Free Flu Shot Vouchers for District 14 Residents

For those of you who want to avoid the flu this winter season (and don't we all?), Councilman Fernando Cabrera's office is providing vouchers for free flu shots to 100 residents in his district on a first come, first serve basis. To be eligible, you must be over 18 years of age, uninsured, and live in the 14th City Council District--i.e. Fordham, Kingsbridge, and Morris Heights. Here's a map of the district courtesy of Gotham Gazette.

Here's some information from the press release: "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu is a contagious respiratory illness that can result in death. People who are at high risk to develop flu conditions include; young children, older adults, and people with certain health conditions such as asthma. The best way to avoid catching the flu is to get vaccinated each year."

For more information, contact Community Liaison Anthony Springer at Cabrera's office: (347) 590-2878

Baez Gears Up For Fight of Her Life

Councilwoman Maria Baez and Assemblyman Jose Rivera first met in 1982, when Rivera had just been elected to the Assembly for the first time, and Baez was a struggling single mom living on Creston Avenue. Rivera gave her a job - the first job she'd ever had - and the "rest is history," he says.

Last month, we sat down with Baez to talk about her career (including the important role Rivera has played), her achievements, and some of the criticism she's faced these past two years - being AWOL from Council meetings, her office's mammoth cell phone bills, etc. We also spoke with several of her supporters, including a long-time friend who calls Baez the "best thing that's ever happened to this community." And we heard from those who see her in a very different light. One community leader says Baez has been "invisible" and a "non-entity."

You can read the story here.

Baez, in case you missed it, faces a tough Democratic primary on Sept. 15 against two determined opponents: Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia. There will be profiles of Cabrera and Tapia (as well as a version of the Baez article) in next week’s Norwood News and September's Mount Hope Monitor. We'll link to them on the blog.

PHOTO: Rivera and Baez at a rally outside Baez's campaign office on July 16 (ALMA WATKINS)

A Debate on the Issues -- Aug. 31

Bronx News Network is organizing a television debate on Aug. 31 for the 14th Council District in conjunction with BronxTalk, the cable television talk show hosted by Gary Axelbank on channel 67 (Cablevision).

Earlier this week, we invited all the candidates and are waiting for their responses. We will keep you updated.

14th District Council Race: Let's Try Something Different

The race for City Council in the 14th District has generated hundreds of comments on this blog. We're glad that people are using the blog as a forum to discuss the race, and we encourage everyone's ongoing commenting and participation.

However, we've noticed that few if any of the comments have anything to do with issues, and most are about the candidate's personalities and unsubstantiated rumors, etc. And there have been virtually no press releases from the campaigns outlining their positions, etc.

We'd like to get a conversation going here about the issues. Where do the candidates stand on school overcrowding, the development of the Kingsbridge Armory, economic development in general, open space issues, affordable housing, school closings, etc.

So let us know where your candidate stands on these and any other issues you can think of and be as specific as possible. Or if you're not supporting a candidate, and have questions about where they stand on a particular issue, fire away.

One more thing: For this string, we ask that you don't attack other candidates -- I think we've all had quite enough of that. The purpose of this is to find out what the candidates' positions are on issues.

Cabrera Picks Up More Endorsements

Fernando Cabrera, the pastor and college professor who's running for City Council in the 14th District, was endorsed this morning by Dominican-American Assemblymen Adriano Espaillat and Jose Peralta.

In a press release sent out by Cabrera's campaign, Espaillat, who represents parts of Upper Manhattan, said:

For over 20 years, Dr. Cabrera has provided outstanding service to the 14th District including counseling services to residents in need and has worked to improve the environment through community clean-up efforts. I am most impressed by his community action against violence, the youth leadership programs he has created, and the free drug rehabilitation services he has helped provide to constituents. I am proud to endorse him.

Cabrera said he was "truly humbled and proud to receive the endorsement of two of New York’s most distinguished Assemblymen."

UPDATE: So the rumors (posted in the comments section of this post and others) that the Working Families Party is no longer supporting Cabrera appear to be false. In a telephone interview, Dan Levitan, a WFP spokesman, called them "ridiculous" and "completely untrue." He said Cabrera's "on the list of people that we're really excited about."

New from the Norwood News

The latest edition of the Norwood News is hot off the presses and on streets and online now. Here's a quick preview of some of the stories you'll find.

Some in-depth Kingsbridge Armory development project coverage, including a look at Community Board 7's approval (with conditions) of the Armory plan.

The day after the vote, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) held a rally to push the issue of living wage jobs ($10 an hour, plus benefits) at the Armory once the mall is completed. Union leaders and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson showed up to voice their support.

We try to make sense of all the zany twists going on in the 14th District Council race.

On Monday night, a young man was found murdered on the Grand Concourse.

A host of initiatives are bringing more fresh produce to the northwest Bronx.

Our Inquiring Photographer asks residents what they think about the impending confirmation of Bronxite Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Plus, find out everything that's going on in the local arts and entertainment world in our Out & About section. And check out all the local programs, services and opportunities in our Neighborhood Notes section.

20-Year-Old Council Candidate Bows Out Of 14th District Race

Yorman Nunez (pictured), a 20-year-old former community organizer, has dropped his insurgent bid to unseat 14th District Council Member Maria Baez, leaving just four candidates left in the race.

In a telephone interview, Nunez said he made a "stategic decision" not to file his petition signatures, which he and his campaign had been working day and night to compile for the past month.

Although he was disappointed that he wouldn't see this race through until election day, Nunez said his candidacy was never just about getting elected. "What our campaign was about was changing the political landscape of the Bronx and educating the community. We're trying to change the way candidates are chosen. We don't want it to be three people in a room deciding who our candidates are."

Nunez, a product of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and their youth arm Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), said he made the decision after countless meetings with friends, campaign staffers and advisors.

Nunez said he and his small army of volunteer campaign staffers are still deciding where and how to direct their energy and dropped a few hints about what that might mean. "We are ending the campaign, still seeing what we want to do next. There's some big fish to fry. That could mean Espada, it could mean this mayoral race," he said. "For sure what we’re interested in is building the base."

For now, he has not decide to throw his support behind any of the other candidates in the 14th District. Aside from Baez, there is Fernando Cabrera, Yudelka Tapia and Miguel Santana. All of the candidates have said they expected to have more than enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. "They have three months to convince me who to vote for. I don’t think we’re going to help out our candidate," Nunez said.

Nunez said his campaign "represented a new way of doing things." In the end, Nunez said his camp decided they wanted "build for future," rather than stay in the race this summer.

We'll have more on Nunez's campaign in the next edition of the Norwood News.

For the Record: Fernando Cabrera Opens Up His Home, Talks About Switching Political Parties

Fernando Cabrera at his apartment on Sedgwick Avenue. Photos by Ashley Villarreal.

Many people have been talking, and talking loudly about Fernando Cabrera, who's running to replace Maria Baez as the Council Member for District 14.

Does he actually live in the Bronx? Is he really a Democrat?

Northwest Bronx residents are understandably wary given the recent and unpopular actions of State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr., a Democrat by name only whose support of Republican leadership is effectively paralyzing Albany.

Much has been made of the fact that Espada claims to live in a Bedford Park condo but appears to spend the bulk of his time at his home in Mamaroneck. Espada's Westchester County home is just a 10-minute car ride north, but local residents say his actions (and inactions) in Albany show he's out of touch with the needs of his Bronx constituents.

But yesterday, as he opened up his freezer and then fridge to offer me an ice cold soda, Cabrera assured the Bronx News Network that he, his wife and teenage son live in this apartment on Sedgwick Avenue, near 197th Street. Inside the ice box are leftovers in Tupperware and bags of frozen tamales made by his Mexican wife.

Cabrera says they moved in last July from Pelham, a suburburban town just northeast of the Bronx. Just two months later, Cabrera announced his intention to run in the 14th District Council race. Cabrera says he still owns a home in Pelham, but that his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren live there.

Trying to set the record straight, I toured the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living space, scouring for evidence of a quick move-in, such as the one neighbors claimed Espada did in preparation for a media visit. (He showed up the night before with vacation bags and suitcases.)

Cabrera's new Bronx digs appear legit.

Toothpaste stains on the mirror, a son's bruised drum kit and a baby crib, which Cabrera said is used for visits from his grandson, were all evidence in his favor.

Cabrera, a Mercy College professor, also boasts he is on the advisory board for the building complex, and he seems to be on a first-name basis with the building's super.

Bronxites are also concerned Cabrera may not really be a Democrat. Up until last year, he was a registered Republican. He doesn't deny this. However, Cabrera, the pastor of New Life International Outreach Church on Morris Avenue, said he recently switched parties to sympathize with what he says are values more in line with his lifestyle.

"When I started to re-analyze the work I've done for the past 20 years and started to see the platform the Democratic Party has, I saw myself with the Democratic Party," said Cabrera, as he talked to me on couches in the seemingly lived-in common area he shares with his son, a Columbia University student studying English and computer science.

Cabrera, who is backed by the Bronx Democratic Party and the left-leaning Working Families Party, said what really made for the switch was the work he has done over the years -- counseling teens, being an educator and as a Community Board 7 member (2004-2006) -- that all align with the values Democrats put on social issues.

All the political leaders that came to his church, Cabrera said, were Democratic. And let's not forget new President Barack Obama, who Cabrera says he voted for and who also played a role in inspiring the former Republican to switch parties. "What I love about the Democratic Party is that they're a party of inclusion," he said.

The decision may have been momentous, but Fernando Aquino, Cabrera's campaign consultant, said Cabrera's decision is not that uncommon. "He's not the first person to be a Republican and then a Democrat," Aquino said. "A lot of people decide what they're going to be when they were young, or they have a parent that is and then later they realize they aren't."

Cabrera joked, "There is someone a lot of people might not remember: Hillary Clinton, she was a Republican and now look at how she's represented now, she's very proud of the fact that she is (a Democrat)."

For now, District 14 will continue to give Cabrera more careful scrutiny in the weeks leading up to the election. To learn more about Cabrera's positions, visit his Website.

For the record, Cabrera says he supports civil unions for homosexuals but not legal marriage (same as Obama); he supports abortion only in cases of rape or violence (unlike Obama who is decidedly pro-choice); he is a proponent of saving affordable housing; he supports more funding to help welfare recipients; and he doesn't think there is enough hunting being done in the Bronx to warrant some of its residents' gun collections.

We'll have a little more on all this in the next issue of the Norwood News -- it hits the streets and the Web on July 9.

UPDATE: Tapia protests outside Cabrera's house, calls him "another Espada"

On Saturday, Yudelka Tapia and her supporters held a press conference outside Pastor Fernando Cabrera's house in Pelham, Westchester. We had a post about this on Friday, which has generated quite a few comments. Here's a follow-up press release from Tapia, sent after the event:

I am here in suburban Pelham New York to ask Mr. Fernando Cabrera why he believes that as a member of this community he would be better able to represent the people of NYC’s 14th City Council District than a true resident of the West Bronx.

We are here to ask him why he believes that state laws should be ignored again as was done by Senator Pedro Espada. It is of little surprise that just like Senator Espada Mr. Cabrera is also a life long Republican masquerading as a Democrat.

We are proud that Mr. Cabrera has achieved great economic success in his life and has been living an affluent life in this wealthy suburb for all these years. But the facts can not be refuted. He does not pay taxes in NYC and his children did not attend our schools

We can only assume that the Bronx Democratic leadership was not aware of Mr. Cabrera’s deception when they displayed their preference for him last month.

Information has reached this campaign that as of a few weeks ago Mr. Cabrera was still reflecting his Pelham address in business and campaign related transactions.

The 14th Council District has already suffered with the absence of City Council Member Maria Baez who is rated as the Council Member with the worst attendance record. How much worse would it be if we elect a REPUBLICAN FROM PELHAM?

We've left voice messages for Cabrera asking for his reaction. When we hear back, we'll post his comments here. In a recent interview with the Norwood News, though, Cabrera said he moved to the Bronx last July and lives at 2792 Sedgwick Ave. - in the confines of the 14th Council District - with his wife and son. While he still owns his house in Pelham, he said his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren reside there - not him.

Some additional thoughts and clarifications:

Cabrera has admitted to being a registered Republican until recently. But he didn't vote in September's Republican primaries, according to Patrick Jenkins, a spokesman for the Bronx Democratic Party - contrary to what Tapia is claiming.

Tapia's camp didn't like the word "protest" that we used in the original post. From an e-mail:

We understand that the word protest, as stated in the headline, is not factually incorrect but it might send the wrong message to the readers of Bronx News Network. Tapia and Bronx residents held a peaceful and low key press conference. Ms. Tapia read her statement and Bronx residents stood behind her outside of Cabrera’s home with signs for about 15 minutes. When she finished her statement everyone left.

If you can't read the signs in the photo above - it's a little washed out - some of them suggest Cabrera voted for John McCain, rather than Barack Obama, in the presidential election. For example, "Cabrera no voto por Obama" and "Fernando Cabrera voto por e Republicano McCain" and "Fernando Cabrera did not vote for President Obama." In a later e-mail, however, Tapia's communications director, Elias Alcantara, said she didn't know how Cabrera voted. "We have found no record of him having voted in the Nov. of 08 election therefore we can not conclude if he voted for Obama or McCain," she wrote.

Update: Cabrera has previously told the Bronx News Network that he was a big Obama supporter and says he takes the "Obama view" on gay marriage, meaning he's for civil unions.

Update 3:30 p.m.: Just spoke to Fernando Aquino, a spokesman for Cabrera's campaign. He said Cabrera was born in the Bronx and has lived here, on-and-off, for more than 10 years - longer than he lived in Westchester.

He said he doesn't know if Cabrera voted in the Republican primaries, but even if he did it shouldn't be an issue. "He used to be a Republican, he's not hiding that," Aquino said, adding that he switched allegiance because "Democratic values were his values."

Of Tapia's press conference, Aquino said: "His [Cabrera's] campaign will welcome any discussion on the issues, but we will not get distracted by unfounded allegations."

Oh, and Aquino said Cabrera voted for Obama in the election, not McCain.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Elias Alcantara. Tapia is holding the mic.

Tapia to protest outside Cabrera's house, calls him "another Espada"

This press release was sent out earlier this evening:

Yudelka Tapia and fellow community leaders will visit Fernando Cabrera’s, candidate for the 14th Council District and endorsee of the Bronx Democratic Committee, home in Pelham, NY. Cabrera also, just recently changed his party membership from Republican to Democrat.

Tapia with various community leaders in front of Cabrera’s home will question him on the legitimacy of his campaign for the 14th City Council District. “Someone who lives in the suburbs of Pelham, NY can not adequately represent our community and Bronx residents do not deserve another Espada” says Tapia. Cabrera most recently voted as a Republican in the 2008 Presidential Primaries. According to the Westchester County Board of Elections Cabrera was a registered Republican for almost ten years.

Date: Saturday June 27, 2009
Time: 1pm
Location: 58 Sixth St. Pelham, NY 10803

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Elias Alcantara, Communications Director at 646-384-1990 or by email at e.alcantara@yudelkatapia.com.

Tapia and Cabrera are among those hoping to topple Maria Baez, the incumbent, in September's primary. More here.

New from the Norwood News

The latest edition of the Norwood News is hot of the presses and on the streets and online now. Here's a quick preview of our stories and features:

Here's our guide to Bronx Week 2009, which kicked off yesterday and concludes next weekend with a parade and party on Mosholu Parkway. Enjoy the festivities! This is what our readers love about the Bronx. Let us know what you love about the Bronx in our comments section below.

We recap Pedro Espada's role in the Republicans' Senate takeover. Our editorial says Espada's move can't be good for locals.

A look at what the recent endorsements for pastor and college professor Fernando Cabrera mean for 14th District Council race. Note: in the print edition, we also presented quick profiles of all the candidates. If we have time, we'll put them up on the blog later today.

The city has extended it's Grand Concourse bike lane all the way up to Mosholu Parkway on the northbound side of the street.

The MTA is experimenting with an express line for the 4 Train. The city says it will cut commuting time from Woodlawn to 149th Street by 4 minutes. [Note: already we've had some angry calls from Bronx commuters about this. One woman, a teacher who commutes from Woodlawn to Fordham Road, says she think her commute time has increased 10 minutes. Write in if you have any complaints or praise for the new express line, use the comments section below or email norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org.]

The Landmark Preservation Commission wants to designate a stretch of Perry Ave. in Bedford Park as a Historic District.

Plus, check out our extended Neighborhood Notes guide to local programs and services and our Out & About arts, recreation and entertainment guide.