Monday night's Van Nest Neighborhood Neighborhood Alliance meeting was a get to know the candidates in the 80th Assembly District for the November General Election. Ms. Phyllis 'Tiz' Nastasio filed petitions during the petition period, and is on the Republican and Conservative Party lines. Mr. John Zaccaro Jr. was recently chosen by a very small amount of Democratic County Committee members in the 80th A.D. during a closed backroom selection process, appears on the Democratic Party line. This is because the current Assemblywoman who also did not collect petition signatures for the position of state senator was placed there by special arrangement when the State Senate lines were redrawn this year. There is no candidate on the Working Families Party Line or any independent candidates in this race.
After some in house business was taken care of candidate Phyllis 'Tiz' Nastasio was introduced and spoke about why people should vote for her. She is against the Just Home project at Jacobi Hospital, she wants it to be a women center, or senior housing, the value of a good education, Crime, and other quality of life issues. She took questions from the audience. On the subject of No Cash bail, candidate Nastasio said that the court system needs to be reformed to make sure people in Rikers Island get speedy trials, to a question on Bike lanes she said more research needs to be done before just implementing a bike lane such as the one on Bronxdale Avenue that is very confusing and is causing accidents, and in what seemed to be a set up question she was asked about something she said in 2019 when comparing Morris Park to Van Nest, and it got very interesting when the Democratic State Committeewoman Christine Culpper who was sitting next to Ms. Nastasio's opponent brought up a cell phone to the exact page from 2019, which no one remembered except Ms. Culpper.
Next up was John Zaccaro Jr. Ms. Nastacio's opponent. He very recently was named the Democratic nominee after Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez became the Democratic candidate for 34th State Senate. John said that he is thirty-three years old and has been in politics since the age of eighteen or fifteen years, he is the current Chief of Staff to South Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca who is term-limited in 2025 and rumored to be running for Bronx Borough President. In 2020 John lost his District Leader position in the 80th Assembly District, and his boss Councilman Salamanca who had announced he was interested in running for Bronx Borough President decided not to run for borough president but reelection as a South Bronx councilman. John mentioned he was involved in the Westchester Avenue Homeless shelter saying that his South Bronx Council District has fifty-five Homeless shelters. His experience includes a stint with the Department of Education, and West Bronx Housing. During questioning John tried to say that he never said Westchester Avenue Homeless shelter, but that he was involved in the White Plains Road shelter which he wasn't. He wants to continue the discussion on the new concrete plaza on Pelham Parkway which angered environmentalist who has said there is enough concrete on the parkway, and more trees are needed. On bail reform he said that he would sit down with the Assembly Speaker, even though Speaker Heastie has said he will not budge on the issue of bail reform.
The Van Nest Neighborhood Alliance executive board (L - R) Treasurer John Messinger, President Bernadette Ferrara, Senior Advisor Robert Nolan, Vice-President Sharlene Jackson Mendez, an Secretary Marion Manfredi.
Candidate Phyllis 'Tiz' Nastasio listens to a question from the audience.
While his opponent is answering question candidate John Zaccaro Jr., and Democratic Female District Leader Christine Culpepper turn around and appear to be asking a question to someone while another person behind her and candidate John Zaccaro Jr. is looking at their cell phone.
Dmeocratic State Committeewoman Christine Culpepper would then bring up a cell phone with a Facebook comment from 2019 that she said candidate Nastasio had made comparing Van Nest to Morris Park.
Candidate John Zaccaro Jr. a very polish fifteen year veteran of Bronx politics now working for South Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca would get a South Bronx homeless shelter mixed up with the White Plains Road homeless shelter he claimed to be involved in the fight to stop. He would also have to answer to a local Pelham Parkway environmentalist why he is in favor on putting a concrete plaza on the grass on the parkway. Finally he said that the No Cash Bail Law has not been a success going into a personal story with someone who was harassing his family, saying he would talk with the Speaker of the Assembly on changing the law, but Speaker Heastie has said he would not budge on the matter.
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