By David Cruz

Councilman Fernando Cabrera’s absence at a debate he declined to attend was certainly tangible, and illustrated, further waning a victory in his bid against incumbent State Senator Gustavo Rivera.

Appearing on the public access program BronxTalk With Gary Axelbank, the bespectacled Rivera sat hands folded calling Cabrera’s withdrawal from the debate “disrespectful.” Cabrera, an ordained pastor who represents the 14^th Council District, offered no explanation over why he skipped the debate, leaving no one to defend him.

Instead, Cabrera was symbolically represented by an empty office chair. The political sight gag was akin to when actor Clint Eastwood, a registered Republican, took to the stage alongside an empty seat at the Republican National Convention, conveying President Barack Obama’s leadership.

Repeated calls to Cabrera’s campaign manager, Domingo Flores, were not returned.

His lack of attendance opened the door for Axelbank to question Cabrera’s alleged extortion attempt of monies from the Community Benefits Agreement agreed upon by the community and developers of the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, a matter first reported by the Norwood News. Axelbank has longed to ask Cabrera questions of the matter on his program, though he’s been turned down. Rivera called the actions inappropriate.

“I would love what he has to say about this, but ultimately what is positive is that the project is going forward, even though he apparently, with his actions, he tried to deprive it from the community,” said Rivera.

The half hour was spent with Rivera highlighting many issues facing the borough and beyond, with concerns of gentrification near the Kingsbridge Armory at the forefront. Rivera, a Kingsbridge neighbor, boasted his involvement in trying to ease impending rent hikes for merchants abutting the corridor as developers push the project forward while working out their internal legal issues.

“There’s going to be changes that happen in the community, we want to make sure that as these changes happen that they are inclusive to the communities that are here, both the businesses and the folks that live here,” said Rivera.

Rivera represents the 33^rd Senate District, which covers Kingsbridge Heights, East Tremont, Bedford Park, Crotona Park, Fordham, Belmont, Van Nest, Morris Park, Claremont, High Bridge and a sliver of Parkchester. Rivera won the seat in 2010 over then-State Senator Pedro Espada, a now convicted legislator who pocketed nearly a half million dollars from his healthcare network in Soundview. The senate boundaries greatly outmatch Cabrera’s 14th Council District, giving the incumbent better constituent familiarity than Cabrera.

By and large the neighborhoods fall into a spectrum of political ideologies, with the east Bronx falling more center left to the west Bronx’s more liberal stances. Rivera, a staunch liberal Democrat, believes the district is progressive, with issues of gay marriage and pro-abortion positions accepted by a large swath of constituents. He makes no qualms over being the most liberal politician within the Bronx caucus, nor does he hide his independence when it comes to backing candidates.

Last year, Rivera supported Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, a fellow progressive leader, for the post of Council Speaker. His endorsement put him at odds with Bronx Democratic County Boss Carl Heastie and Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who both supported Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick for the job. Rivera also raised eyebrows during the 2013 mayoral race when he supported former Council Speaker Christine Quinn over Bill Thompson.

He recently threw support for former Councilman Oliver Koppell in his run to unseat political heavyweight, State Sen. Jeff Klein, who also serves as president of the power-sharing faction known as the Independent Democratic Conference. Rivera has long believed the move drove a wedge between Senate Democrats, who has moved to sway Klein back to the Democratic side. Political insiders suspect Klein planted the seed for Cabrera to challenge Rivera as a way to neutralize Rivera’s dogged criticism of the IDC.

Rivera’s political positions run counter to Cabrera’s beliefs. An ordained pastor, Cabrera has publicly stood against gay marriage, given his more conservative background. Cabrera, a registered Democrat, was at one point a registered Republican, according to Rivera.

On Sundays, Cabrera serves as minister to hundreds of followers at New Life Outreach International Church, delivering Christian sermons on the pulpit that included a talk on the end of times. On the political front, Cabrera prides himself on earmarking roughly $35 million for projects in his district, that included funding for computers and after school programs in schools, programming for tenant organizing, and more surveillance cameras to high-crime areas in his district. He made legislative strides by passing a Crime Mapping Bill, an online map that shows where crimes are happening in portions of a precinct.

But the Cabrera campaign has been marred with issues relating to the mandated petitions, which require 1000 signatures of registered voters in order for a candidate to qualify in a race. A review by the Rivera camp showed some names to be invalid, with at least a half dozen names matching those who are deceased. Several living residents have also gone before the witness stand, testifying that their names were illegally placed on the petition.

“Ultimately, I believe what this demonstrates is that he does not have support of Bronxites or certainly folks from my district to actually be on the ballot,” said Rivera, who’s waiting on a judge to render a decision.

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.