District 14 City Council member Pierina Sanchez continues her re-election crusade by focusing on her accomplishments and largely ignoring the challenge to her seat in the next Democratic number one on Tuesday, June 27 through her opponent, Rachel Bradshaw, a member of the district state Assembly Committee. 78. Sánchez won his seat for the first time in the November 2021 general election and took office in early 2022.
District 14 broadly encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Bedford Park, University Heights, Mt. Hope, and Morris Heights. Il is bordered to the south by Cross Bronx Expressway.
It was a busy first year for the rookie adviser, a former White House staffer under the former U. S. president. U. S. As noted, Sanchez is one of several first-time applicants who took office in 2022 and now make up the majority of the city council. He began his freshman year in the face of rising Omicron and a series of fires in his district, among other tragedies, and added the shooting death of a 61-year-old bystander in Fordham Heights.
He also became interested in recovery efforts after the Twin Parks chimney on Jan. 9, 2022, though the towers fell in the adjacent 15th District, represented by City Council member Oswald Feliz. Sanchez then subsidized Feliz’s vote on May 19, 2022, in the first package of chimney protection legislation to be passed in reaction to the tragic chimney. The councilman also co-sponsored and submitted another bill to expand the city’s heat sensor program (HSP). The program identifies buildings with recurring heat violations for staggered monitoring and execution.
In July of that year, Sanchez attended the grand opening of the new Starhill affordable housing complex, in the Morris Heights segment of the borough, and since last year, he has also been very concerned about the advancement of Kingsbridge Armory, a topic that has been widely covered through Norwood News over the years. The councilman also participated in discussions about Fordham Landing’s billion-dollar progression in University Heights.
Later that year, he gave a keynote address to graduates of Bronx Community College, his alma mater and where he chose to devote himself, announced in July a $350,000 investment to modernize Bean Morris Garden, and in August hosted a basketball tournament against gun violence. Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B. R. A. G. ) to P. S. 279 switches in Fordham Heights. [This before giving birth to a baby in the same year. ]
According to Sánchez’s crusade team, since taking office, the counselor and her team have served more than 4500 citizens, helping others apply for housing, obtain flexible legal assistance, apply for citizenship and pantries. 1,500 citizens to vote for their preferred capital improvement projects within the community.
In terms of legislation, in the face of a severe housing crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, they said Sánchez had passed legislation for housing quality, protecting rent stabilization, and expanding access to housing vouchers for low- to moderate-income families. They said that as chair of the Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee, she held 36 hearings on the housing crisis and sponsored 532 expenditures and resolutions, 127 of which passed or became law.
As for economic opportunity, they said Sanchez had introduced the “Together for Kingsbridge” procedure to rebuild Kingsbridge Armory, which they said directly involved 4300 people, more than 70 events, events, between November 2022 and June 2023, in partnership with elected officials. in the region and network organizations throughout the neighborhood.
They added that a successful redevelopment of the armory can bring network services and a bunch of well-paid tasks to the neighborhood. residents, and maintained a “recruitment bank” in its network office, vacancies of directory tasks for network residents.
In terms of investment for schools and infrastructure, they said more than $25 million in capital investment for schools, network centers and Kingsbridge Armory in the first budget they voted, and spent $7 million to build a new network center. 183rd Street and Walton Avenue in Fordham Heights.
As for safer streets, they said Sanchez has worked with the New York Department of Transportation (DOT) to publish more than 30 traffic surveys on lighting, pedestrian protection and road protection near parks and schools, adding the installation of a prevention sign on Grand Avenue. They said she also works with local constituencies, district councils and anti-violence organizations to prevent violence and remove guns from the streets.
Safer streets from a traffic attitude are also a primary fear for many Sanchez voters, as noted. In terms of improving quality of life, his crusade team said his workplace has gotten rid of the trash and burns that citizens have complained about for years. in parks and empty masses in the neighborhood, adding Davidson Community Garden, Fordham Landing lot and Grand Playground, and brought cameras to the app. They said he also made certain senior bus stops on Burnside Avenue.
Meanwhile, Bradshaw, who is reportedly president of the local political group, Democrats for Change of the Northwest Bronx, and a founding member of Friends of Devoe Park, has already criticized the current councilman’s record on the fronts, and his supporters have also called on Sanchez to debate Bradshaw.
His criticism of the councilman has been widely covered here. In addition, one of Bradshaw’s ers, Ali Perez, Manhattan City Council candidate for District 10, spoke to Norwood News about his for Bradshaw and alleged that Sanchez built the City Council’s small business leasing bill. 0737-2018. A program to identify an environment conducive to fair negotiations in the ad lease renewal procedure to determine moderate lease terms.
Perez argues that the bill, if passed, would be unfair to small businesses and favor owners of advertising assets. He said that’s one of the reasons he supports Bradshaw over Sanchez. which gives them the right to have their lease expire. . . 82% of those immigrant homeowners will no longer be able to pay rent taxes or property taxes on landlords to Array,” Perez said.
Norwood News raised the issue with the councilman’s crusade team on June 20. They told us that if this is the bill they think it is [they responded at an election crusade event, so they weren’t in their office] it hasn’t been reintroduced and it’s not before the council or under consideration.
On the same day, for the time being a consecutive year, Sanchez unveiled a $1 million capital investment in components aimed at obtaining better quality of life resources for youth and seniors in District 14 through the participatory budgeting procedure. According to the New York City Council, participatory budgeting component (PB) is a democratic procedure in which network members directly how to spend component of a public budget.
The procedure began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989. Today, there are more than 3,000 participatory budgeting procedures worldwide, maximum at the municipal level. It was introduced in New York in 2011.
According to Sanchez’s campaign, with nearly 1,000 votes cast by citizens on how to spend $1 million in District 14, five projects were announced on June 20, adding $750,000 for the improvement of 390 M. S. gyms; $50,000 for renovation of the BronxWorks Senior Center cafeteria; $64,470 for a generation/mini STEM lab upgrade for the Francis Martin Library; $51,234 for a new Media Center for P. S. 206; and $55,500 for tree planting for University Wood Park.
“I’m proud of this year’s allocations, aimed at universal that we all use, but that our youngest and oldest constituents attend more,” the councilman said through a press release. “This investment will make transformative improvements, from modernizing school facilities to creating colorful network spaces. Together, we are building a District 14 that lives off the voices and aspirations of its people. I express my deepest gratitude to all those who participated and contributed to this remarkable initiative. Their determination and commitment is an inspiration to us all,” he added.
The councilman later told Norwood News: “We had another thousand people who voted this year, 800 last year, which is pretty high, especially when you look across the city and the engagement, and that tells me when we spread the word for the network and the network makes the decision to invest in schools, Investing in our senior centers, investing in our [inaudibles], says a lot about what the network is involved in and gives me recommendations on what to prioritize and what to combat. “
When we discussed that a million dollars seemed like a lot of cash for the network on how to spend, Sanchez said each council member can know how much investment is allocated as a component of the PB process.
While not in his district, but in light of the recent dire turn of scooters’ fate in the South Bronx on June 19, NYC Parks’ new pilot program has allowed soft scooters to be driven on designated trails in the city’s public parks since June 20. . , and knowing that the counselor had been hospitalized after being hit by a delayed scooter in 2021, we asked Sanchez his opinion on the new pilot scooter program.
She responded by saying, “The protection of pedestrians, the other people walking, their protection will have to be the priority, so I will continue to push the parks branch and the NYPD to keep our pedestrians safe. There’s a bit of grey. domain with the weight of the scooter determining whether or not you want a license plate, determining where it may or may not be, and so all it takes is to take a look at the regulatory regime around scooters and e-bikes and all for us. Prioritize pedestrian protection.
Meanwhile, a resident of the Fordham Hill Co-op informed the Norwood News that flyers from Bradshaw’s crusade had recently been mailed to the citizens of Fordham Hill Co-op, at Fordham Manor. Bradshaw lives at Fordham Hill, a personal cooperative, where he is also secretary to the board of trustees of Fordham Hill Owners Corporation, after serving as vice president for two years. Bradshaw is shown with Mayor Eric Adams, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Myrna Calderon, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors of Fordham Hill Owners Corporation, Blandón Casenave, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Fordham Hill Owners Corporation, and Michelle Centeno, Vice President of Fordham. Hill Owners Corporation at the Fordham Hill Co-op’s 40th Anniversary Birthday Party in October 2022.
Below the image, the flyer reads: “Rachel is No. 1 in the poll and rank Rachel Bradshaw as your No. 1 and your only choice. “Bradshaw, meanwhile, the Bronx Democratic Party has backed Sanchez’s re-election.
Of the flyer, Sanchez later told Norwood News, “As far as my mentions go, they’re obviously on the back of my mail,” a copy of which he shared and which is attached below. Referring to the debate question, Bradshaw added: “Pierina is not ignoring the challenge. Sanchez sent a letter every day for 3 weeks. Is this ignoring [the] challenge? He also brought his crusade manager to the debate in which he decided not to participate. Bradshaw told the Norwood News that his other flyers define his crusade’s vision for the future.
Bradshaw insists Sanchez is not ignoring his crusade, mentioning the fact that the councilman sent a letter to 6,100 voters in District 14, adding but not limited to the electorate in Fordham Hill. However, the carriers did not attack Bradshaw. In addition, we did not discover articles in which Sanchez directly discusses Bradshaw’s crusade or policies, unless he asks to respond directly to issues raised through Bradshaw’s crusade related to Sanchez’s own candidacy or record.
Bradshaw also alleged that the outgoing councilwoman “had several BOE court cases filed against her. “Ignizio, deputy executive director of the BOE, responded on Monday, June 26: “I have been informed of any allegations so far. “
The BOE later said it reported Monday, June 26, that the hundred-foot crusade rule had been a factor at a Bronx polling place and that the BOE’s legal team contacted staff at the Bronx BOE office about it. The polling place they were referring to and which candidate they were referring to and we will update this story as soon as we get a response.
In February, Sanchez introduced a bill, in collaboration with New York City Attorney General Jumanne Williams, that, if passed, would require cooperative forums to justify their reasons for rejecting cooperative housing applicants.
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