The Thorn

Elections

Gothamist covered the races for City Council in Council Districts 35 (Central Brooklyn) and 23 (Eastern Queens) where DSA has endorsed candidates Michael Hollingsworth and Jaslin Kaur, respectively. Both districts are currently represented by term-limited centrists.
Gotham Gazette profiled all the City Council candidates in District 39, noting that Brandon West stood out for his positions on defunding the NYPD.
The Indypendent interviewed Alexa Avilés (District 38, Southern Brooklyn) about her City Council campaign and covered a Get Out the Vote rally for Adolfo Abreu (District 14, South Bronx).
AOC and Brad Lander spoke at a rally in Astoria Park in support of Tiffany Cabán’s candidacy in Council District 22 (Astoria).
Union-affiliated PACs have spent more heavily in City Council District 35 in support of Crystal Hudson than in any other City Council district in the city this cycle.
City Council candidate Crystal Hudson and mayoral candidate Maya Wiley endorsed each other. Hudson is running against DSA-endorsed candidate Michael Hollingsworth.

New York Magazine reported extensively on Eric Adams’ deep ties to the city’s Democratic machine, including disgraced former State Senator Hiram Monserrate.
Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia campaigned together on Saturday, with Yang encouraging his supporters to rank Garcia second on their ballots.
The City looked at Maya Wiley’s role in the slow, troubled launch of the LinkNYC public WiFi program under Mayor Bill de Blasio.
With Latino voters expected to make up more than a fifth of the vote in the primaries, many mayoral candidates have spent heavily on Spanish-language advertising.Dianne Morales has spent by far the most.
Facing questions about whether Eric Adams lied about a co-op in Prospect Heights he co-owned by not disclosing it in his financial records, Adams insisted that he gave away his ownership share of the co-op, but would not answer questions about whether he filed a necessary gift tax report at the time.

The City reviewed the races for borough president in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, which all feature competing City Council members facing term limits this year.
Tali Farhadian Weinstein has spent over $8.2 million of her own wealth on the Manhattan District Attorney race, much of it on “fear-mongering” ads about her opponents that some have found offensive. Farhadian Weinstein was the target of the most criticism during the DA debate last week, especially in light of reporting that, despite her wealth, she paid almost no income tax for several years. A recent Data for Progress poll shows Farhadian Weinstein and Alvin Bragg tied for the lead.
Observers believe that Council Member Bill Perkins, who is suffering from memory loss, has not appeared at any candidate forums and never set up a campaign website, still has a chance to win re-election in District 9 (Harlem) on name recognition alone. Nine challengers for the seat met in a debate several weeks ago hosted by Gotham Gazette.
The New York State Republican Party appears poised to designate Congressman Lee Zeldin (NY-1, Suffolk County) its “presumptive nominee” for governor, which may mean the party forgoes a primary process.
Gotham Gazette has an archive of stories from the past couple of months that covers 40 competitive City Council races across the city.

Some in the real estate industry are concerned about the potential influence of progressives and socialists in the upcoming City Council class.
The City Council passed a bill requiring racial equity reports in the rezoning process. The law, which goes into effect in 2022, requires some rezoning applications to include reports detailing affordability of proposed projects and, in some cases, two years worth of information on displacement trends and economic security of residents.
Public defenders with the Legal Aid Society are arguing that their work with groups like Cure Violence is more effective at preventing gun violence than increased policing.
A pilot project in Brownsville that replaced NYPD patrols with community-based violence interrupter groups has had lasting success. Officials are now planning to expand the program into other neighborhoods.
As it has done every year since 2007, the NYPD once again shot past its overtime budget for the fiscal year, although overall spending was down significantly from previous years due to the pandemic.
The City will provide a $100 “baby bond” to every public school kindergartener starting next year.
Queens Community Board 7 voted to expel board member John Choe, citing several acts of misconduct. Choe is a candidate for City Council in District 20 (Flushing).