The Riverdale Press 07-01-2021 by Richner Communications, Inc

Winner of Vol. 72, No. 21

What’s inside?

Thursday, July 1, 2021

n Dinowitz’s opponents are mostly accepting defeat, and say counting will go his way estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com

Marble Hill Houses doesn’t have an abundance of much, but it has more councilmen than it probably ever needs. Page A5

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Lora not ready to give up, but hopes dim By ETHAN STARK-MILLER

A lot of cooks?

the Pulitzer Prize

There’s an old saying that “history repeats itself.” And this phrase almost perfectly encapsulates the outcome of last month’s primary election for Andrew Cohen’s old city council seat. Eric Dinowitz — who won a March special election to claim the city council seat first — once again led the first round of a ranked-choice contest, garnering 42 percent of the first-choice vote. That was a near repeat of the first-round results last spring, which ultimately led to his victory. That means Dinowitz — still relatively new to City Hall — is expected to retain his current seat for the next two years.

The son of Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz must wait to find out because he didn’t win outright June 22 by breaking 50 percent. Now it will come down to how voters backing the other candidates ranked those remaining on the ballot. As long as three-of-four eric of them don’t vote for DidiNowiTz nowitz’s top challenger, the councilman should easily keep his seat. While the final results aren’t expected for at least another week, Dinowitz said he himself feels pretty confident his lead will hold. “Of course, we wait for every absentee ballot to come in,” Dinowitz said. We “wait for the rankings to occur. But this mirrors what happened in the special. I got a good chunk, obviously the most first-place ballot votes. We have the most votes in virtually

every neighborhood. And so, our broad and diverse coalition held from the special through the primary.” Additionally, Dinowitz believes his short time in office was enough to prove he can get results for the community in City Hall. miNo “I wasn’t in office that lorA long, but in those short two months, we were able to accomplish a lot for the community,” Dinowitz said. “And I look forward to continuing to make sure that our voices here in the Bronx are heard.” During the primary race, Dinowitz touted several bills passed by the council since the March special election. Although the former schoolteacher signed on to cosponsor some of those bills, most if not all were introduced before his election.

50 YEARS ON THE JOB

Showing Pride

By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com

HirAm AleJANdro dUrÁN

Felix lam has spent the past 50 years as superintendent of 2465 Palisade Ave., in Spuyten duyvil. He has his own workshop in the basement where he keeps his tools.

It all started with a sewing machine with lots of history. Now it’s starting to become a thriving business. Page A9

Assault loophole stays open after bill stumbles n Failure falls on Assembly companion bill sponsor who felt the proposal had issues

The Riverdale Temple returns annual Shabbat service geared toward LGBT. Page A3

Sew what?

With so many of the first-round votes going to Dinowitz, the only candidate who stands a chance of overtaking him is Spuyten Duyvil non-profit executive Mino Lora — who received 27 percent of first-choice votes. There are 2,000 votes separating Lora and Dinowitz — which is an unlikely, if not impossible, mountain for her climb. Still, Lora hasn’t given up hope as they wait for the rest of the counting. “We definitely saw how ranked-choice ended up in the special, right?” Lora asked. “Whoever was leading kept going. Now, the thing is we really don’t know. There are cases where the second person ends up becoming the first.” But no matter what happens, Lora said she’s proud of her campaign and the relationships she built throughout the district during both her special election and primary runs. “What I’m taking with me, no matter the results, is the demand for systemic change DIM HOPES, page A4

Building relationships simply by repairing one kitchen at a time n Spuyten Duyvil co-op tenants celebrate longtime superintendent, Felix Lam By BRENDAN O’SULLIVAN Intern

ifty years is a long time. Adults have kids, and those kids have children of their own in such a

span. For some, 50 years also can be about how long someone works in their lifetime. From when they are a teenager until they’re a senior citizen — they put in tireless hours on the job year after year after year after year. It could seems like an eternity that

many can’t grasp — especially if they haven’t even lived that long in the first place. But Felix Lam grasps it. He’s been the superintendent at 2465 Palisade Ave., in Spuyten Duyvil for 50 years. The 81-year-old has made his home — and career — at the eight-story co-op since he was a young man. And how does that make him feel? “I’m very happy about it,” Lam said. “And everybody in the building is also very happy that we’re here so many years.” Lam not only works at 2465 Palisade, he also lives there in a “very nice” twobedroom apartment with a river view. He punched the timeclock for the first time in 1971 when Richard Nixon was in the Oval Office, Nelson Rockefeller

led the state government in Albany, and John Lindsay took up residence in Gracie Mansion. Yet despite his longevity, 2465 Palisade wasn’t even Lam’s first job as a super. Instead he spent six years at 9 New St., in Eastchester back in 1965, repairing, cleaning and maintaining the apartment building there. But it was a trip into the city that changed everything for Lam. As their car crossed the Henry Hudson Bridge, Lam gazed at the river and city surrounding it, telling his wife he wanted to move to Spuyten Duyvil. And that wish came true shortly after. Lam found a job listing in The New York Times for the Palisade Avenue FELIX LAM, page A4

Each year, the state legislature’s books are filled with far more bills that fail than those that pass. This is, after all, a normal part of the legislative process. But it’s not a part of the process state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi is a fan of, especially when it affects bills she’s passionate about. When Biaggi sponsors legislation, she makes passing it a top priority. “I don’t pick up bills just to pick them up and say, ‘I have this bill,’” Biaggi said. “I want to pick up the bill. I want to push for it. I want to pass that AleSSANdrA bill. Make sure it gets biAggi signed into law. Then I want to work on something else, so we’re not just constantly going in a circle about the same issue. I think that’s not progress.” Biaggi had that very passion about her bill to end the so-called “voluntary intoxication loophole,” which would not legally discount claims from sexual assault victims simply because they chose to drink alcohol. She even forged a rare alliance with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who sponsored the lower chamber companion bill. Yet, for the second straight year, Biaggi failed to close the loophole. Except this time, she believes the fault seems to lie with none other than Dinowitz. “I think this bill was not a priority of the Assemblyman during this legislative sesLOOPHOLE, page A4

CB8: No man is a traffic island, entire of itself n Sedgwick Ave remains a thorn in VCV’s side, and especially with traffic island By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com

It was only May when Nat Solomon brought several traffic safety changes he wanted to see in Van Cortlandt Village to the attention of Community Board 8’s traffic and transportation committee. But for many of them, he might be waiting a bit longer. Solomon doesn’t believe he’s asking for much: A “no honking” sign here, a caution light there, and a crosswalk study in

between. But that gets thrown into a bit of flux with the summer months approaching — and with it, a community board recess — which will delay any proposals intended for the city’s transportation department. When the committee returns, it will have new leadership in the form of Deb Travis, who was a vice chair under former city council candidate Dan Padernacht. But before Padernacht moves on to take over the aging committee, there was one traffic safety issue that he says can’t wait for fall. That issue is, of course, the infamous traffic island at Sedgwick Avenue and Van Cortlandt Avenue West. It’s never been well received, and Travis herself spoke up about the dangers it posed only last May. “The intersection at Van Cortlandt West TRAFFIC ISLAND, page A4

HirAm AleJANdro dUrÁN / File

There are many traffic safety measures that should be implemented within Van cortlandt Village, according to Nat Solomon: like ‘no honking’ signs, caution lights, and modifying a traffic island at Sedgwick Avenue and Van cortlandt Avenue west.