Senator Jeff Klein Re-elected UPDATED

UPDATED on Primary Day

  Yes I know that it is the day before the Democratic primary, but I wanted to share this part my weekly column with you which will be in Thursday's Bronx News. Did the Riverdale Press endorse Oliver Koppell as is implied in one of the Koppell mailings, or did Oliver Koppell try to deceive the voters.

Riverdale Report

By Robert Press

Senator Klein Re-Elected

   While this column is being written before Primary day 2014 the headline should be correct. I say it that way, because in the 34^th State Senate race challenger Oliver Koppell turned into almost everything that he had accused Senator Klein of being. From the very first word in the debates to the mailings by candidate Oliver Koppell he attacked Senator Jeff Klein since Oliver Koppell had no record to run on. Senator Klein did not have enough time in the debates or room on his mailings to extol his proven track record, which reached new heights for the 34^th Senate District, New York City, and New York State in the past two years. He has proven that he deserves to be re-elected and received the endorsement of almost everyone, and almost every union.

  In a mailing from candidate Koppell that disturbed me the most there was the four page review of his endorsements all 11 or 12 that is, if the Riverdale Press really endorsed candidate Koppell. The list is unimpressive especially with Betsy Gotbaum who had to be the worse Public Advocate, and the reason then Mayor Bloomberg wanted to get rid of the office at the top. There is a photo of candidate Koppell at a rally, but it is of candidate Koppell running for Attorney General with the words State Senate under the photo. By the way Oliver Koppell was never elected Attorney General he was anointed by the New York State Assembly to fill the vacant position. The words 'Vote to end corruption in Albany' are also below of the AG photo, and we see how good a job AG Koppell did.

  As for the Riverdale Press endorsement, the back page of the mailing has the New York Times endorsement – 'We enthusiastically support Mr. Koppel in this district'. Right under the New York Times endorsement is the Riverdale Press editorial 'Editorial: The honorable Mr. Koppell', with the words at the bottom of the page saying 'On September 9^th Vote for Oliver Koppell.' In checking the September 4^th Riverdale Press (the last before Tuesday's Democratic primary) the headline of the editorial reads 'Yes, you must vote.' In the very last paragraph they say that never endorse a candidate, and upon rechecking the Koppell mailer carefully I noticed the date of the Riverdale Press supposedly endorsement is November 7, 2013. Also in the September 4^th paper however are two half page ads for candidate Koppell that appear in no other local newspaper. One on the back page, and one on the page opposite the editorial where letters to the editor are usually found. The question is did the Riverdale Press silently endorse Oliver Koppell as its many articles the past weeks would also indicate, or did candidate Oliver Koppell try to device the voters into thinking that the paper had endorsed him?

UPDATE PRIMARY DAY 2014.

That's 81st A.D. District Leader Bruce Feld on the left, State Senator Jeff Klein in the middle, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz on the right talking to a voter who has come to vote at the Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy a.k.a. MS/HS 141 the largest poll site in Riverdale. Senator Klein's opponent Oliver Koppell can be seen in the background. Voting was the usual light at 10 AM time.

 I asked candidate Oliver Koppell about the mailing described above and Koppell had no comment. Also at the poll site was the associate editor of the Riverdale Press who said that the newspaper does not endorse candidates. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz said he was shocked by the mailing and it does appear that Koppell is trying to deceive the voters in the mailing. Senator Klein did not want to comment on the record.

Cuomo and Hochul energize Dems at GOTV rally for state Senator Klein in Riverdale

In the final countdown to the Democratic Primary, Governor Andrew Cuomo and his running mate, Lieutenant Governor-hopeful Kathy Hochul, revved up Democrats in the 34th State Senate District at a Sunday afternoon Get Out the Vote rally in Riverdale for state Senator Jeff Klein.

Cheering Dems welcomed Governor Andrew Cuomo to The Bronx, as he re-endorsed Senator Klein and energized party members to cast their ballots for him.

“Jeff Klein has fought for the people of Westchester and the Bronx for years. Jeff has been a relentless advocate for the people of New York, fighting for common sense gun control and universal statewide pre-kindergarten. He is committed to getting results that improve the lives of everyday New Yorkers and I’m confident he will continue to be a strong partner in Albany to help move our state forward. Today, I’m proud to endorse Jeff Klein for reelection,” said Governor Cuomo.

“Jeff Klein is the right leader to help keep New York moving in the fight direction. I look forward to partnering alongside Jeff as we pass the Women's Equality Act, a minimum wage increase and the DREAM Act in Albany as quickly as possible. On Tuesday, I urge voters in Westchester and the Bronx to stand with me, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio and support Jeff Klein for reelection,” said Lieutenant Governor candidate Kathy Hochul.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., Bronx Democratic County Committee Chairman and Assemblyman Carl Heastie and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz spoke about Senator Klein’s long list of progressive achievements in Albany and their work as a team.

“State Senator Jeff Klein has been a strong partner in Albany on numerous issues that matter to the people of The Bronx. From raising the minimum wage and fighting for the DREAM Act, to helping bring new transportation options to the borough and creating new job opportunities in our borough, we have had an incredible ally in the State Senate in Jeff Klein. His record of accomplishment has earned him our support, and I urge all Democrats in the 34th State Senate district to come out on Tuesday and vote to reelect State Senator Jeff Klein,” said Bronx Borough President Diaz.

“I have been proud to partner with State Senator Jeff Klein on legislation that impacts the everyday lives of New Yorkers, such as raising the minimum wage and working to create a public gun crime offender registry in our state. Jeff Klein has a strong record on economic development, public safety, education and numerous other issues that concern the people of The Bronx, and I need partners like him in the State Legislature as we work to move our progressive agenda forward. I urge all voters to support State Senator Jeff Klein on Tuesday,” said Assemblyman Heastie.

“I am thrilled to be part of the great team that we have running in our community: Governor Andrew Cuomo,  Kathy Hochul and state Senator Jeff Klein.  It is not surprising that the governor has endorsed Senator Klein since the two of them have worked together and produced so much for the state.  The New York Daily News endorsement of Senator Klein was right on point and it read, ‘Senator Klein's record of accomplishments dwarfs’ that of his opponent. That is why I am confident that he will win reelection on Tuesday,” said Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

State Senator Klein asked Democrats to allow him to continue his positive work.

“This campaign has reminded me of the power we have  to make a difference together. So I am asking for your continued trust, for your support and most importantly your vote on Tuesday. Having the chance to make a difference in your lives has made me who I am and I want to spend the next two years doing the very same thing. Let’s keep fighting, keep growing, keep getting stronger and make our neighborhoods and New York better than it’s ever been,” said Senator Klein.

Bronx County Democratic Barbecue

  Yesterday was the Annual Bronx Democratic County Barbecue. Besides the unlimited hot dogs, hamburgers, side salads, liquid refreshments, and informational booths, the big attraction this year was the 'Ice Bucket Challenge' by 7 Bronx elected officials you can see in the photos below. Each elected official had a bucket of ice poured on their heads, and since Assemblyman Carl Heastie is also the county leader he had two buckets of ice poured on him. 

  Public Advocate Letitia James was on hand showing off her dance steps with the former Dancing District Leader who now hopes to become the Dancing State Committeeman Kenny Agosto. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. took pride in his candidate for 33rd State Senate Gustavo Rivera, while his father Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. is backing Senator Rivera's opponent who was not present since he is not a Bronx County organization candidate.  State Senator Jeff Klein as you can see in one of the photos was being given some last minute advice by County Leader Heastie, and again Senator Klein's opponent was no where to be found. The grill was manned by members of the Bronx Young Democrats who were cooking the food faster than it could be eaten. The BYD's deserve a shout out as they were cooking over a hot grill while the temperature was over 90 degrees. 

Left - Bronx Young Democrats Daniel Johnson and John Zaccarro Jr. are manning the grill to get the franks and burgers cooked.

Right Public Advocate Letitia James, and Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda have District Leader Julia Rodriguez between them.

Below - the Public Advocate Dances with Kenny Agosto (left) the former 'Dancing District Leader'.

Left - BP Ruben Diaz Jr. with his candidate incumbent Gustavo Rivera in the 33rd State Senate District. Senator Rivera is holding the latest edition of the Bronx News with election predictions for Tuesday's Democratic primary. Maybe that is why he and BP Diaz have such big smiles.

Right - Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. arrives in his modified ice cream truck painted for Assemblyman Marcos Crespo this year. Senator Diaz Sr. is backing the opponent of Senator Gustavo Rivera in the 33rd State Senate race. 

Left - State Senator Jeff Klein with Riverdale Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinotwitz and soon to be new 81th A.D. District Leader Eric Dinowitz. 

Right - County Leader Carl Heastie seems to be giving Senator Jeff Klein some last minute advice.

Bronx County Executive Director Iachia Bravo announces that since Assemblyman Carl Heastie is also the county leader that he will have two buckets of ice poured on him.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz has his son Eric pour the bucket of ice over him, and that is Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj also being dunked on the right.

Councilman Andy King was the last to have the bucket of ice poured on him. CM King took of his bowtie as not to get it wet.

Also taking the ice bucket challenge were State Senator Ruth Hassel-Thompson, Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, and District Leader Cynthia Cox who did not make it into the photos. 

Hector Ramirez Requests Federal Monitor in AD 86 Primary Election

FROM:

HECTOR R. RAMIREZ
Friends of Ramirez
157 East 181st Street
Bronx, NY 10453
929-259-9032 

ramirezbronx@gmail.com

September 4, 2014

TO:

By Electronic Mail & U.S. Mail
Honorable Preet Bharara
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York
One St. Andrews Plaza
New York, NY 10007

Honorable Sara L. Shudofsky
Chief, Civil Division
U.S. Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
Attn: Chief, Civil Rights Unit
86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor
New York, New York 10007
Fax: (212) 637-2750

Civil Rights Bureau
New York State Attorney General's Office

(212) 416-8250 or civil.rights@ag.ny.gov

City of New York Department of Investigation
80 Maiden Lane, New York, N.Y. 10038
(212) 825-2870
Fax: (212) 825-0125

Re: Monitoring of Assembly District 86 Democratic Primary

This letter is to formally request the monitoring of the election process for New York State Assembly's 86th district, to guarantee that all voters are allowed to exercise their right to vote and that all votes are properly counted. (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/machine-politics-fraud-filled-bronx-race-article-1.1454279)

During the Special Election to elect the assembly person last year, the voters of this district faced gross incidents of voter suppression and voter intimidation that cast enormous doubts on the legitimacy and fairness of the election results certified by the Board of Elections in which Victor Pichardo was declared the winner by a very small and questionable margin.

We are urging the Federal, State and City government, to be vigilant in preventing these events from happening again in Tuesday’s Democratic Primary.

These events included, but are not limited to:

• Machines that only had levers for the party machine candidate Victor Pichardo, preventing voters from voting for any other candidate;

• The use of hundreds of inspectors, paid by the Board of Elections, as campaign workers for the machine candidate inside the polling sites, including the mother of the candidate and another staffer of a State Senator;

• Delegates of different candidates bullied around by County appointed inspectors and by elected officials and county party officials inside the polling site, which is illegal;

• Voters and other candidates testimonies, point to these "board workers" as telling voters how to vote, often pointing at Mr. Pichardo as the way to do so;

• Polling Centers at P.S 306 did not have candidate Hector Ramirez's name on the ballot;

• Polling site at P.S 206, of Aqueduct Ave, in which the trigger to vote for Ramirez was continually stuck;

• P.S 85 at 2400 Marion Avenue, where machines were mysteriously shutdown;

• Polling site at JBH senior center, at 230 E 179 street, where voters were turned away because supposedly the machines did not work;

• BOE executive, a close relative of a party official, coming to the Bronx offices in the middle of the night, on election night, sending everyone home and staying with a few selected people;

• The Board of Election abruptly decided to stop counting the votes, after counting only 88% without taking the necessary precaution to give all the candidates transparent and fair assurances that those "broken" machines would not be tampered with further. Later, news reports appeared that they counted 100% (see http://www.nytimes.com/projects/elections/2013/nyc-primary/other_races/results.html) with, obviously, Mr. Pichardo on top by a few votes.

Many of these and other problems are documented and others were reported by frustrated voters.

For the upcoming Primary election on Tuesday, September 9th, we are asking our State, City and Federal government to step in to prevent and stop this madness and follow up with any necessary investigation. Our district deserves a fair, transparent and democratic election.

On behalf of the people of the 86th Assembly District,

Very Truly Yours,

Hector Ramirez

Hector Ramirez 

Democratic Candidate for State Assembly 

86th District

Tonight's Movie is CANCELLED

KRVC September 6, 2014

Tonight's Movie Is Cancelled!! Please be advised that, due to the inclement  weather forecast of thunderstorms and high  winds, in the interest of safety,we are  cancelling the movie scheduled for this  evening at Vinmont Park.

Tracy McCabe
Executive Director KRVC

Sunday, September 21, 2014, Johnson Avenue Block Festival, 12-4pm, featuring live music, clowns, children's activities, food, shopping discounts, business exhibits and more!!  

Sunday, November, 2, 2014, North Riverdale Block Festival, 12-4pm, featuring live music, bouncy castle, trolley service for bus riders, clowns, children's activities, shopping discounts, business exhibits and more!!

Senator Klein Election Rally

  Friday night hundreds of people from the 34th state senate district came to a rally in support of State Senator Jeff Klein. Also on hand were Assembly members Mark Gjonaj (80th), Luis Sepulveda (87th), Marcos Crespo (85th), and Mike Benedetto (82nd). As he arrived Senator Klein was mobbed by supporters many who wanted to be photographed with him. Next came the speeches by the elected officials, and Senator Klein. Everyone speaking had only praise for Senator Klein. Senator Klein then thanked all who were at the rally, went on, and what seemed to be on about the many accomplishments he was able to get done in Albany.

Klein didn't mention his opponent by name, but denounced the negative campaign his opponent was running.  Also everyone at the rally were remonded that Tuesday September 9th is Primary day, and to vote for Senator Jeff Klein. This way Senator Klein can continue his hard work not only for the 34th Senate District, but New Yoek City and New York State.

The photos below tell the story.

 Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj warms up the crowd before Senator Jeff Klein arrived.

Hugs and greetings were given to Senator Klein as he arrived.

 

Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj tells the crowd why they should be voting to re=elect Senator Jeff Klein.

 Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda also telling the crowd why they should be voting to re-elect Senator Jeff Klein.

State Senator Jeff Klein addresses the crowd, telling of his many many many accomplishments in the State Senate, and why he should be re-elected.

Another photo of Senator Klein with the other elected officials that were on hand, and the crowd in the background who are holding Jeff Klein posters.

Bronx River Alliance Event

  Join the Bronx River Alliance for its annual benefit An Upstream Soirée on Wednesday, September 17^th, 6:30 – 9:00 PM at the Bronx Zoo, through which the Bronx River flows.

Support for this event will help the Bronx River Alliance continue to revitalize the river, allowing all New Yorkers access to this beautiful natural resource. Since 2001, the Bronx River Alliance has helped recapture the  Bronx River from decades of neglect. The Alliance has become a national model for urban open space development by engaging the community in cleaning up the polluted river, restoring wildlife and habitats, creating miles of greenway and parks and drawing thousands of people to paddle the river each year.

An Upstream Soirée is a festive and social event that will draw 200+ prominent guests from the business, nonprofit, and government sectors and environmental community.  This year the Alliance will honor three outstanding supporters: Nancy Mann, Principal, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School; Tim Tompkins, President, Times Square Alliance & Founder, Partnerships for Parks; and Sims Metal Management, business leaders in sustainable practices to minimize impact on neighboring communities and local waterways.

The event will include a cocktail reception, buffet supper, silent auction, and  live Mambo/Salsa music from  Bronx native Orlando Marin "The Last Mambo King" and his band.   To purchase a ticket or donate, visit www.bronxriver.org/soiree. For sponsorship, contact Saudy Tejada at 718-430-4602 or stejada@bronxriver.org.

SENATOR KLEIN & BRONX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HOST FIRST BRONX H.I.R.E JOB FAIR

   Senator Jeff Klein, along with the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and local elected officials, hosted the first Bronx H.I.R.E. job fair at Hutchinson Metro Center Wednesday night, drawing more than 400 job seekers. Attendees were given an opportunity to connect with Bronx-based employers - big and small - that are currently hiring.

Bronx H.I.R.E (Help Identify Real Employment) is a unique jobs program aimed at connecting Bronx workers with real jobs through a comprehensive, direct approach developed by Senator Klein’s office and the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. The Bronx H.I.R.E. program, announced in July, is made possible through a $200,000 grant secured by Senator Klein in this year's state budget.

State Senator Jeff Klein said, “For too long, the Bronx has had the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the state. However, there are real signs that business is investing in the Bronx and with our new H.I.R.E. program, we are investing in the Bronx worker. We had an amazing turnout at our first job fair and a handful of on-site immediate hires - which only proves that this program has the potential to really make a difference in getting Bronxites working again.”

The program consist of two parts - one that will make sure that the new and existing Bronx businesses and institutions are employing Bronx residents and the other that will establish a hands- on worker development program. The second part of this program, known as the “Opening Doors Initiative” will give Bronx workers an opportunity to receive support for additional certifications, help with resumes, interviews, applications and assistance with follow-up for positions to which H.I.R.E. participants have applied. The program will be facilitated by the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.

 

Michelle Dolgow Cristofaro, Bronx Chamber of Commerce Chief-of-Staff and H.I.R.E. administrator said: “The Bronx Chamber of Commerce was thrilled with the response to our first Bronx H.I.R.E job fair where the enthusiasm and excitement was felt both by job seekers and potential employers. We are so grateful for Senator Jeff Klein’s support to launch this program, which is off to a running start. We look forward to continuing to connect employers looking to hire with these great candidates.”

For more information and to enroll in the Bronx H.I.R.E program visit: http://www.bronxchamber.org

Senator Klein, Assemblyman Luis Supulveda, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto and Bronx Chamber of Commerce Board

April Horton (Verizon), Joseph Kelleher (Bronx Chamber of Commerce),  Kevin Cacho (new employee) Peter Martinez (Master Fire), Nancy Santiago (MasterFire) Michelle Dolgow Cristofaro (Bronx Chamber of Commerce)