BY BEN VERDE
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s coronavirus
task forces are toothless
acts of nepotism, according
to one Bushwick councilman.
Councilman Antonio Reynoso,
who is gearing up to run
for Brooklyn Borough President,
slammed the mayor for
appointing his wife Chirlane
McCray to help lead the city’s
COVID-19 response — accusing
Hizzoner of trying to raise her
profi le ahead of her own longrumored
run for borough hall.
“We’re currently in a pandemic,
and the business-asusual
politics that people play
has to be unacceptable at this
point,” Reynoso said.
De Blasio, whom critics have
accused of bungling the city’s
coronavirus response by not
seeking the advice of scientifi c
experts, appointed McCray to
lead the city’s racial equity task
force, which aims to help communities
of color that have been
Cuomo cans special election for Bushwick
council seat, infuriating progressives
4 COURIER LIFE, MAY 1-7, 2020
disproportionately affected by
the pandemic.
The task force has no “decision
making power,” a spokeswoman
for the mayor’s offi ce
told NBC New York.
“The entity itself does not
have decision-making power,”
Jane Meyer told the station on
April 28. “This group will be an
ear to the ground and will be
able to raise issues quickly or
suggest ways to better connect
with and serve communities
that are most impacted.”
Within the fi ve boroughs,
black people are 130 percent
more likely to contract coronavirus
than their white counterparts
and are twice as likely to
die from the virus, according to
city data. The Hispanic population
faces similar challenges, as
they are nearly 1.8 times more
likely to succumb to the outbreak
than white New Yorkers.
With such a stark racial disparity,
the city needs to focus
on combating the inequities
within the city’s diverse communities
— rather than playing
politics during a pandemic,
Reynoso said.
“If we’re going to address a
health crisis that affects people
of color because of their health
outcomes, I would like that to
be a health expert,” said the
councilman.
McCray — who has lived in
Manhattan for the past seven
years, but has said she is “seriously
considering” running
for offi ce — is currently head
of ThriveNYC, a mental health
initiative that critics have
called a “money pit.”
She also heads a separate
mental health initiative geared
towards new parents that only
serves Brooklyn residents and
expires in 2021 — when de Blasio’s
term runs out, and her
potential borough presidency
would commence. That health
program has also faced criticisms,
with detractors charging
that it was an ineffective
political ploy meant to raise
McCray’s profi le in the borough
she potentially hopes to
represent.”
City Hall defended the mayor’s
appointments and argued
that McCray is qualifi ed to address
the task force’s goals.
“First Lady McCray is a
highly qualifi ed public servant
who has worked for decades to
end inequity,” said City Hall
spokeswoman Siobhan Dingwall.
“She has managed a diverse
portfolio since the start
of this administration and will
help us rebuild this city stronger
than it was before.”
Antonio Reynoso. File photo
Chirlane McCray. File photo
BEEP YOURSELF!
Bushwick pol slams Mayor for appointing his
wife to COVID-19 task force amid BP race
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Gov. Andrew Cuomo cancelled
the June 23 special
election for the 37th Council
District seat in Bushwick via
executive order on April 25,
provoking criticism from progressive
pols who said the race
was rigged in favor of a party
favorite.
“This is by far the most blatant
anti-democratic power
grab,” said candidate Sandy
Nurse in a statement. “Unless
Mayor de Blasio steps in to enforce
the City Charter and the
court agrees, there will only be
one candidate left on the ballot.
That is not democracy.”
Nurse was vying for the seat
against local district leader
Darma Diaz, who has the support
of the both Brooklyn Democratic
Party leader Rodneyse Bichotte
and former Councilman
Rafael Espinal, who abruptly
vacated the position in January
to take on a new gig heading the
Freelancers Union.
There were initially two separate
elections on two separate
dates — a non-partisan special
election to fi ll the seat immediately
that was slated to take
place on April 28, and a primaries
on June 23 to nominate a
candidate for the general election
in November.
The winner of the special
election would have served as
the district’s Council member
until January, when the winner
of the June and November
elections would have taken
over to serve the remainder of
Espinal’s term until the end of
2021.
In an effort to limit the
amount of times Brooklynites
headed to the voting booth in
the middle of the pandemic,
Cuomo initially moved the special
election to coincide with
the June 23 Council primary
and the now-canceled presidential
nominating contest.
Now, Cuomo decided to take
another turn, axing the special
election entirely, thereby simplifying
the ballot for voters —
while also kicking insurgents
out of the race.
Since Nurse only made the
ballot for the special and not the
primary election, that move effectively
removes her from the
contest and results in Diaz running
unopposed in the primary
and being all but guaranteed a
victory in the heavily-blue district
in November.
Cuomo’s decision to cancel
the Bushwick Council primary
on April 24 came a full day after
he called off other special elections,
like the race for Queens
borough president. Why Cuomo
waited an additional 24 hours
to nix the Brooklyn race is unclear,
and Cuomo’s press offi
ce did not return a request for
comment to clarify.
Without a special election,
the district — which also
stretches into Cypress Hills,
Brownsville, Ocean Hill, and
East New York — will go without
a dedicated legislative representative
for almost a year
from when Espinal resigned.
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson will continue to manage
the district for the rest of
2020, but Nurse — in a statement
signed by a host of progressive
electeds and political
clubs — accused Cuomo of depriving
a predominantly black
and Hispanic area of having a
full-time rep in the city legislature.
“By canceling the special
election yesterday, the governor
is saying that a high needs
African-American and Latino
community should lack representation
for nearly a full year,”
she said.
Diaz said Cuomo’s decision
came as a surprise but she supported
it. The district leader
was previously eager to get the
seat fi lled as soon as possible so
that the neighborhoods would
have a representative.
However, the politico claimed
that voters could be confused
by having to vote twice for the
same offi ce on the same day and
that — if they choose to vote by
mail — sending in two different
ballot sheets would further risk
spreading the virus.
“It was hard to explain that
it was two elections in one day
— that eliminated confusion
about that,” Diaz said. “If we
can wait till January 1 and save
one life, I want to save one life.”
“This is by far the most blatant,
anti-democratic power grab.”