Image via Twitter
Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández (A.D. 80), candidate for Bronx borough president, endorsed Kathryn Garcia as her number two choice for New York City mayor on Friday, June 11, while Garcia, the City’s former Sanitation commissioner and food czar, endorsed Fernández as her number one pick for Bronx borough president.
Fernández credited Garcia’s dedication as a lifelong public servant, her extensive career fighting climate change, and her steady hand shepherding New York City through some of its biggest crises, as the deciding factors in ranking Garcia her number two choice for mayor. On May 12, the assemblywoman announced her endorsement of Maya Wiley as her first choice for mayor, as reported.
Fernández said the Bronx is in crisis and needs a leader who will make the borough a priority in New York City’s recovery from the pandemic. “Throughout her career, Kathryn has proven she knows how to diagnose and solve a crisis, ensuring that New York’s most vulnerable citizens have a seat at the table”, Fernández said.
“Kathryn understands that The Bronx has been overlooked for too long and that our communities have borne the brunt of environmental racism. She knows that low-income and Black and brown communities in our borough have been disproportionately impacted by climate change and her comprehensive 5-borough climate change approach will help end this injustice,” the assemblywoman added.
The cross-endorsement comes after Garcia joined Fernández last month for a walk-through of the Kingsbridge/Broadway business corridor, together with District 11 Councilman Eric Adams, who will be defending his District 11 seat in the upcoming primaries.
For her part, Garcia applauded Fernández for doing her due diligence as the only candidate for borough president to utilize rank-choice voting. “I am honored to have her number two endorsement,” Garcia said. “Nathalia and I share the same commitment to tackling one of New York City’s biggest threats: climate change, and Nathalia is the only candidate with a detailed plan on how to address the issue head-on.”
She added that both candidates were also running to be the first female leaders of The Bronx and New York City respectively and said she looked forward to shattering the glass ceiling together with Fernández.
Both campaigns have the potential for historic outcomes. If elected Bronx borough president, Fernández would be the first woman to be elected to the position, and the first Latina elected to borough-wide office in New York City history. If elected New York City mayor, Garcia would be the first woman to serve in the role.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Quaranta
Some have criticized Garcia’s role in the rat infestation and trash crisis which seemed to envelope the City, especially in the early stages of the pandemic. However, CBS Local News reported last September, amid Garcia’s resignation as Sanitation commissioner, that with trash piling up and litter baskets overflowing because of the latest round of cuts to the Sanitation budget, Garcia said she’d had enough. “Although she didn’t exactly ‘trash talk’ the mayor, she said she didn’t agree with his decision to demand more cuts to her agency,” the news outlet reported.
“I do not want to see my agency decimated,” Garcia was reported as saying at the time. The Sanitation budget was reportedly slashed by over $100 million. Though some services have since been reinstated, trash pile-up is still a huge issue across the City, as evidenced by the attached photos taken by executive director of Friends of Mosholu Parkland, Elizabeth Quaranta.
Trash has been raised at almost every Bronx Community Board 7 Parks’ meeting for the last year, including at the latest June meeting. Quaranta, is encouraging residents to continue to log calls with 311 about the unacceptable trash situation and never to accept it as the norm.
Image courtesy of Elizabeth Quaranta
“If you’re in the [Williamsbridge] Oval [Park], and you see trash overflowing or the trash corral in this condition [referring to a photo of trash], we are asking that you please make a 311 input. When it rains, and there is a flood inside the [park entry] tunnel, that is also a 311 input because it’s very easy to sweep the water out into the street,” Quaranta wrote.
“Don’t make trash a common normal thing that you see, even though that is what’s happening,” she added. “It’s not normal and you deserve better…. places with less litter [are] safer and healthier.”
Other candidates in the Bronx borough president race include District 14 City Councilman Fernando Cabrera, District 16 City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson, former NYPD Detective Sammy Ravelo, and State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda.
Meanwhile, the following screenshot lists the mayoral candidates running, along with those running for public advocate and city comptroller.
Image courtesy of New York City Board of Elections
The New York primary elections will take place on Tuesday, June 22. Early voting began June 12 and will continue until June 20. May 28 was the last day to register to vote in the June 22 primary election. There are 22 early voting sites throughout the Bronx. Visit find my poll site to find your early voting and election day poll site, and view a sample ballot. Check the hours and location of your poll site before you participate in early voting.
All registered voters can request an absentee ballot be mailed to them if they wish to vote by mail. The deadline to request a mailed ballot online, by email, fax, or by mail is Tuesday, June 15, 2021. You can submit your ballot request online or mail a paper request form to the New York City Board of Elections. Note the application request must be postmarked by June 15.
The deadline to mail or drop off your actual, completed, absentee ballot at any BOE office or at a poll site is June 22, Election Day. The completed ballot must be postmarked on this date.
For information about the new voting system (ranked choice voting) see here. For a full list of all candidates running in the Bronx, and in the Citywide races, see here.
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