Councilman Andrew Cohen Inauguration

     If one photo says a thousand words, the above photo sums it up as a family swearing in. As you see Andrew Cohen is being sworn in by Judge Edgar Walker. On his right is his wife Heather, and proudly standing next to her father also taking the oath of office is 5 year old Sarah Cohen.

    The weather may have been cold with freezing rain out side, inside the Lovinger Theater at Lehman College was another story however. Hundreds of people gathered to see Mr. Andrew Cohen become Councilman Andrew Cohen. There were dozens of elected officials which included U.S.Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressmen Eliot Engel and Charles Rangel, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., State Senators Jeff Klein, Gustavo Rivera, and Adriano Espilliat, Bronx State Assembly members Jeff Dinowitz, Mark Gjonaj, Victor Pichardo and the Bronx Democratic County Leader Carl Heastie, Bronx council members Carmen Maria Arroyo, Fernando Cabrera, Vanessa Gibson, Andy King, and Ritchie Torres. Other City Council members in attendance included both candidates for speaker of the council Mellissa Msrk Viverito and Dan Gardoneck, Queens Councilman Mark Werprin, and Manhattan Councilmen Ydanis Rodriguez and Mark Levine. Also many members of Community Board 8 which Councilman Cohen was a member of, and others from Community boards 7 and 12.

     As for the speeches by the elected officials they started off saying we thank former Councilman Oliver Koppell for his 12 years in office, changing to the welcoming of a new Councilman Andrew Cohen, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz summed it up best by saying "now we will have a councilman that I can work with.

      New City Comptroller Scott Stringer was the first elected official to speak, and he said that he has deep roots to the 11th council district. Stringer went on to say that his mother lives in the district, and he has given her Councilman Cohen's cell phone number. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer Mentioned that he was the congressman for the area that Andrew Cohen went to high school. Senator Jeff Klein mentioned that 18 years ago it was in the same Lovinger Theater that he was sworn in. Congressman Charles Rangel however said it was great to be back in Dewitt Clinton (the nearby high school he had attended). Then there were the others such as Bronx Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Carl Heastie who said county leaders are looked at like dictators of foreign countries. Senator Gustavo Rivera tried to joke about the bad weather outside by saying that he had to put on his shoe condoms (better known as rubbers). Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj said that he was looking forward to working with Councilman Cohen. 

     Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said that he has been in office for 20 year now, and Andrew Cohen once worked for him in his office. Dinowitz added that Andrew Cohen was supported by almost every Union and elected official not only in the Bronx but from other boroughs. Dinowitz then called up Judge Edgar Walker and Andrew Cohen for the oath of office. There was a standing ovation from the audience when Mr. Andrew Cohen became Councilman Andrew Cohen. Councilman Cohen then went on to give the longest speech that he has given so far thanking all the people in the audience for coming out in such bad weather. He then mentioned that he was a product of NYC public schools, and that he will be on the forefront of improving the public school system. Cohen went on to mention other areas he will concentrate on such as parks, homelessness and the over saturation of shelters, non-profits and adequate funding for them. Cohen went on to thank individual elected official such as Congressman Engel and Councilman Koppell, former Councilwoman June Eisland, and last but not least his family who supported him all the way through the gruelling campaign for the council seat. Below are some photos of the inauguration. 

Left - Bronx Democratic County Leader talks with Councilman Andy King before the ceremony.

Right - Rabbi Avi Weiss gave the Invocation. After the ceremony Father Richard Gorman gave the Benediction

 

Left - The Celia Cruz High School Chorus sing the Pledge of Allegiance.

Right - Sarah Cohen also says the Pledge of Allegiance.

Left - U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer.

Right - Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

 

Left - Some of the elected officials that filled the first three rows.

Right That's Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viveritoin the second row on the left, and Councilman Dan Gardonick in the first row. Both are seeking to be the new speaker of the council on Jan. 8th.

Cohen to Win 11th Council District Easy

Here is this weeks Riverdale Report from the Bronx News.

  

Riverdale Report

By Robert Press

Cohen to Win 11^th Council District Easy

   As I wrote back in July, I still think that 11^th City council candidate Andrew Cohen will be victorious, and by a huge margin over his opponent Cliff Stanton. My prediction then was and still is that Andrew Cohen will get 83 percent of the vote recorded for the 11^th City Council race with a margin of error of 5 percent. Mr. Stanton never set the district on fire in the year advantage he had since announcing his candidacy in January of 2012. There was disappointment after disappointment during the campaign when certain people who had expressed interest in running decided not to and they then endorsed Andrew Cohen. Mr. Stanton has campaigned hard in the Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, Kingsbridge Heights, and Van Cortlandt Village areas, but knocking off the ballot a Hispanic man and a Black woman might not have been the best strategy if one wants to win in minority areas of the district. I have been told by some people who might have voted for him that it is that and some of those who Mr. Stanton has aligned himself with that had turned them away from voting for him. I know that I will be voting for Andrew Cohen when I go to vote in the 11^th City Council district.

   So don't forget to go out and vote on Primary Day Tuesday September 10^th. For Republicans there is only a race for Mayor, while for Democrats it is for Mayor, City Comptroller, Public Advocate, Bronx Borough President and City Council if you live in the 8^th, 11^th, 12^th, 14^th, 15^th, 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th districts in the Bronx. Since the Primary Day results will not be in until after our publishing deadline I will have the results in two weeks for you. You can check my blog the day after election day for the results. Four years ago I called the 11^th City Council race with in one percentage point.

   Last Tuesday State Senator Jeff Klein hosted a concert in Seton Park by the wonderful Dionne Warwick. It was estimated that over 1,000 people came out to see Ms. Warwick sing her great songs in person. One could hear the sing along from many in the audience as the 72 year old Ms. Warwick kept singing hit after hit. The little longer than one hour non stop performance seemed to go by as minutes some people said to me after the concert. To see more of the concert with photos of Ms. Warwick, and the politicians who were there you can go to my blog at www.100percentbronx.blogspot.com.

   Also on my blog is the latest listing of events that are going on at Wave Hill. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park have a busy schedule coming up in the fall, and you can see it on my blog. Just check the archive section on the lower left and check the previous month August for the listings.

Bronx Community Board #8 is gearing up to get back into business after a short summer vacation, so you may want to go to the CB8 website to check out the meetings, dates, places, and topics of discussion as they are scheduled by the board and its committees.

   If you have any comments about this column or would like to have an event listed or covered in this column or on my blog you can e-mail us at 100percentbronxnews@gmail.com .