It was Halloween [Oct. 31] and you could pretty much cut the atmosphere with a knife by the end of the BronxNet debate held between the two candidates running in the upcoming general election on Nov. 7 in City Council District 13. Moderator extraordinaire Gary Axelbank had his work cut out for him as he tried to sign off during the recording of the debate at BronxNet’s Lehman College studio in Bedford Park, while Democratic incumbent City Council Member Marjorie Velázquez and Republican and Conservative candidate Kristy Marmorato continued to talk over one another, each with allegations of nepotism.

 

District 13 covers some or all of the East Bronx neighborhoods of Allerton, City Island, Country Club, Edgewater Park, Ferry Point, Locust Point, Morris Park, Pelham Bay, Pelham Gardens, Pelham Parkway, Schuylerville, Silver Beach, Spencer Estates, Throggs Neck, Van Nest, Waterbury LaSalle, Westchester Square, and Zerega.

 

ENDORSEMENTS

Questions included some raised by the candidates. The first topic related to endorsements, and Velázquez, who is chair of the City Council’s Consumer & Worker Protection committee, was asked about accepting endorsements from members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), such as the former State senator for the 34th senate district, Alessandra Biaggi, and Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), who represents parts of Westchester and The Bronx, given the councilwoman has stated she is a moderate Democrat.

 

“You could be a moderate and believe in your beliefs and yet understand that an endorsement is just that,” the councilwoman responded. “It’s an endorsement for my work, for delivering for my community.” She went on to say that the endorsements from the two candidates came before she was elected, during the height of the pandemic, when she went door-to-door on City Island to make sure families had essentials like PPE and food to sustain themselves, in partnership with Biaggi. “So I don’t subscribe to the DSA and certainly not to their beliefs but I’m willing to work with anyone who has an opportunity to deliver to my community,” she said. She also confirmed she had left the Progressive Caucus in the City Council.

Marmorato was then asked about accepting an endorsement from someone with ties to the Proud Boys, if she supported their actions on Jan. 6, if she accepted the results of the 2020 presidential election, and if the endorsement in question was problematic. The endorsement referred to Gene DeFrancis, who most recently ran for election in Assembly District 80, is president of the Allerton Merchants Association, and who attended a Proud Boys rally in Washington D.C. in December 2020, [prior to the Jan. 6th insurrection], as reported at the time by Norwood News.

 

Marmorato, a specialist in women’s health at Greenwich Women’s Hospital in Connecticut, who worked as an X-ray technician for 24 years, 16 of which were in the East Bronx, said, “This is a ridiculous statement put out by the media that is not true. The person in question is absolutely not a Proud Boy. He’s a veteran and has done so much for our community.”

 

Pressed on the matter by Axelbank who referenced a circulated montage of two video clips [the first showing DeFrancis in D.C. in December 2020, and the second showing him at a separate event in The Bronx, later in December 2020] in which he appears to commend what the Proud Boys are about. DeFrancis is first heard speaking into the camera phone of Grace Lovag [Marrero], who later posted the exchange on her Facebook account, saying, “We’re going to bring some Proud Boys back to The Bronx, and multiply them,” and Lovag says, “That’s right. We need to have a Proud Boy rally just like they did on Allerton.”

 

The second clip, recorded by Michael Kaess, shows DeFrancis back in The Bronx [in Allerton] addressing a crowd, saying, “We’re not scared of you punks [counter-protestors]. We just came down from D.C. We were with the Proud Boys over there that they kept trying to villainize, but we’re coming to The Bronx.” Marmorato replied, “He did not say he was a Proud Boy in the video so he’s not a Proud Boy. I asked for the membership card. He couldn’t produce one.” Marmorato said she did not affiliate with the Proud Boys or with insurrectionists. “People who break the law need to go to jail,” she said.

 

When Norwood News interviewed DeFrancis for our previous story, he confirmed at the time that he was not a member of the Proud Boys but was curious to see more of what they were about. After the District 13 debate, Norwood News, once again, reached out to DeFrancis in writing, explaining the context and asked him if he was or ever has been a member of the Proud Boys. He replied via text message with a laughing emoji, saying, “Never been a member.”

 

Of Velázquez’s backing by DSA members, Marmorato then said, “She does have endorsements from a number of members of the Progressive Caucus that are coming up to campaign for her, and that is a little concerning as a community.” She added in part, “They are for defunding the police, and also into overdevelopment.” She said if progressives were coming up to The Bronx campaigning for the councilwoman, that was what residents were going to get.

Velázquez appeared unmoved by the topic, saying if a Progressive Caucus member chose to campaign for her in The Bronx, it was because of her record of achievement. “If you’re afraid of having differences of opinion…” she began to say, before continuing, “They know my stance on funding the police.” She said that the members in question also knew about her “record investment” of over $500 million in the district, over two dozen officers, patrol cars and auxiliary vehicles, and still supported her because, in her view, it was about what she delivers for the community.

 

HOUSING

The debate then moved on to housing. With more than 86,000 homeless people, including almost 30,000 children, sleeping each night in the City’s shelter system, and 60,000 migrants who also need to be housed, Axelbank asked if every city council district had a responsibility to help solve such housing issues and if so, how in the 13th Council District this could be achieved.

 

Marmorato lamented the plight and difficulties faced by those in the shelter system and said the community should take its responsibility and share in helping to house people, adding in part, “No child should not have a home and have to go to school on top of that. Life is difficult. I look forward to helping find locations that the community would like to put affordable housing [in].”

 

She went on to say that the affordable housing issue started and ended with the City but then appeared to conflate two different points. On the one hand, she was critical of how much money was being used by City government on housing vouchers, an apparent reference to legislation passed by the City Council in May 2023 which expanded eligibility requirements for the city’s housing voucher program. As part of a package of housing bills passed, a prior stipulation which required those living in homeless shelters to remain there for 90 days before becoming eligible for housing vouchers, was eliminated. “Everybody’s going to be completely dependent on the City for housing and it’s going to turn into a socialist state,” Marmorato said.

 

On the other hand, she also critiqued the cost of affordable housing offered by the City, “The middle class is going to end up leaving the community because they cannot afford these apartment rates that the City is putting out, a reference, we understand, to the City’s affordable housing lottery program, coordinated through NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development. “They need to start lowering the rates,” she said.

 

Pressed for specific locations as to where in the borough people could be housed, Marmorato said given the new Metro North station due to be built in Morris Park, one of four new stations, she proposed “a whole strip of buildings” in that neighborhood.

BRUCKNER BOULEVARD

For her part, when questioned on her alleged late change of stance on the contentious Throggs Neck Bruckner Boulevard upzoning, unanimously approved by the City Council in October 2022, the councilwoman said, “I think, certainly, people want to control the narrative and say that I flipped.” However, she said her position was that she was consistent in her opposition to the project until it reflected what the community wanted which, she said, was included in the final project presentation.

 

She said housing in the district had to be “for us, by us.” She said frankness and honesty about the Bruckner development was needed in terms of when it was first introduced to district residents and how it was presented. “It wasn’t for our community,” she said in reference to the original proposal. “That’s why I stood firm to deliver what the community was asking for.” She went on to stay that she fought for the most vulnerable in the district i.e. seniors and veterans and also for livable wages through union jobs.

 

She went on to say that the project is now set to comprise 100 units for seniors with wraparound services and security, 25 units dedicated to veterans, and affordable housing ownership to help create generational wealth. “I fought for that and I will continue to fight for housing that is for our community and made by us through union [employment],” she said in part.

 

The Bronx Times had reported that some protests followed Velázquez’s seal of approval of the final project and its subsequent passage at City Council, and that in February 2023, some residents also filed a lawsuit against the City on the grounds that the environmental review for the rezoning was inadequate. Velázquez said there were also infrastructure needs which needed to be addressed and which the city administration had agreed to.

 

Asked for her thoughts on Velázquez’s response, Marmorato said, “She still lied. She still lied to the community. I still have not met one person in this district that wanted the Bruckner upzoning other than you and the mayor.” Velázquez responded, “That depends, because you only live in your silo, but go ahead.”

 

Marmorato also scoffed at the idea that the project would generate jobs. “We can get jobs in other ways,” she said. “These people, the developers who had this [project] changed are bankrupt. They are going to sell the project to somebody else, and we will have no control over [the] senior housing or veterans housing project.”

 

Velázquez responded, saying, “That is not how projects work and I wish you would educate yourself…” Pressed by Axelbank on whether the final project would indeed remain as foreseen in the final plan or would change, potentially under new management, the councilwoman said the negotiations were not solely with the developers but also with the Adams administration and referred to negotiated community benefits agreed under the plan. She went on to talk about a dedicated traffic study “to deliver the proper infrastructure and transit that was needed for the area,” and a school study “to make sure that we’re providing quality education for our students that will be coming to that area.”

 

Sounding emotional at times, Velázquez referred again to the union jobs which had been “fought” for under the deal, and how these were important to the residents of the area, referencing specifically local carpenters. The local carpenters’ union had initially opposed the project but later came on board.

“So, let’s not discuss and dismiss the various seniors that call me every day asking for housing,” she said. Addressing Marmorato, she added, “Let’s not dismiss the voices of black and brown [residents] in my community who have been asking for homeownership opportunities. Let’s not dismiss those voices, because that’s what’s happened time and time again, before me, and guess what? I’m here to recognize those voices whether you want to see them and hear them or not.”

 

Asked for her thoughts on the councilwoman’s response, Marmorato said she had only heard about housing and jobs and asked how the community would benefit in terms of education. “You never said anything about education,” she said. Regarding the traffic study, Marmorato then asked, “Have you been there at three o’clock on a school day? Do you know what the traffic’s like there? There are triple-parked cars. Now you’re bringing in buildings with cars with no parking? It’s going to be a disaster.” She added that she lived in the area for two years.

 

Velazquez said that if Marmorato had read the presentation, she would have seen that the last proposal included plans for parking. Marmorato then said, “It’s not about parking,” to which Velazquez replied, “But you just mentioned ‘no parking…..'” Axelbank intervened as the two talked over one another.

 

Marmorato then said there was limited parking in the community, even with any new parking spaces created with the new buildings, that every household had two cars, and that there were going to be more cars than would fit in the allotted spaces in the new buildings. She also said the traffic was “insane on certain one-way streets between Crosby and Tremont Avenue” and asked what traffic studies had been done. “Do they go at three o’clock on a weekday to see these people picking their children up?” she asked.

 

METRO NORTH STATIONS 

The debate then moved to the four new Metro North stations planned for the borough, in addition to extended commuter options. The candidates were asked what should we done in this regard to maximize benefit to the community. Marmoroto said, “A lot.” She said the projects would impact, once again, on parking. “I know the whole purpose of bringing train stations is so we can reduce cars, but as of right now, we are fully reliant on automobiles, the people that work at the hospital, people that live in the community,” she said. “It’s going to take time before it gets there.”

The Republican said the allocation of municipal parking lots was needed, especially with the upzoning plans, and said two parking lots were set to be removed from the Jacobi Hospital campus. “I already cannot park on my street during the day, during the week when these people are parking all along my block and in my neighborhood,” she said.

 

For her part, Velázquez highlighted that there were two stations impacting District 13, and therefore the impact was not just to Morris Park but to Parkchester/Van Nest as well. In terms of benefits, she said she was working with her colleagues in elected office to deliver community centers, schools, “proper” infrastructure, converting Morris Park station into a life science hub and delivering quality health care for the community.

 

In response, Marmoroto said, “I also don’t understand if there are four train stations coming, why is it that the two within our district are the only ones that are going to be allocated 3,000 apartments at each station. Why isn’t it not spread out more?”

 

FERRYPOINT GOLF LINKS CASINO  

The candidates were then asked about a proposal to build a casino at Ferrypoint Golf Links, which has been run by the Trump Organization. The rights have since been sold to Ballys, as reported. Velázquez said she was excited about the takeover of the license for the golf course. “I’m happy that affords an opportunity for folks in my community to finally use it,” she said. “It was a lot of discussion. I’m really proud of that achievement and to deliver that to the district.”

 

On the casino license application, she said Ballys had not finalized it yet. “Certainly, there is a process that has to go through, and when that process starts off, I look forward to seeing what they deliver to the community, and how they engage the community to support their application,” the Democrat said. “But it still is dollars into the district, and certainly, I’d like to see more of the community involved.”

 

In response, Marmorato said, “There’s no billions of dollars coming into our district. Eighty percent of the money that we will receive will go towards the State, 20 percent is going to go to the city and then the city will decide what they want to do with the rest of the money. We’re not directly getting any money. It is going to be an environmental disaster.”

 

She said there were 11,000 cars which drove over the [Throggs Neck?] Bridge every day. “If you’re going to create a venue that’s going to bring in hundreds of thousands of people, how many more cars are going to come to our area?” she asked. “There is no parking. Highways are not set-up, and we have the highest rates of asthma in the world. What is that going to do to the environment?”

 

She continued, “We’re also talking about taking away parkland. We don’t deserve that. They need to redevelop the area to make a beautiful boardwalk with some restaurants, something that families can use, not gamblers, not people who are going there to look to lose their money and their paychecks or whatever when it’s not…It’s just not what The Bronx needs.”

 

Axelbank then asked Marmorato if she thought Ballys might do something like turn the area into a park or a parking lot. She replied, “Well, it doesn’t sound like that’s the plan for them but it would be beautiful. Have you ever gone over there?”

For her part, Velázquez said the area wasn’t just about the golf course. “It’s actually where the ferry is, and I fought hard to open that ferry,” she said, before adding that over the years, the area had suffered from disinvestment. “That soccer field that every weekend is filled with so many families who want to play, they are playing literally on rocks.” She said working with Ballys to make sure that they invest not only in the golf course, but also in the surrounding area of Ferrypoint Park to deliver priorities was the goal.

 

CITY ISLAND/ORCHARD BEACH FERRY TERMINAL 

The candidates were then asked if City Island should get a ferry terminal. Marmorato said it shouldn’t. “I have not heard one person who is supporting that second project,” she said, adding that people told her the streets are too small, they can’t absorb any street parking and residents don’t think the ferry terminal will bring enough people onto City Island to generate any viable benefit. She said she got the feeling that Orchard Beach would be a better location.

 

Velázquez’s said she was in favor of a ferry terminal at Orchard Beach rather than at Ferry Point, and added that it would continue her investment in the area because she said Orchard Beach will be a year-round destination for families. “Allowing folks to come in through a ferry service there and having a year-round bus service there dedicated to Orchard Beach are on my priority list to deliver to our community,” she said. She said the first priority was to get Orchard Beach up and running, however, and appealed to potential service providers to respond to a prevailing request for proposal (RFP) for shops and restaurants at the historic beachfront. [During a prior race, Velázquez had campaigned for a ferry terminal on City Island.]

 

CRIME 

Axelbank then asked the candidates what could be done better to fight crime, while acknowledging that major crimes were down for the most part. Velazquez said, “I think it’s multiple avenues. This is why I’ve been endorsed by the Police Benevolents Association because of my record investment.” She cited again investment of over $500 million in the NYPD, bringing in 20 officers to the precincts, and also bringing back morale. She talked about the importance of recruitment and encouraging kids to consider a police career.

 

“It’s also making sure that we’re funding resources through community, allowing folks to understand that police and public safety go hand in hand, and that we need to not only to respect our officers, but certainly respect the work in providing training facilities, and I’m happy to have invested a lot of money into Rodman’s Neck training facility for our officers,” she said in part.

Mamoroto said she supported the NYPD. “I will do everything I can to have more patrol cars overnight, and do everything to get more cops on the beat,” she said. “We need a bigger presence in our community, and that’s what we’re lacking. She lamented that her child’s backpack had been stolen out of her car, adding that she didn’t report it at the time. Addressing Axelbank, she said, “There’s a lot of undetected crime happening within our community. I know you said the crime numbers are down, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s not being reported.”

 

Norwood News reached out to the NYPD for comment on this point and will share any feedback we receive. Marmorato then asked Velázquez, “If you brought two dozen officers to the community, was this before or after 30 left from the 49th Precinct?” Velázquez said while she was not responsible for attrition, she did understand the needs of the community.

 

“It is adding more and more officers,” she said. “I’ve been doing this work even before I was elected, fighting for Rodman’s Neck [NYPD shooting range],” she said in part. “I was on Community Board 10 then, and certainly carried that momentum [forward] and made sure that when I visited last year, that I saw the conditions also, and I called the attention to the conditions and made sure that I funded the difference to make sure that our officers also have a training facility that they deserve, because at the end of the day, it’s not just about funding the NYPD, but it’s also making sure that they have all the resources to be trained and experienced.”

 

Marmorato once again said, “She still didn’t answer the question,” to which Velázquez said, “I have been fulfilling and asking for officers even before then, so that’s it. What else do you want me to say?”

 

BAIL REFORM 

Axelbank later asked about bail reform and people released on bail returning to court at higher rates, while also acknowledging there was no evidence that they contributed to an increase in crime. “But there’s a lot of concern in the community that it’s allowing crime to perpetuate,” he said. Marmorato said there was no accountability when it came to crime. “People are committing crimes, getting out, and committing more crimes, and we don’t deserve to live in a city like this,” she said, before citing a “violent crime” that took place at her office when somebody threw a garbage can through the front window.

She then appeared to suggest that mental health services were only provided to those who were incarcerated, saying, “He was arrested but he was released, and in order to have him be accountable, because he has mental issues or he has some type of challenges in life, they’re looking to set him free, and if I don’t push a felony on him, he was going to be set free. He won’t be able to get the services that he deserves and needs to have, and we need to fight it.”

 

Velázquez said she wanted to remind everyone that bail reform was a State issue. “If you’re talking about mental health, then it is funding the facilities, making sure that we’re actually funding our hospitals, which I have record investment in our hospitals to make sure that we’re meeting them for mental health needs,” she said, in part, adding, in part, ‘I’ve pushed though record legislation that makes sure that we’re taking care of everyone’s needs, especially with mental health.”

 

CITY’S CONGESTION PRICING PLAN

The next topic was on the City’s congestion pricing plan, as reported, and whether the candidates were in favor of the concept of charging drivers below 60th Street in Manhattan, and using the funds for mass transit, and what modifications, if any, they would recommend to the plan. The councilwoman said she was against congestion pricing because it affected The Bronx the most. “You cannot charge our families another fee to get to their jobs, when in reality, they don’t have any other option,” she said in part. “Our public transportation in this district is very poor and when we’re really delivering, we have to make sure that we’re looking at this as a whole, and to give my families another payment, another cost is not fair.”

Marmorato also disagreed with the proposal. “I’m a working individual. I have to pay more money in order to travel to my location. It’s absolutely ridiculous. They need to focus on what’s happening in the subways, fix the subways, and then we can talk about things after that. We need safety.” She talked about going to the subway to canvass for votes. “People were jumping the turnstiles left and right. Nobody’s accountable in this city.”

 

CLOSING STATEMENTS 

Marmorato concluded with her closing statement (each candidate was given one minute), saying, “I’m a woman of my word. I have never turned my back to my community. I am not funded by large corporations or unions. The only person that I am going to answer to is you, the community. If this is what you want in a council person, then vote for Kristy Marmorato.”

 

Velázquez, meanwhile, wrapped up, saying, “It’s been a complete honor to represent District 13 since January 2022. I’m a daughter of The Bronx, born and raised here to Puerto Rican parents, to a community that has delivered to my dad a job and the American dream, the dream that actually got me here, the dream that put me to go into St. Catherine’s where they delivered care and compassion.”

 

She continued, “Using that care and compassion, I was able to deliver food, PPE, pantry items to our families in need during COVID, and now, it’s led me to deliver record funding to our NYPD for public safety, record funding to our hospitals for care, and record funding to our schools for quality education for our kids.”

What we’re talking about is delivering not only results but it’s delivering hope, not hate, not divisiveness and certainly not fear. This seat was never handed to me. I don’t get anything because my brother was there or my husband wanted me to… ” Velázquez’s husband Jeff Lynch previously worked under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. She continued, “At the end of the day, I fought against the establishment to get to where I’m at today, so thank you for [inaudible].”

 

As the councilwoman was wrapping up, Marmorato said, “Oh God..Your husband was working for the mayor the first year that you were put into office, so knock it off.” Velazquez then said, “[He] doesn’t work for the Board of Elections,” an apparent reference to a report by the NY Daily News that Marmorato had allegedly accepted donations from employees at the Board of Elections where her husband works as an official.

 

Marmorato then said, “You want to talk about the Board of Elections? Let’s see what’s going to happen there.” Norwood News reached out to NYC Campaign Finance Board for comment on this point and will update this story upon receipt of any response.

 

As Axelbank attempted to wrap up the program, Velázquez then replied, “Yeah, I know you guys changed right. Your husbands’ employees [inaudible] but don’t remember?” Marmorato then said, “How dare you make those allegations against me! How dare you! You are such a snake! You are more than a snake!” Velázquez replied, “I don’t know. It’s in the Daily News. I didn’t make those allegations.”

 

Click here to read our previous coverage on the latest election financing filings.

 

The general election takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Voter registration has ended. Early voting is underway since Saturday, Oct. 28 and continues through Sunday, Nov. 5. To find your early voting or Election Day voting site, visit https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/.