For her part, Altagracia-Woolford said, “There are people who grew up here who can’t afford to live here anymore.” She emphasized that she does not accept corporate pact endorsements, and made a comment about Dinowitz in this regard, who was no longer present at that point. “We cannot sell out The Bronx to developers anymore.”

 

The next question was by Ron Hernandez about Good Cause Eviction. Charles said she has always been on the front lines on the matter, and said she would continue to be. “Housing should be a human right,” she said. “We need to obliterate the AMI [Area Median Income].” She also said there should be enough voucher programs to assist people with what they need.

 

For his part, Martinez said, “We must protect all tenants and the right to counsel.” He also noted that protection from “slum lords” was needed.

 

Altagracia-Woolford emphasized the need to protect small businesses. “I’ve seen too many small businesses shut down,” she said, clarifying that they were also mostly owned by immigrants and families of color. “We need to listen to community members, not just when you can tweet about it, but every day.”

 

The last question was about whether the candidates would support the Community Land Trust Statewide Collective Fund. Altagracia-Woolford said, “It is essential for us to imagine after the pandemic what we can do.” She also asked, “How can we address historic redlining?” Much of her answer focused on the latter point but also included points about solving the hunger crisis and making sure everyone was cared for and fed.

 

Charles based her answers around her views on keeping land in the hands of the people [who were there before the explosion of development in the borough] and on rising up as a collective community. “The people of The Bronx are the owners of the land we sit on,” she said.

 

In reference to The Bronx still ranking 62^nd out of New York State’s 62 counties in terms of health rankings, Charles said, “We don’t have to be number 62 for the rest of our lives.”

 

Martinez curtailed his response to his views on housing policy, while commenting on the use of statistics by New York State government officials when developing policy. “They look at us like numbers, but it’s people that live in those buildings,” he said.

 

Later, Altagracia-Woolford wrapped up, saying, “I grew up believing this lie that you had to go somewhere else to make it. [I grew up believing that] I wasn’t worth the investment.” Like in her opening statement, she spoke clearly and passionately, rejecting both the idea that The Bronx wasn’t worth it as well as the notion of people over profit.

 

“We don’t have to accept the status quo or the lies,” Altagracia-Woolford said, ending with, “I’m ready, so let’s go.”

 

Charles’ concluding message was based on her own journey of hope and determination in terms of improving the lives of her neighbors. She spoke with a sense of urgency, saying, “Our town is in peril! We do not have all the things we need!”

 

Despite this, she said, “There’s still hope. When I see young people out on the streets [marching and protesting], there’s power in their name.” She added, “We are all one person,” and promised never to give up, “until the breath in my lungs [is gone].”

 

Martinez was last to wrap up, speaking with equal fervor. “The heart of our district depends on it,” he said. “We have the most beautiful resources at home. We need to break the cycle.”

 

According to Ballotpedia, Charles has since been disqualified from the ballot. We reached out to her to double-check. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

In terms of campaign contributions, Dinowitz has raised $1,273,118.91, Altagracia-Woolford has raised  $93,336.53. Meanwhile, Rivera has raised $591,052.00 and Martinez has raised $13,686.76.

 

District 81 includes Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge Heights, Marble Hill, Norwood, Woodlawn, and Wakefield, while District 78 broadly includes Fordham Manor in the West of the borough through Bedford Park, Belmont, the New York Botanical Garden and Bronx Zoo.

 

For more information on how to vote, see our latest story on the New York State Voter Guide for the upcoming June primaries.

 

The moderator closed the forum by reminding the audience that voting in the upcoming primary would be either in person or via absentee ballot on Tuesday, June 28.

 

The event was also sponsored by the nonprofit, Mekong NYC.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.