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Biaggi to make congressional bid
for newly drawn, crowded 3rd district
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 6 FEB. 11-17, 2022 BTR
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi formally announced her bid for U.S. Congress on Monday in
what is already shaping up to be a crowded fi eld of candidates. Photo courtesy Facebook
Nine tenants and a fi refi ghter were
injured after a two-alarm Bronx fi re
engulfed their apartment building
early Saturday morning.
Fire Department sources said the
inferno ignited at about 6:11 a.m. on
Feb. 5 on the third fl oor of a six-story
residence at 2397 Grand Ave. in University
Heights.
The blaze quickly spread into a
two-alarm event, bringing 25 FDNY
units and 106 personnel to the scene.
Five of the 10 injured people were
brought two St. Barnabas Hospital,
while two others were taken to Jacobi
Hospital, for treatment of their injuries,
none of which were considered
life-threatening. Three other injured
individuals refused medical attention.
Firefi ghters brought the blaze under
control in just over an hour, at 7:25
a.m. on Feb. 5. Fire marshals are now
investigating its cause.
-Robert Pozarycki
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Add two-term state Sen. Alessandra
Biaggi’s name to the crowded primary
for the open congressional seat in state’s
third district, which was just redistricted
to include the Bronx and Westchester
last week.
The popular Pelham Progressive
with several prominent Westchester
Democrats in line to endorse her hopes
to bring “bolder” leadership to Washington,
D.C.
“Our country doesn’t just need more
Democrats in Washington, we need
bolder ones. I am running for Congress
in NY-3 to bring progressive and honest
leadership to the frontlines of our country’s
most important fi ghts. Hard working
families of Westchester, Long Island,
the Bronx, and Queens deserve an
experienced, strong, and fearless leader
in Washington,” she announced in a
statement on Monday.
Biaggi’s political career has been littered
with major victories — toppling
one-time Democratic leader state Sen.
Jeff Klein in a primary for her current
seat in 2018 — and she could be well-positioned
to add to a rise in the state’s progressive
political representation as well
as center climate change as a solution
for shoreline communities in a district
that now spans fi ve counties and both
sides of the Long Island Sound. Biaggi’s
current senatorial district includes portions
of Westchester and the Bronx.
“As the Representative of the Sound,
I will work to combat climate change
and protect our shorelines, expand voting
rights, enact universal pre-K to support
working parents, provide opportunity
and relief for the middle class,
protect abortion rights, ensure public
safety and a fair criminal legal system,
and deliver affordable healthcare for
all,” said Biaggi, the daughter of former
longtime Congressman Mario Biaggi. .”
So far six Long Island Democrats, including
Democratic superdelegate Robert
Zimmerman, Nassau County Legislator
Joshua Lafazan, former North
Hempstread Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman,
Melanie D’Arrigo, Nayjot Kaut
and Reema Rasool, have announced
bids for the seat currently held by U.S.
Tom Suozzi, a moderate Democrat forgoing
the seat to run in a primary for governor
this year.
“I do believe that the progressive
movement in New York will continue to
grow,” said Karen Young, a redistricting
expert from #DrawDemocracy. “Progressive
champions were able to win in
districts gerrymandered against them
in 2018 and 2020, and more candidates
are popping up all the time. My hope is
that before the next cycle, New Yorkers
will come together to win a truly independent
redistricting process.”
New York’s newly drawn congressional
districts transformed the Third
Congressional District into a political
seat that spans fi ve counties and a diverse
set of interests, as well as a seat
Biaggi would not have challenged for
prior to the new Democrat-drawn lines
being approved by Gov. Kathy Hochul
on Thursday.
“This district having historically
been (until this last redistricting) a tiny
sliver of Queens, Nassau, Suffolk but
that takes in the Bronx and Westchester,
you’re talking about a much wider
universe of candidates running for this
seat,” said Jake Delimani, a Democratic
political strategist. “Obviously, Biaggi
would have never been a candidate for
this district based on old lines, and she
represents a small slice of the district.
She’s a formidable candidate.”
Delmani added that Zimmermann, a
longtime Democratic leader from Great
Neck, has also put together a formidable
campaign, wrapping up endorsement
from key union labors.
One Republican source involved in
the state Republican Party’s lawsuit contesting
the newly-drawn maps in state
Supreme Court believes the Democrats
created an unfair advantage in the First
Congressional District, a Long Island
district that now includes a heavy-blue
New York City suburbs, and the aforementioned
third district which dips into
the Bronx and Westchester.
Two-alarm Bronx fi re
injures 9 tenants: FDNY
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