Winner of Vol. 72, No. 11
What’s inside?
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, April 22, 2021
$1.00
Dinowitz sworn in, but challengers ready n Lora kicks off primary campaign with some bigtime political heavyweights
‘You still have the boys club supporting Jeff Klein, supporting the IDC, supporting these backroom deals right here in this district. And it’s time to get that gone.’
By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@riverdalepress.com
Shamed history Van Cortlandt House vows to remember its past — all of it — partnering with a parks group on a new initiative. Page A3
The council chambers at City Hall were mostly empty when Eric Dinowitz and his immediate family were ushered inside on April 14. Standing with him were his wife Tamar, and his parents — Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Sylvia Gottlieb — as the former school teacher was sworn in to replace Andrew Cohen on the city council, promising to not only uphold the laws of the land, but to “faithfully discharge” the duties to which he had been elected. The ceremony came nearly three years after he jumped into the council race just days behind real estate attorney Dan Padernacht. But Dinowitz can’t breathe easy just yet. For the moment, he’s the placeholder representing this part of the Bronx — a job guaranteed to him only until the end of this year. Whether he remains on the job by the time the ball drops in Times Square depends on what happens on June 22. That’s when the Democrats will choose who will represent them on the November ballot. Dinowitz is a shoo-in, both as the in-
— Zephyr Teachout
Courtesy of New York City Council/Emil Cohen
Eric Dinowitz officially earned the title of councilman after his official swearing in on April 14 at City Hall. But there’s a group of challengers — led by Mino Lora — who want to make the former school teacher’s stay in elected office a brief one. cumbent and with the backing of the Bronx Democratic political machine. But there was one woman who gave him a good run for his money in the March 23 special election. And on Sunday, that woman wanted to make one thing clear: She plans to become Councilwoman Mino Lora on Jan. 1.
Gathering nearly 100 of her closest supporters at Van Cortlandt Park on the chilly spring afternoon, Lora made her primary run official with the help of some political heavyweights like state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Gustavo Rivera, Brooklyn councilman and city comptroller candidate Brad
Lander, and political activist and former gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout. “The Bronx has a really exciting opportunity — it is an opportunity to bring an extraordinary, creative, loving, big-hearted Mino Lora to replace the old boys club and legacies,” Teachout told the crowd Sunday. “You see Mino taking on a legacy and an effort to get Dinowitz into office without having to directly engage with the voters and win on the merits.” Dinowitz, who chairs Community Board 8’s aging committee, was limited — like everyone else campaigning in the special election — because of the coronavirus pandemic. He championed a number of causes originally supported by his state lawmaker father as well as a few of his own, but couldn’t escape shouts of nepotism, COUNCIL CHALLENGE, page A4
CB8, shops give bike lanes a Bronx cheer Police change Tuesday’s guilty verdict for cop Derek Chauvin is just a start for some reformers who have big plans for law enforcement. Page A10
Winning equation Whoever says math isn’t cool obviously isn’t aware of one middle school competition where Euclid, Pythagoras are truly stars. Page A9
n Traffic committee votes down Mosholu Ave. project, but pedestrians fare better By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
As the warmer months approach, more people are turning to outdoor activities. Among them? Bicyclists. But if any of them are looking for designated space along streets like Mosholu Avenue, they may need to keep looking. Even the mention of bicycle lanes can bring the crowds out to a Community Board 8 traffic and transportation committee meeting, as experienced just recently over Independence Avenue, and just a few years ago along the Van Cortlandt Park stretch of Broadway. This time, the ire was pointed at a DOT proposal to add bike lanes to DAN PADERNACHT Mosholu Avenue. Yet, if the city’s transportation department decides to throw some additional paint on Mosholu to encourage cyclists, it won’t be with the blessing of CB8. The lanes were part and parcel of a DOT proposal to cut down speeding on Mosholu through the heart of North Riverdale. It’s not a new idea — the city first considered it in 2019 — but was shelved thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bronx borough DOT commissioner Nivardo Lopez. But now with hopes that COVID-19 is BIKE LANES, page A4
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Maybe some people thought the bicycle lanes proposed for Independence Avenue might have better luck on Mosholu Avenue? However, they were struck down as well at a recent Community Board 8 traffic and transportation committee meeting. Yet, the city’s transportation department will get the final say, and already has a history of not following CB8’s advisory positions.
Lora nearly tossed from primary ballot n Elections board takes issue with candidate using commonly known name By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
Courtesy of Mino Lora for the Bronx/Lauren Eliot Photography
After a strong second-place showing in the March 23 city council special election to replace Andrew Cohen, non-profit executive director Mino Lora was nearly kicked off the June 22 primary ballot last week. Lora says she never received notice from the elections board over an issue with her nickname — Mino — being used on the ballot.
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April 13 was a hard day for Maria Del Camino Lora Braswell. Or as voters simply know her: Mino Lora. The Spuyten Duyvil non-profit executive director was on the verge of officially finished runner-up to now-Councilman Eric Dinowitz in a March 23 special election to replace Andrew Cohen. She was gearing up to take another crack at the seat for the June 22 primary until she received word the city’s elections board wasn’t going to allow her name on the ballot. “It was surreal. It was extremely emotional,” Lora said. “It was one of the hardest days of my life. To think in that
moment, I was like, ‘What? After everything that’s happened? This cannot be what’s happening.’ So, it was just crazy.” The issue? It was all about the name. Mino Lora’s name, that is. She ran in the special election using a name that spanned just eight letters. But now, trying to ensure her name is included on the Democratic Party ballot for this summer’s primary, Lora was being told the name most everyone knows her by couldn’t work. She’d have to opt for the 26-letter name on her voter registration instead. It certainly was confusing. Votes cast for “Mino Lora” were still being tallied from the special election. But what was good for the special wasn’t good for the primary? After being called “Mino” for the past 20 years, she was going to have to start over and re-introduce herself with a different name? “Literally, I am on the ballot that’s happening right now, being counted,” LORA PRIMARY, page A4