Winner of Vol. 71, No. 52
What’s inside?
Thursday, February 4, 2021
n Special election contenders debated COVID recovery and housing affordability estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
We have cars, trains and buses. We even have bikes. But are e-scooters what we’ve waited for? Page A3
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Council candidates spar, but agree on equity By ETHAN STARK-MILLER
Future of travel?
the Pulitzer Prize
Eric Dinowitz has had some trouble escaping the shadow of his father, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. Then again, some might say he’s not trying very hard to escape it. Dinowitz, a special education teacher, is one of six candidates seeking to succeed newly minted Bronx Supreme Court judge Andrew Cohen in representing this part of the borough on the city council in a March 23 special election. With the backing of the powerful Benjamin Franklin Democratic Reform Club — which has received significant financial contributions from the elder Dinowitz over the years — and then there’s the name itself, it’s hard to deny family ties may give the younger Dinowitz an edge in not only this race, but his political career. Dinowitz’s competitors have made it clear they think having a father and son represent the community at both the city and state level wouldn’t be good. It was something they expressed during the special election’s first televised debate Tuesday on BronxNet. “I just don’t agree with the political dynasty within our own particular area,” said real estate attorney Dan Padernacht, one
of four others who challenged Dinowitz in the debate hosted by BronxNet and The Riverdale Press. The same thinking that led the community into its current difficulties is not the same thinking cARlton that should be used BeRkley to get the community out, said environmentalist Jessica Haller. That’s why it’s time for some new leadership — new as in her. Carlton Berkley, a retired New York Police Department detective, agreed with his competitors that having two members of the same family representing overlapping areas isn’t a good idea. “I mean, people know Eric because of his father,” Berkley said. “And maybe that isn’t a bad thing. But it does touch into some points of nepotism.”
Finding an economic balance?
If Dinowitz wins the special election, he said he’s confident it won’t be because of his family name. “I think the voters watching tonight are going to judge us based on our commitment to our community, the work we’ve done, and our vision moving forward,” Dinowitz said. “Not on a name.” If one thing was clear from this particular debate, it’s that the defining issue for
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the council district seems to be the equity divide between the west and east sides of Broadway. The district neighborhoods include wealthy — and primarily white areas — like Riverdale and Fieldston to the west, as well as racially diverse lower-income neighborhoods like Wakefield and Bedford Park to the east. The equity issue manifests in how the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted the parts of the district with low-income people of color. Arts educator Mino Lora, who recently recovered from COVID-19, said many families in underserved parts of the district don’t have access to quality health care. “In our district, 41 percent (of people) have public health care,” Lora said. “A significant number are uninsured.” Systemic racism is the culprit, Lora said, behind the disparity in how the virus has impacted poorer versus wealthier parts of the district. The issue of systemic racism ties into many of the district’s other prob-
Blizzard to end all blizzards
Rabbi Avi Weiss is picking up where he left off challenging Rep. Jamaal Bowman over Palestinian vaccines. Page A6
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lems, she added, like disparities in housing and socioeconomic status. When it comes to housing, Lora believes the city needs to change how it determines affordability in lower-income areas. For her, it’s time to do away with area median income, the current way the city calculates what’s affordable in specific neighborhoods. “We need to shift the equation, we need to use the local median income,” Lora said. “So often we’re using the area median income, which includes Westchester, which includes broader than who is in District 11.” The city also needs to be much more intentional, Lora added, in building affordable units specifically for those who need them — including low-income families. And the homeless. When it comes to housing density, Padernacht said, a council member has to look at zoning in each of the district’s individual DEBATE, page A4
What about everything kids aren’t learning in classrooms? n Whoever moves into Gracie Mansion as city’s next mayor will have to reckon with some unprecedented challenges By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
Pulp friction A new exhibit takes on an unlikely form of art: the cover of old-fashioned adventure magazines. Page A8
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With more than a foot of snow piling up in north Riverdale, some pedestrians found the only way they could traverse through this past week’s storm was with old skiing gear from the closet.
Education is a topic of interest in almost any community. But in larger cities like New York — where the mayor calls many of the shots for public schools — it’s even more important to know where those seeking to become the city’s highest-ranking government official stand on the issues. Even beyond the coronavirus pandemic, that has thrown schools into chaos over the past year, the city isn’t without controversial debates in its education policies. Many center around screening students academically at the elementary, middle and high school levels, or around accessibility for students with Among the educational unique learning needs. But when the city’s next policy beliefs of mayoral mayor takes office next year, candidate dianne it likely will still be reckon- morales is removing ing with the adverse effects police from schools and of the coronavirus pandemic. abolishing shsAts. Education is no exception, and many of the mayoral candidates in a crowded primary CLASSROOMS, page A4
Afya lets nothing go to waste during COVID times n The foundation rescues, donates surplus medical supplies from around world By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
Usually, one might expect to find loads of medical supplies like gauze, gloves and test tubes exclusively in hospitals. But on the most recent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, these items covered tables in a room at The Riverdale Y, waiting for dozens of volunteers to sort and package them. “What we were doing was actually sorting those items, separating them to put them in like categories with each other,” said Rabbi Joseph Robinson, The Y’s community engagement director. “We sorted and packaged around 2,000 pounds of
medical supplies.” This event was a part of The Riverdale Y’s MLK Day of Service, where volunteers from the neighborhood are invited to assist with community service projects. For sorting and packaging the donated medical supplies, The Y partnered with Afya Foundation — a Yonkers-based organization that’s been doing this work since 2007. Afya’s mission is to recover unused medical supplies through donations from hospitals and other medical providers, and then redistribute those supplies to underresourced communities in the United States and abroad, according to founder and chief executive Danielle Butin. The foundation has donated medical supplies to sites in more than 80 countries. Afya often gets surplus medical supplies from hospitals that are changing their inventories, Butin said. For example, if a SUPPLIES, page A4
IN CONTRACT 4705 Henry Hudson Pkwy, Apt. 8E ALISON BARTLETT Alison.Bartlett@sothebyshomes.com
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Volunteers gathered at the Riverdale y on dr. martin luther king Jr. day to help sort and package medical supplies for Afya Foundation — an organization that donates surplus medical supplies to communities in need.