This story was originally published on Aug. 22, 2022, before the August 2022 Democratic primary election in S.D. 33. State Sen. Gustavo Rivera has since won the S.D. 33 Democratic primary and is now the Democratic nominee in the S.D. 33 general election on Nov. 8.

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State Sen. Gustovo Rivera (S.D. 33) and lawyer and former Board of Elections commissioner, Miguelina Camilo, went head to head once again in advance of the upcoming Democratic primary election for redrawn Senate District 33 on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The debate, hosted by BronxNet and moderated by BronxTalk’s Gary Axelbank, aired on Aug. 15, and honed in on the candidates’ respective political philosophies, their knowledge of the district, and their respective policy positions.

 

Redrawn S.D. 33, as reported, will encompass, effective Jan. 1, 2023, some or all of the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Pelham Parkway, Belmont, Tremont, Morris Park, Van Nest, Allerton, Pelham Parkway, Spuyten Duyvil, Fieldston, Riverdale and North Riverdale. It will also include Woodlawn Cemetery and Van Cortlandt Park.

 

Axelbank disclosed that some of the questions posed to the candidates during he debate were submitted by the candidates, themselves. He opened the debate providing the Webster definition of the term, progressive, “as making use of or interested in new ideas, findings or opportunities.” Politically, he said, it had become a divisive term in Democratic circles both nationally and locally and he asked the candidates for their views on the matter, and how their interpretation of the term would influence them should they be elected to office.

 

Camilo said she believed the term had been born out of the Democratic Party to identify those on the left who had become somewhat polarized, and had acquired a negative connation. She described herself as a progressive in the sense of honoring the values of the Democratic Party in terms of inclusivity, equality and “rising together,” but said she would best describe herself as pragmatic. “That’s really rooted in who I am. I’ve never forgotten where I’ve come from, and I’ve always been a person of action,” she said. “My approach is to be pragmatic and thoughtful about it.”

 

For his part, Rivera acknowledged that in recent years, the word progressive had become politically charged, and he argued as a result, had somewhat lost its meaning. “For me, you could even call me liberal, if you’d like,” he said, adding that he believed government had a responsibility to the most vulnerable, that politicians had an opportunity to proactively make people’s lives better, and that that was what the word progressive sought to elicit.

 

He said he believed government could act aggressively to secure universal healthcare, protect people’s rights to stay in their homes, to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share. “Certainly, the work that I’ve done falls along those lines so I do not mind being called that [progressive] but there’s that liberal word… I actually don’t mind being called that either.”

 

Asked who knew the neighborhood’s people, needs, vulnerabilities, and broad socio-economic make-up best, Rivera said as the senator for current S.D. 33 for 11 years, he currently represents about 50 percent of redrawn S.D. 33, and over the years, has represented about 70 percent of the redrawn district, when Norwood and places like Tracey Towers and Scott Towers in Jerome Park were factored in.

 

He acknowledged that places like Spuyten Duyvil, Riverdale, and North Riverdale were new to him but added that having spoken to constituents in these areas, the issues they raised were not that different from those of his existing constituents. “Certainly, the demographics are going to shift a little bit, but when we’re talking about people wanting access to universal health care, people wanting to make sure that the rich pay their fair share, having access to affordable housing, all these are things that impact the entire district,” he said.

 

Camilo disputed Rivera’s assertion that he represented 50 percent of the redrawn district, saying she calculated it to be more like 30 percent. [Maps are attached to this story for comparative purposes.] She said having been campaigning since February, and having worked in the district as an attorney, she was very familiar with the kitchen table issues that affected everyone.

 

“It’s not about the lines; it’s really about the people and the ability to connect with people,” she said, adding that she had shown as an attorney and a community leader that she could bring people together. “That really is what it takes to represent this district well,” she said, alleging that neither candidate would know every single issue or how to deal with it. She said the person who would bring people together was who voters should focus on.

 

Axelbank next asked Rivera about his role as health committee chair, a position he has held since 2018. Referring to a NY Daily News article in which Rivera was criticized for not getting drugs which enhance opioid addiction classified as controlled substances, Rivera was asked to comment on this criticism, and explain why he had not been able, thus far, to pass the New York Health Act, which would provide universal healthcare to New Yorkers.

 

Rivera said “If you’re human, you should have healthcare, period.” He said while the New York Health Act was his number one legislative priority, it was a difficult process because legislators were trying to fundamentally change the way New York delivers healthcare and the bill was the first of its kind in the country and was prone to resistance. “There’s entrenched interests, there’s a mentality about how healthcare is supposed to work that are very difficult things to do,’ he said.

 

Regarding the Daily News story, he said he thought it was a “cheap shot.” He added, “If you look at that particular drug [gabapentin], which is a drug that is actually available for a lot of other purposes, the bill that was introduced was back in 2020, I dropped it. The assembly never reintroduced it and in the last couple of years, nobody has come to us to say this is a bill that needs to be reintroduced.” He added that, essentially, if the State was to deal with opioid addiction, it would need to move away from criminalization. “It’s what I’ve been doing, and will continue to do,” the senator said.

 

Pushed on the issue of the urgency of passing the New York Health Act, Rivera said many difficult things took many years to get done, citing the example of marriage equality, which he said took 10 years to pass after being introduced. He added that the State law which guarantees the right to abortion services in New York was only passed recently, though it was first introduced in 2003, and was only achieved once the main drivers of the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) were voted out of office.

 

As reported, the IDC was a group of Democratic legislators which typically voted with Republicans, blocking progressive legislation over many years. The senator was a staunch opponent of the group. “Everything consequential takes time to be able to do,” he said, adding that momentum was being built with the New York Health Act and he would continue building that momentum. “Healthcare is a human right and we need to get it done,” he concluded.

 

Camilo said as someone who had grown up without healthcare, she agreed it was a top issue across the State, adding, “There are so many Bronxites that are going without necessary healthcare.” She said the fact that the act had not made it out of the committee stage of the legislative process raised questions.

 

“I’m a first-time candidate, coming in with a fresh perspective of new ideas, new energy of how to move things that are important, so I will come in full force, wanting to move forward that type of legislation” she said. She added that if the bill was being held back because of the single tax payer system, which she said was what a commission which had looked into it had found, she would then focus all her energy on addressing that angle. She added that the priority was not only a legislative one however, and that the health needs of the district also needed to be addressed amid the ongoing pandemic.

 

Axelbank asked Camilo which was worse – to move the bill out of the committee stage – only to have it stall and not garner enough votes on the floor, or keep it in committee and work on addressing the points of contention so that once it does leave committee, it has a better shot at passing in a vote.

Camilo acknowledged that that was potentially a consideration and the prevailing thinking behind why it had not yet left the committee stage. Acknowledging that even if there were co-sponsors of the bill, there were also opponents of the bill, and their concerns had to be looked at also. “I think you have to look at everything. I don’t have a full understanding, not being the health chair myself. I just know that this is something that is important to everyone in the district and that we should be clear about why it’s not moving forward.”

 

Rivera said Camilo’s response spoke to her not understanding how the legislative process worked. He said the bill had to first leave his health committee, then go to the finance committee before it could be presented for a vote. He added that the advances made to date in moving the bill forward had been due to the building of consensus within the Democratic conference.

 

“We’ve moved big bills, doing that,” he said, adding that he was working with State senate speaker, Andrea Stewart Cousins, to continue that work to move the health bill forward also. “Something so consequential does not happen overnight, or by itself,” he concluded.

 

Offered the opportunity to respond, Camilo said although she did not have elected office experience, she had experience in representation. “Representing everyone in the district is what I would do if I were the elected,” she said.

 

The discussion then moved to crime and the candidates were asked if it made sense to reapportion funds marked for “crime and corrections” and use it for targeted programs that keep kids off the streets and in job training and development programs that would help adults fight poverty. Camilo said she was very passionate about working with youth and fully believes that resources have to be allocated to such programs.

 

“We have to create more opportunities for mentorship, for our youth to see people that look like us [referring to Rivera and herself], in positions of power, so that they can be committed to their own self-development, and either go towards higher education or seek the path of employment,” she said.

 

Camilo also referenced two shootings that had occurred in Fordham Plaza within the 24 hours leading up to the debate, and the fatal shooting of 14-year-old, Jacob Borbin, in Fordham Manor on Aug. 11, saying such events were happening on a daily basis. “It is a tragedy on both sides because we have young perpetrators and young victims,” she said.

 

“I have experience in working with youth programming as a former mentor to Bronx Connect, who worked in the court system and helped to divert youth out of jail and setting them on a path where they can have a second chance, essentially, so I’m fully committed to creating more programming like that,” she said.

 

Pushed on whether she would agree to reallocate funds designated for crime and corrections to other such programs she mentioned, Camilo said if it came to taking funding away from crime prevention personnel, politicians would have to be careful and have a balanced approach. “You have to work with law enforcement and you have to work with community leaders, so I would tread lightly in how we figure that out, but that would be my job as an elected,” she said.

 

For his part, Rivera said, “The most important thing we can do when it comes to crime is stop it before it happens.” He said policing was absolutely necessary and added that police should focus on solving crimes, catching criminals so that they are held accountable. “Certainly, my heart goes out to those families that lost loved ones in the past hours or so,” he said.

 

He added that investment was needed to achieve public safety stability over the long-term and highlighted his work in calling for the reimbursement of public funding owed to public schools over several years, after a successful lawsuit by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity found the State had been historically underfunding such schools.

 

He added that the State legislature had managed to secure such a reimbursement in last year’s State budget, and again this year, and therefore, he was confused as to why when this money flowed back to the City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council had cut the education budget, as reported. Norwood News contacted the City administration for comment on this point, and will update this story with any new information we receive.

 

Rivera continued, “This is why I’ve [also] committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to violence interrupter programs like B.R.A.G. [Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence] over the years which go proactively to stop gun violence before it happens and to react when there is a shooting to actually stop any retaliation.”

 

He also referenced funding school programs which educated students on how government functions to increase civic engagement. “All of these things required funding and I do believe that we need to put money in that because those are the things that give us stability and public safety over a longer period of time,” he said.

 

The candidates were then asked how much, to their knowledge, bail reform contributed to the rise in crime, given the disputes on the data, as reported, and if the legislature should do more to further pare back bail reform legislation. Camilo said bail reform was the number one issue for voters and agreed it had become a flashpoint when it came to conversations around crime.

 

She said working as a criminal defense attorney, she understood that bail was there to ensure that people returned to court when required. “We have to protect a person’s constitutional right to have their day in court,” she said, later adding that the discretion of judges had been relied upon historically to basically assess the risk to society of a detainee, when it came to bail.

 

She highlighted that there was an approximate 24-hour timeframe from the point of arrest during which judges could determine the best course of action for detainees. “It is upon our electeds to try to craft legislation that is tailored to the community’s needs and that’s what the legislature did,” she said in reference to the emergency legislation which expanded judges’ discretion when it came to weighing up risks when setting bail. “I believe we have to meet the moment and answer to the community, and be able to always tailor legislation when needed,” she said.

 

Pushed on whether she felt people were correct in their assessment that bail reform was at the root of so much crime and what she would do vis-à-vis bail reform, if elected, Camilo said, in part, in the context of emerging from the COVID pandemic, “I believe it’s the easy answer for people who are feeling fearful. On a national level, crime is rising. I understand the community concern, and I would want to be an elected that speaks for them in Albany and tailoring legislation further, if necessary.”

 

Rivera challenged Camilo’s point about what he called the unfortunate levels of rising crime nationally, saying that such crime was occurring everywhere, whether bail reform was in place, such as in New York State, or not. “Those are trends that are very troublesome but that we have to deal with as a country, and as a nation, and certainly as an entire State,” he said. The senator said he did not believe the data showed that bail reform was responsible for the crime spikes in New York State, and went on to remind people why bail reform was passed in the first place.

 

He drew a comparison between Harvey Weinstein, an accused sex offender by multiple people who Rivera said had the money and resources to post bail and avoid lengthy incarceration, pre-trial, and Kalief Browder, 16, who was detained pre-trial at Riker’s Island for allegedly stealing a bag pack because he couldn’t afford to post bail.

 

No evidence was later found to prove that Kalief had actually committed a crime, but because, according to his family, he was held in “solitary confinement” over a number of years and later died by suicide, his family attributes his death to the impact of his time at Riker’s. “That is what we want to avoid and bail reform has helped us to do that,” Rivera said. “Bail is a way to criminalize poverty. Let’s actually figure out the things that really solve crimes and not use this as a boogieman.”

 

In terms of homelessness, the candidates were asked about a recent controversy over a planned homeless shelter at 6661 Broadway in North Riverdale with the African American Planning Commission, Inc. [AAPCI] reportedly targeted to operate the shelter. In a previous newsletter, District 11 Council Member Eric Dinowitz and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) who both cover the neighborhood of North Riverdale, among others, held a press conference in early July denouncing what was described by Eric Dinowitz in a July newsletter to constituents as “the opaque process taking place to construct and operate a new homeless shelter” in the district.

 

“Local businesses currently occupying the development site were given notices to vacate, despite there being no existing contract with the city, as well as the organization set to build the shelter having unresolved ethical and legal problems highlighted by the New York City Department of Investigation. With a broken shelter model and a dubious non-profit, we have requested the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) investigate the non-profit, and its relationship with The New York City Department of Social Services (DSS),” the newsletter extract read.

 

The candidates were asked about this, and the need to cater for the arrival of refugees and immigrants from Texas in New York City. They were specifically asked if neighborhoods had a responsibility to identify locations in their districts for affordable housing to address the homelessness crisis and if so, where in the district they believed would be a best location.

 

Rivera said he believed there should be balance of services in every neighborhood so that homeless people could be housed. He said his usual process when assessing such housing developments in his district has been to determine exactly the nature of the development, who will run it, and what their record is, adding that often rumors circulate about developments which may not be true and this is why he ensured to get the facts straight in the first instance.

 

The senator said this process helped him determine whether he would support the development or not. He said whether its a drug treatment facility, a homeless shelter or supportive housing, he treats each one on its merit, and has rejected some and supported others. Rivera added that he would continue to take that approach.

 

Pushed on if he had locations in mind in redrawn S.D. 33 for future housing projects, Rivera said, “Nothing comes to mind immediately,” adding that it’s a large district and saying what should be the focus is keeping people in their homes, which he said was what he and his team had been doing. “We keep people in their homes first, to make sure that they’re not at risk of being homeless,” he said.

 

Camilo said she and her team had great concerns for the people affected by the homelessness crisis which she said was caused by a combination of lack of housing and the mental health crisis in the City. She said such people were being warehoused without the supportive services they needed.

 

“It really takes community involvement to address these issues,” Camilo said. “The question there [North Riverdale shelter] is who is really going to administer this shelter and are they doing everything by the book? The contract is still not made public. They’re telling the local businesses to leave because they already have these plans drawn up that no-one has seen, except to know that they want to house 8 men per room.”

 

Camilo said it was not optimal that the location lacked public transportation access, and added that she didn’t have a target location in mind either. She said wherever it would be, it would need to be agreed based on community involvement and with the support of elected officials.

 

The candidates were then asked for their thoughts on the current controversy and resulting lawsuit surrounding the latest cuts to the City’s education budget which, it has been reported, are being attributed at least in part to falling enrollment numbers at local public schools. They were also asked what their priorities would be in terms of education were they to be elected.

 

Camilo said, “I know firsthand the value of education and I think it’s always important to share your personal story when you’re connecting with people that are looking to you as a possible elected.” She reiterated that she was the first in her family to go to college and doing so with “little to no guidance” from her family. “Education, I know, is the equalizer,” she said. “It is what our students and our children need to succeed in life, and I am fully supportive of fully funding our schools, having free CUNY,” she added in part.

 

She said this needed both funding and representation by someone who had gone through a similar path of needing an opportunity to obtain education and maybe not having it. She said her aim was to be inclusive, to work with all schools, support them and bring relief to educators who she said were under a lot of stress. She said it was also important to support parents as they figured out what was best for their children because they may not have a firsthand knowledge of the school system.

 

For his part, Rivera referred to his earlier comments regarding his support of the lawsuit by the Campaign of Fiscal Equity which took the State of New York to court for historically underfunding public schools, particularly in the City of New York. “There was a victory. Unfortunately, the prior governor [allegedly] resisted paying that back,” he said.

 

“We finally started to get it done last year and I was very proud that last year and this year, we actually sent historic amounts of funding to the City, which is why I am particularly perplexed by the actions of the mayor and the council..it seems to be a kind of bone-headed move to cut school funding when we’ve actually given them historic amounts of it.”

 

Rivera acknowledged that it was probably true that class numbers had fallen but added that this didn’t change the capital needs that schools have had up to this point such as professional staffing and service needs. “To cut funding… I don’t understand it,” he said in part.

 

The candidates were then asked if the State could have a role in the education curriculum to improve learning for students or help facilitate internships for example, and in light of them looking at a screen for the past two years due to the pandemic.

 

In response, Camilo said, “I want to be a face of what’s possible,” she said. “I want to represent the district to whoever is at home watching…Look at me. Look, I did it. I was able to do it based on hard work, leaning on my family, and really being focused and determined to reach these goals that I’ve received throughout my career, my lifepath.”

 

She said elected officials should use their platforms and be a voice for inspiration to youth, be engaged, and agreed that interns were key to a pathway to stable societies. She said people would see the difference when they connected with youth but that this took work.

 

For his part, Rivera said he was proud to pass a recent bill which mandated the teaching of the Holocaust in schools. “There are certainly certain things that we can do at the State level,” he said, and added again his bewilderment at the fact that despite additional funding being afforded to New York City, the administration had cut the school budget, even when needs were not being met in City schools. He said, if reelected, he would carry out securing more funding for City schools. “Hopefully, they will use it accordingly,” he said.

 

Axelbank then asked the candidates for their thoughts on the future of the ill-fated Kingsbridge Armory, further to the latest reports by the City’s Economic Development Corporation that the envisaged National Ice Skating Center had been abandoned, as reported, and that the building’s use was being reimagined as a new project, once again.

 

Rivera was both critical and complimentary of the developers of the ice center proposal, KNIC Management, giving them credit for agreeing to a community benefits agreement which would have gone ahead had the project been implemented, but alleging they did not secure the private financing they had promised to proceed with the project. He said this was despite the senator securing a government public loan of $130M, a loan which he reiterated was still included in the State budget [now about $108M] for any future approved economic development of the armory.

 

 

He added that he would continue to support the maintenance of this loan in the budget as long as community interests were centered in any future discussions on the facility. [The developers have disputed this characterization of the history of the private financing of the project, as reported]. Pushed for his thoughts of what other kind of project could be developed at the armory, the senator said, “I certainly see it as a community asset,’ and reiterated his point about supporting any future initiative that would hold the community at its core.

 

Camilo agreed that the reimagining of the armory could revitalize the economy and the community by acting as a hub to attract more business to the area. She talked about a potential community center on the site, which she said was lacking in the district and needed by local youth. “Engaging our families and making sure they feel like they have a place that is their own,’ she said, adding that economic development was key to her campaign platform. She said entrepreneurship should be encouraged to prevent business people from leaving the City. [According to the redrawn senate district 33 map, the armory would actually fall adjacent, but outside S.D.33.]

 

On the topic of small business, the candidates were asked how small businesses were doing two years on from the beginning of the pandemic and if elected, what they would do to assist them. Camilo said from what she had read, she estimated that about 40 percent of small businesses had closed during the pandemic across the City and State. She said there was a lot of “unused talent,’ crediting the ingenuity of such businesses in transforming to pop-up stores or online businesses, due to the concept of a physical business having now changed.

 

She said government needed to be creative and there was a lack of resources available to small businesses to help them understand what help was out there for them. Camilo addressed language and cultural barriers, as previously reported, and the fact that many businesses were family-owned with limited resources, and therefore needed extra support with financial literacy, legal constraints, and other matters.

 

Rivera said small businesses were the lifeblood of the economy and said he was getting to know the business hubs in Riverdale and the northwest and their concerns. He commended those in his current district e.g. on Burnside Avenue, Fordham Road and elsewhere in the face of what he said had been abuse some encountered from their landlords when it came to rent hikes. He said he and his colleagues proposed a bill which created protections for small business owners which was similar to the protections afforded to residential tenants.

 

He gave an example of where one unnamed small business which allegedly had been successful where others had not and was told by his landlord that because he was successful, the landlord would agree to extend the business owner’s lease but would charge him twice as much, because in the landlord’s opinion, the business was successful and could afford it. “That shouldn’t happen,” Rivera said, adding that the bill created standards that prevented such rent hikes from occurring and said he felt this was essential to do.

 

The debate concluded with a discussion on the Bronx Democratic Party’s endorsement of Camilo and how that had come about. Rivera reiterated the fact that, due to redistricting, he will end up two blocks outside redrawn Senate District 33 if he stays in his current home. He said since he has represented in the past or is currently representing “most” of redrawn Senate District 33, he decided to run in the race for redrawn S.D. 33 in the end, having mulled over other considerations previously. In reference to the point about the support of the Bronx Democratic Party, he said the support he most sought was that of the voters.

 

Rivera said in 2010 when he first ran for office, he told voters that his predecessor, former Sen. Pedro Espada, who was subsequently convicted for fraud, had forgotten who he worked for and added that he, Rivera, never wanted to be that person. “I work for my constituents,” he said.

 

Camilo said it had been unfortunate that the Bronx Democratic Party endorsement had become the focus of the race, when, as reported, her intention had never been to run against Rivera, and that she first ran for an open seat in redrawn S.D. 34 in February when the incumbent for the existing S.D. 34, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, announced she was running for Congress.

 

Camilo was endorsed by the Bronx Democratic Party in the early stages of her campaign, but due to all the changes with redistricting, she later ended up running in redrawn S.D. 33 instead. Ariana Collado, spokesperson for the Bronx Democratic Party, previously told Norwood News that during those early stages of election season, the party had not endorsed Rivera, as at that point, he did not have a challenger in his district based on the electoral maps as they stood at that time, and that the party had only endorsed incumbents who were being challenged. This point has also been addressed more fully in a previous story.

 

Polls close on Election Day, Nov. 8, at 9 p.m.

 

Your poll site may have changed. Check your voting card before you go to vote.

 

Editor’s Note: According to reports by both Deadline Hollywood and The New York Times in February and March 2020, on Feb. 24, 2020, a jury found Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, guilty of rape in the third degree and of a criminal sexual act in the first degree, and not guilty on three counts, including two more serious charges of predatory sexual assault.