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the checks and balances — because she’s the councilmember — of Mayor de Blasio, who is in bed with the Real Estate Board of New York. He’s a developer’s prostitute and she’s right there with them. At the end of the day, Margaret Chin and Mayor de Blasio should be held accountable for Rivington House. Period.” They each outlined the top three priorities that they would focus on, if elected. Imperiale said hers would include “fighting back for Rivington House” and using eminent domain to take it back. “At the end of the day, that belongs to the city not greedy developers,” she said, adding that her other priorities would be creating affordable housing and abolishing the 421-a property-tax relief program for developers. Foldenauer listed protecting small businesses, maintaining infrastructure and the environment. “The tragedy in Houston reminds us of all the work we have to do on the environment,” he said. Marte gave as his three: passing campaign-finance reform to get special interests and big developers out of City Council politics; passing the Chinatown Working Group plan, and protecting the waterfront. “I’m the only candidate here tonight that actually goes to every Waterfront Committee meeting, that sat down with the committee chairpersons,” Marte
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eraged his political gains during the race to win the job of district leader in 2009. Since then he’s been active advocating for tenants’ rights and other local causes — including pushing for a full-service hospital to be
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it should not evoke memories of that GOD AWFUL attack? Timothy Warner Putting the Sphere back in its original location was never a practical alternative given the design of the Memorial, and there are plenty of
said. “One of the big concerns is we don’t have a plan in place to protect our waterfront.” Marte said big developers helped reelect Chin the last time, “and we have seen the consequences, from [supertall towers] in Two Bridges to development in the Financial District.” He added that he is supporting community members’ lawsuit to stop the next three supertall towers currently in the pipeline for the Lower East Side, and that this is the kind of thing Chin should have been doing. “Our councilmember has rejected their lawsuit...or to support their lawsuit. How many constituents have seen the Extell tower?” Marte asked, calling the 80-story building going up by the Manhattan Bridge a “pure example” of lack of proactive planning on zoning. “These megatowers will have primary, secondary and involuntary displacement,” Imperiale said. “Margaret Chin said that it was an ‘as of right’ for these towers to go up. It wasn’t as of right, it needed a special permit. She waited until a month before the election to hold a press conference about it. These are not ‘minor modifications’... . She should have been saying [something] eight years ago.” “My apartment building was flooded” during Superstorm Sandy, Foldenauer said. “The flood threat is real here in Lower Manhattan. I call for a moratorium on waterfront development until we are protected.” Asked how they would help resist
the Trump administration, Marte noted that three months ago his building was raided by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents. “I contacted every single neighbor and told them not to open their doors, not let them in,” he said. Speaking about education issues, Marte noted that his experience attending diverse public schools on the Lower East Side broadened his horizons and encouraged him to travel and explore the world. On police issues, Imperiale noted she has an uncle who was a police officer, so she is not anti-cop. On a question about traffic around the Holland Tunnel, she said that cutting back the number of bike lanes, in general, in certain areas around the city could help alleviate congestion. All three candidates said, if elected, they would work to pass the long-stymied Small Business Jobs Survival Act. About half hour in, Dashia ramped up her attacks on Marte, charging, “Everyone knows you are getting money from Wall St.’s bitch, Charles Schumer.” Marte calmly answered that he only met Schumer once. “I don’t know him,” he said. He later told The Villager that Imperiale apparently was referring to a photo showing Marte posing with Schumer, which Marte said was snapped at a Downtown Independent Democrats club event. Imperiale also attacked Marte for
allegedly putting a few thousand dollars of his own money into his campaign and not declaring it properly, so that he could get matching funds for it. But Marte later said this was actually money he took out from his retirement fund to live on. “I have a vision for our district,” Marte said in his closing statement. “I’m ready. I have the track record, that on Day One, I will represent the people of District 1.” “I am not a career politician,” Imperiale said in her final remarks. “I am not backed by Wall St., I am not bought and sold or on layaway,” she said. Brandishing a photo rendering of all the supertalls planned on the Lower East Side, she said, “If it happens here, it will happen everywhere.” Foldenauer reminded everyone again that Chin had ducked the debate and said he was ready for the job. Afterward, an informal polling of audience members showed that people had been impressed by both Marte and Imperiale, in particular. People liked “the fighter” in Imperiale, but some felt her remarks – such as calling Schumer “Wall St.’s bitch — for example, would not be befitting of a councilmember. One person said Marte, even though he is the youngest of the bunch, was “the adult in the room” and kept his cool under fi re — noting he even calmly poured Imperiale a glass of water after one of her barrages against him.
built at St. Vincent’s Hospital, which closed in 2010. He made another unsuccessful bid for the Assembly last year in a race that went to YuhLine Niou, but Squadron’s resignation has given Newell another chance to join the state legislature, and his strong ties to local party activists —
especially the Downtown Independent Democrats — should serve him well when the council committee convenes later this month. Diego Segalini — A Lower East Side resident who joined the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2007, Segalini now serves as the group’s exec-
utive vice president. He is also a public member of Community Board 3, which represents the East Village, Chinatown, and Alphabet City. Beyond that, Segalini is a newcomer to the political stage, and faces an uphill battle against the more experienced, and better connected contenders.
reminders of the horror of the attack in the Museum. But the Sphere is certainly a legitimate historical artifact that deserves to be on public display at a prominent location that is in reasonable proximity to the WTC site. I think that placing it in Liberty Park, where it overlooks the site, is a pretty good compromise, and I’m happy to see that Mr. Burke (who
has written many letters on this matter over the years) finds this to be an acceptable outcome. This has been a contentious issue for many years, and I’m glad to see that it has finally been resolved. Bill Love
TICKETABLE OFFENSES: ROGUE VENDORS STILL PLAGUE DOWNTOWN DESPITE CRACKDOWN (AUG. 21) Visitors need internationally comprehensible signs that direct them to the SI Ferry and Statue Cruises. Maybe also include warnings against the hawkers. Jared
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