State Boots Espada's Health Clinics from Medicaid

(File photo by Jeanmarie evelly)

In a decision announced yesterday afternoon, the State Department of Health terminated the network of health care clinics run by former Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. and his son from the state's Medicaid program--a move that will essentially mean closure for the five medical centers of the Soundview Network, which operate almost entirely on reimbursement funds from Medicaid patients.

The reason for the exclusion, the Health Department said, is Soundview's failure to comply with state laws that "are designed to ensure that Medicaid dollars are properly accounted for and that systems are in place to ensure that all claims for funding are valid."

Just hours before the announcement, the State's Office of the Medicaid Inspector General released a letter recommending Soundview be cut, also citing the organization's failure to comply as well as a "lack of oversight" of the business operations there, and the fact that both Espada and his son, Pedro Gautier Espada, are still leading the company, despite being barred from participating in the Medicaid program themselves back in January.

Espada Comeback?

Well, not yet anyway.
But the wording on the pop-up that comes up when you go to his Senate page makes his departure seem only temporary.

Sen. Rivera Holds Mobile Office Hours

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, still looking to lock down a permanent district office, will be holding office hours at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, 3450 Dekalb Ave, from 4 to 7 p.m. today.

The new senator opted not to take over the former office of his predecessor, the embattled and recently indicted Pedro Espada, and told us last week that he's hoping to set up shop on the Grand Concourse, across the street from Loew's Paradise Theater.

In the meantime, he's been working from the Senate Democrats' offices in downtown Manhattan and meeting with constituents at locations throughout the district, a spokeswoman said, adding that the office delay should be resolved in the next few weeks.

"I am committed to reaching out to my constituents in the 33rd Senate District," Rivera said. "Since my district office isn't ready, I want to make sure to be in the community and ensure my constituents know how to get ahold of me and my staff."

To find out more about office hours or to reach Rivera's staff, constituents can call his Albany office at 518-455-3395.

Bronx News Roundup, Feb. 11

Happy Friday, brothers and sisters of the Bronx. Praise Zeus! Or Puxatauny Phil!  Looks like today will be our last defined by frigid temperatures, for about a week or so, at least. Today will be sunny with a high just under freezing. There might be flurries tomorrow afternoon, but with a high of 39 and temperatures possibly reaching the mid-50s by Thursday, let's get out the champagne or sparkling apple juice!

Story of the Day:
While conditions continue to deteriorate at the 10 buildings abandoned by Los Angeles speculator Milbank Real Estate, a Scarsdale -based landlord, Steve Finkelstein, is closing in on a deal to acquire the properties. Finkelstein says he will put up $10 million for repairs -- up from his original offer of about $6 million -- but a report commissioned by the City Council says the full cost of repairs would be more than twice that. Finkelstein, who owns some 30 apartment buildings in the borough, told the Daily News, "There's a lot of work to be done. But I know what I have to do. These are good buildings - they just need someone to take care of them."

Meanwhile, the DN's Dan Beekman reports, tenants at one Milbank building say they were without heat last week and that vacant apartments are being used by drug dealers and abusers.

Story of the Day Too:
Former State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. held a "unity press conference" yesterday that featured appearances by "amigo" State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. and some song and dance numbers. Espada tried to project an air of normalcy, reports NY1's Josh Robin, while trying to bring attention to the fact that the state department is denying his Soundview health care center a $3 million grant to build a new facility across the street. Espada's health care clinics can receive medicaid, but the funds can not pay for his or his son's salary. Both have been indicted for defrauding the nonprofit clinics and using its funds for their own personal use.

Quick Hits:
Melissa Petro, the former prostitute turned Bronx art teacher PS 70, announced her resignation and spoke publicly about it yesterday, saying she could have fought her DOE-imposed suspension and thought she would have won, but felt she wouldn't have been welcomed back if she did. The Post says, "This is one whore with chutzpah."

A 76-year-old man was killed by a city bus driver yesterday in Parkchester.

The Bronx Zoo has two new bald eagles that were injured in Wyoming.

A Bronx man won free cab rides for a year.

Imprisoned "A Bronx Tale" actor Lillo Brancato beat up a fellow inmate at the upstate prison where he's serving time.

And finally, in response to inquiries by the Riverdale Press, a bunch of legislators who represent their coverage area, including Councilman Oliver Koppell, Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz and state senators Adriano Espaillat and Gustavo Rivera, all agreed to divulge their outside income. State Senator Jeff Klein didn't go into detail, but a spokesman said he made between $100,000 and $220,000. Dinowitz said part of his income was a few hundred dollars in residual checks for his acting role -- playing a congressman -- in the 2002 J.Lo movie, "Maid in Manhattan."

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Bronx News Roundup, Jan. 19

The state has banned former Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr., and his son from its Medicaid program. Espada is the CEO of the Soundview Healthcare Network, and was criminally indicted for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the string of clinics.

Speaking of Espada: investigators are trying to determine if he used Soundview money to pay a ghostwriter he'd hired back in 2006 to help pen an autobiography. "I think he wanted to be a hero character in his memoir," the writer told the Post of the book, which was never completed.

Don Kirshner, a Bronx-born music producer and television host, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. He had hand in some of the most popular songs and musical acts of the 1950s, including Manhattan's Carole King and fellow Bronxite Bobby Darin.

News for outer borough residents, where yellow city cabs are often hard to come by: Mayor Bloomberg plans to legalize livery cabs to make street pick ups. The proposal has yellow cab drivers irked, saying the move will cut into their income.

The Mayor is expected to make the announcement during his "State of the City" address today, at 1 p.m.

Police have ruled the death of a Bronx couple's 11-day-old baby an accident. The infant was smothered while being carried by her mother in a carrier harness during an outing.

The Bronx saw a shocking 107.7% jump on in the number of murders that took place in the borough's public housing complexes in 2010, compared to the year before.

A Bronx woman was busted trying to use counterfeit $100 bills for her purchases at the Palisades Mall.

Jurors in a Bronx Supreme Court will get to hear a tape of accused killer Daniel Carbuccia's plan to re-enact a scene from the mafia classic "The Godfather," to scare a witness out of testifying against him.

A gorgeous Mediterranean-style mansion in Riverdale's Fieldston Historic District is up for sale. Anyone with a spare $4.5 million want to buy it for me?

Craigslist has starting pulling ads from posters trying to sell the controversial drink Four Loko online. Bronx Sen. Jeff Klein has been on a mission to get the booze-and-caffeine mixed beverage off the market for good. Apparently, you can still buy cans of the stuff on eBay.

Workers at Woodlawn are trying to garner the support of plot owners at the cemetery in an ongoing union dispute over layoffs.

A man who was killed after accidentally plunging his truck into a Wisconsin lake earlier this week has been identified as 43-year-old Peter Ramanand, of the Bronx.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Dec. 13

Welcome back to the program, ladies and gentlemen of the Bronx. A little weekend wrap-up to get you started this week. On to the news!

NY1's Dean Meminger runs through the top Bronx stories of 2010: the Riverdale bombing attempt trial; the the anti-gay attacks attributed by police to the Latin King Goonies; Pedro Espada, Jr.'s trials, tribulations and, finally, primary loss to Gustavo Rivera; a borough-wide rise in violent crime; the deaths of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and announcer Bob Sheppard, as well as Supreme Court Justice Burton Roberts.

Police have made an arrest in the shooting of an off-duty police detective early Sunday morning in the Bronx's Pelham Bay neighborhood. The detective, Richard Olmo, 43, was apparently trying in a dispute -- over a minor fender bender or parking too close to another vehicle -- outside of the Pelham Bay Diner when someone pulled out a gun and shot him in the backside. Olmo was released from Jacobi Hospital this morning.

Award-winning Latin jazz musician Arturo O'Farrill is teaching the next generation of Latin jazz artists at the Urban Assembly Bronx Studio School for Writers and Artists. Great Bronx quote from the Daily News article: "The Bronx is what's left of the New York I grew up with - of policemen and teachers - of real working people," O'Farrill said.

On Friday, a Bronx judge ordered LNR Property Corp. -- the realty group that is overseeing 10 dilapidated Bronx apartment buildings that were bought and then abandoned by Milbank Real Estate -- to cough up $2.5 million for repairs. The judge ordered the repair work in September, but issued a stay as LNR shopped the mortgages for the properties over the last few months. The City Council recently estimated that it would cost more than $26.6 million to fully rehab the buildings.

As part of its Neediest Cases series, the Times looks at a Burmese family making its way in the Bronx's West Farms area.

With poverty and unemployment rising, some say the Bronx'sCommunity Board 7 could have used the minimum wage jobs that would have come with a new mall inside the Kingsbridge Armory. But the mall plan was killed in the City Council a year ago.

A couple that met in the Bronx and almost married here was reunited more than four decades later, thanks to Facebook.

An NYU study breaks down the city's Dominican population, 40% of which lives in the Bronx.

A couple of Pedro Espada stories as the state senator continues to stay away from Albany during his final weeks in office:

The Post says he's still collecting a pay check from his network of nonprofit health clinics, which Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accused him of using as his "personal piggy bank." (This isn't really news, we knew he was still getting paid from the health clinics, but it remains unclear how much compensation Espada's receiving because he hasn't been listed on the nonprofit's last three tax forms. A source says criminal charges for Espada could come as soon as next month.)

And, finally, Albany Times-Union political bureau chief Casey Seiler says goodbye to absentee Espada in an opinion piece. At the end, he captures Espada in a good mood, reveling in the chaos he caused during the now infamous state senate "coup" of 2009. 

Ed. note: Start a discussion about any of these stories, or anything else you want to talk about in our forum. Highlight problems in your neighborhood with our SeeClickFix feature. And find out what's happening in our constantly-updated events calendar.

Bronx News Roundup, Dec. 8

The "ice pick" mugger, now identified by police as 39-year-old ex-con John Martinez, is being charged with a number of offenses in connection with a string of robberies in the Bronx, and one in Manhattan.

Former heavyweight boxer Iran Barkley's championship belt was stolen from a Bronx public housing complex in October, according to police. Barkey, who retired from the sport in 1999, has come upon some hard times since.

A man was found stabbed to death inside his apartment in Tracey Towers, on Mosholu Parkway, early this morning.

State Senators Pedro Espada, Jr., and Ruben Diaz, Sr. were among several politicians that missed yesterday's Albany session, as the legislature voted down a rescue plan for the city's OTB. Espada has "effectively retired," the Times Union says, while the Rev. Diaz "hates gambling."

Bronx drivers are fuming over Mayor Bloomberg's plan to hike meter rates in the outer boroughs by a quarter, to $1 an hour.

Parents, teachers and students at the six Bronx catholic schools slated to close this year after funding cuts are fighting the archdiocese's decision.  The schools, along with 26 others across the state, were chosen for their low student enrollment numbers. 

Grammy-nominated Hip-Hop producer Swiss Beatz, from the Bronx, is inspiring NYU students as an advisor at the school's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music.

Girls volleyball teams from high schools throughout the Bronx had a stellar season this year, according to the NY Post. 

This week, the DOE announced another round of schools it plans to close based on poor performance. With ten on the list, the Bronx has more schools on the chopping block than any other borough.

Students at John F. Kennedy High School, which is of those to be shuttered, told NY1 that while the school has its problems, things were getting better this year. 

City Council members and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio are looking to increase penalties for landlords who receive repeated complaints for not providing heat and hot water.  According to city data, residents in Community Board 7--which includes Norwood and Bedford Park--filed the most heat complaints in the city last year.

Ed. note: Start a discussion about any of these stories, or anything else you want to talk about in our forum. Highlight problems in your neighborhood with our SeeClickFix feature. And find out what's happening in our constantly-updated events calendar.

Espada Misses Vote on Important Housing Bill

Espada at a rally for his "rent freeze" bill in February (file photo)

Sen. Pedro Espada's absence at a special Senate session in Albany yesterday was a conspicuous one, as the controversial Majority Leader failed to make the trek to the capitol, while his primary election rival Gustavo Rivera--now Senator-elect--did.

Also making the journey to Albany? A group of city housing advocates intent on supporting an important housing bill to extend current rent stabilization laws until 2018--a lobbying effort that ultimately failed, as the bill was just a few votes short of the 32 needed to pass.

Espada missed the vote on the bill despite the fact that he is the chairman of the Senate's housing committee and happens to be the legislation's main sponsor.

"No one believed any of the stories [for why he didn't show up]," said Michael McKee, director of the Tenants PAC and the Real Rent Reform Campaign, who attended yesterday's session.

Bronx News Roundup, Nov. 30

The Daily News' Patrice O'Shaughnessy says troubling questions still remain in the death of Billy Murphy, a homeless man who died in Norwood back in August. Police insist his death was an accident, but those who knew him aren't convinced. For more on Murphy's life and death, check out this Norwood News story and BxNN post.

A burglary at Our Lady of Refuge School in Bedford Park on Sunday may be connected to a string of recent break-ins at Bronx churches.

A construction firm working on the delayed and over-budget Croton Water Filtration Plant in Van Cortlandt Park lied about hiring minority subcontractors.  To atone for the fraud, Schiavone Construction has agreed to pay a $20 million fine. According to the Daily News, the firm was ratted out by a Gambino mobster.

In his weekly column, the Daily News' Bob Kappstatter gives some ink to a campaign aimed at encouraging readers and advertisers to boycott the Riverdale Review, a weekly paper published by Andy Wolf. Tony Cassino, a lawyer and politico who has often come under attack in the Review, insists he's only a bit-player in the effort, and that parents angry at Wolf's coverage of Riverdale schools are the ones driving it. For some background on the campaign, here's a Riverdale Press article. It seems a pretty balanced take on the situation considering the two papers rarely see eye to eye. For more, here's Cassino writing about the campaign on his blog, and here's Wolf hitting back at his "anti-first amendment" critics. 

A Bronx man has been charged with stealing $5 million from Columbia University.

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. was a no-show at yesterday's special session in Albany.  Espada, who leaves office at end of the year, was the only absent Democrat.  According to The Times, he cited a family emergency. Yesterday, Espada's staffers were mum on his whereabouts.  Gustavo Rivera, the man who will take ownership of his seat in January, was in Albany yesterday, where he voted on the Senate Democratic leadership. 

A 15-year-old Bronx boy drowned on Sunday after drifting into the deep end of a hotel swimming pool in Pennsylvania.

The women's basketball coach at Hostos Community College is hoping that four-year colleges begin to take notice of the team's talented players.

Cathleen Black, the city's new schools chancellor, visited PS 109 in Morris Heights this morning. Black was officially hired yesterday.

A pizza delivery man was struck and killed by a car in Riverdale last night as he crossed the street. The driver remained on the scene and wasn't charged.

The family of a Bronx teen shot in the face by a police officer last year is suing the NYPD. The cop lied about what really happened, and had no reason to shoot, the family contends.

Some Bronx organizations which received tax breaks and bonds from the city's Industrial Development Agency in order to boost the local economy, have actually shed jobs, not created them. 

The Rockefeller Center's annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony will be held tonight.  This year, the tree came from the garden of a Bronx fireman who lives upstate.

Espada a No-Show at Albany Special Session?

State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. (File photo)

State legislators are in Albany today to attend a special session called by Gov. David Paterson.

On the agenda:

• Closing an estimated $315 million mid-year budget deficit.
• Dividing up hundreds of millions of dollars in federal education aid.
• The possible changing of a 2006 law, which requires public employees be given a year's notice prior to the closure of certain facilities. (An upstate juvenile detention center, empty but for the staff, has become a symbol of Albany dysfunction.)
• A proposal to allow the continued operation of the New York City Off-Track Betting Corp.
• Several other issues, including approving (or otherwise) 147 gubernatorial nominees.

Legislators can also vote on items not on Paterson's agenda. 

It's unclear, though, whether anything of note will be accomplished during the session, which is expected to start at 3 p.m.  Reaction from legislators has been tepid.  And while the Democrats continue to hold a 32-30 advantage in the Senate, some lame duck senators - Pedro Espada, Jr. included, according to the Times Union - may not even show.  For any legislation to be passed, then, bi-partisan support would probably be needed.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Nov. 29

Police are searching for a small group of teens who were "just screwing around" prior to a massive fire in the Bronx's Mt. Eden neighborhood on Saturday night. The fire, at 131 E. 169th St., killed at least one man and left 31 people homeless. The Red Cross set up a temporary shelter for the displaced residents nearby at PS 64.

A handful of churches and at least one Catholic school in the north Bronx have been burglarized in recent weeks. One Bronxite told NY1: "I know times are hard, but a church? Some things have to be sacred."

On one day in January, a debt-collection company sued 110 people in Bronx County Civil Court for not paying their bills on time. It's part of a nationwide surge in lawsuits filed by debt collectors who are buying up souring loans on the cheap.

A Bronx firefighter was found dead at the Engine 72 firehouse in Throgs Neck.

One student's report card mix-up illustrates a grading system problem at Eximius College Preparatory Academy in Morrisania. The student received a report card from the academy even though he longer attended classes there.

An off-duty cop was charged with drunk driving after police found him parked on a Bronx street, asleep in his car with the keys in the ignition and radio and lights on.

A Bronx woman was charged in a deadly hit-and-run on Friday in Manhattan.

A Crain's NY columnist says the Bronx is losing out on development opportunities because of efforts to impose living wage jobs guarantees.

One Bronx precinct, the 43rd, which includes Parkchester and Soundview, has logged almost half of the city's missing children cases.

A woman was hit by a stray bullet in Soundview on Thanksgiving day.

The governor has called a special session in Albany, but some lawmakers, like lame duck Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada, may not show up for work.

Albania's Independence Day was celebrated yesterday in the Bronx's Belmont section.

Gustavo Rivera Interviewed on Capital Tonight, Featured in Village Voice

Last night, state Senator-elect Gustavo Rivera was interviewed on Capital Tonight, a political show hosted by Elizabeth Benjamin. Rivera, who's been up in Albany attending orientation sessions for new legislators, talks about defeating Pedro Espada, Jr. in September's primary, and the future of the state Senate.  It's still unclear whether the Democrats or the Republicans will have the majority come the new year.

Talking of Rivera, he's featured in the Village Voice's annual Thanksgiving Honor Roll Call which recognizes those who have bought dignity and fairness to the city. Writes Tom Robbins: "Gustavo Rivera provided one of the few hopeful notes in a gloomy political season, thanks to his gutsy decision to take on a statewide embarrassment, Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada."

Thanks to the BxNN reader who sent us the first link, and Riverdale Ramblings for alerting us to the second.

Bronx Weekend News Roundup, Oct. 25

The Bronx Bombers cleaned out their clubhouse yesterday after a painful loss to the Texas Rangers ended their season Friday night.

Speaking of the Yankees: Grim LeRogue, the, um, eccentric fan who was arrested for storming the field at a game, says it was just a booze-fueled and harmless publicity prank. (Interesting side note: some of LeRogue's statements to police--including bizarre rants about Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston and Osama Bin Laden--are oddly similar to a letter the Norwood News received last week.)

A 25-year-old man was found shot to death in his Olinville apartment on Saturday, one of five separate killings that took place across the city this weekend. 

6,000 cyclists rode through the borough yesterday at the annual Tour de Bronx. This years' event was held in honor of beloved community advocate Megan Charlop, who was killed in a biking accident in March.

Volunteers across the city planted thousands of new trees in their parks yesterday, with 3,500 planted in Van Cortlandt park alone.

Director Gary Weis talks to BlackBook.com about his documentary "80 Blocks from Tiffany's." The 1979 film, which chronicles street violence in the South Bronx of that era, is being released on DVD this month.

An enraged man smashed about eight cars with a 20-pound pick-axe on a street in Co-op City Friday morning. He was arrested shortly after.

A hit-and-run driver who struck a pedestrian in Fordham on Friday was caught by police on an unrelated drug-bust yesterday.

An argument with officials and the opposing team had Lehman High School football coach Michael Saunds pull his players from the field on Friday, with just a few minutes left in the game.

Eva Moskowitz, whose Success Charter Network runs schools in Harlem and the South Bronx, argues the need for more charter schools on the Upper West Side.

South Bronx native Misra Walker was one of six people to receive the environmental Brower Youth Award for her campaign for a shuttle bus to Baretto Point Park. 

A Bronx related-bit at the end of this piece on Democratic conference leader John Sampson: investigators are looking into the Democrats' hiring of Sen. Pedro Espada's son, Pedro G. Espada, last year. According to the Daily News, The Legislative Ethics Commission is investigating whether the younger Espada got the $120,000-a-year-job--which he quit last August--as a means to get his father to end the Senate stalemate.

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 21

A prayer vigil was held in Baychester last night to mourn the six people who died in a crash on the New York State Thruway on Saturday. The pastor of Joy Fellowship Christian Assembly, a church on East Gun Hill Road, and his wife, were among the victims.  Speakers at the vigil included a Brooklyn pastor whose own church suffered a similar tragedy two years ago.

A Bronx man who drove drunk and killed a man in Westchester last December, pleaded guilty to several charges yesterday.

A fire broke out under the 138th Street Bridge yesterday afternoon, interrupting Metro-North train service for several hours.

The Daily News' Bob Kappstatter says a piece of him is going to miss State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. who was defeated in last week's primary.

Espada staffer Haile Rivera thinks State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. should replace Espada as majority leader.

The Hunts Point produce co-op is set to resume on-again, off-again talks with the city's Economic Development Corp. over plans for a $320 million renovation. 

A man was shot several times when armed robbers burst into his Morrisania apartment yesterday. He's in a stable condition at St. Barnabas Hospital.

A Soundview man got the fright of his life last night when he found a three-foot long corn snake coiled around his toilet seat.

Diaz Sr. Wants Hispanics to Fill Espada's Power Positions

State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr.

A week before Tuesday's primary, State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. predicted both he and his fellow amigo, Pedro Espada Jr., would win re-election and come back bigger, stronger and better than before.

He was half right. 

Diaz lamented Espada's loss to Gustavo Rivera on Tuesday night, but he's already looking ahead to life without him. In a press release, Diaz said he wanted to see a Hispanic lawmaker placed into the two positions of power Espada had carved out in the state senate: majority leader and housing committee chair.

He said he didn't want the positions himself, but offered up a handful of alternatives, including Rivera. Here's his full statement:

“As the Chair of the New York State Senate Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus, I must insist that since the voters of Senator Pedro Espada’s district have lost him as their Senator, New York’s Hispanic community must not also lose the leadership roles he had while in the State Senate.

Senator Espada served as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee, and more importantly, as the Senate Majority Leader. I will not accept a “one step forward, two steps backwards” approach toward participatory democracy for Hispanics in the Senate. I urge the Senate leadership and my Senate colleagues to select a Hispanic Senator to fill those positions.

I want it understood by my supporters and to my critics that I am not interested in either of those roles and I will not accept them even if offered.

I do believe that my colleagues , Senator Martin Malave Dilan, Senator Jose Peralta, Senator Jose Serrano, as well as Gustavo Rivera and Adriano Espaillat - who won last night’s election and will likely be sworn into office in January - should be selected to serve in these leadership positions.”

Primary Night in Pictures

Ace BxNN photographer Adi Talwar was on hand for Pedro Espada's concession speech at La Luna Lounge and Gustavo Rivera's victory party at the Monte Carlo Room. Enjoy.

Espada Defiant in Confusing Concession Speech

When Pedro Espada Jr. stepped down from the podium in the back of La Luna Lounge in Tremont after giving a short, fiery and somewhat confusing concession speech into a crush of reporters, the small but raucous crowd began chanting.

"ESPADA! ESPADA! ESPADA!" they bellowed.

One of the most vocal chanters was Mike J. "Hollywood" McCray, "a.k.a 'Nine Milli,' but not because I like guns, if you know what I mean," he said. When asked what he thought about Espada's loss, McCray's face momentarily dropped. "He lost? I thought he won."

Laura ("but everyone calls me 'Cookie'") Rosario was equally perplexed. "We win? No, we lost?" she said. No matter, Rosario said, "I'm proud and I'm glad I worked for him. I'm still a winner."

Rosario and McCray were typical of Espada's supporters last night. They didn't realize what was saying to them -- there were no TVs in the place to show results -- and they didn't believe any of the negative press surrounding Espada's re-election campaign, even as it became the overriding theme of nearly every news story about him.

McCray, sporting a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey and toting a Heineken, said he voted for Espada because "he comes to the hood. Homeboy is all over," he said. "And he gave me some of them platanos the other day."

After Espada exited, McCray and others provided an animated background for television reports filming their segments for the evening news.

Sitting at one of the tables, sipping a Budweiser and chatting to two other older white men, was Steve Pigeon, the Buffalo political activist who became Espada's $150,000-a-year general counsel after helping him orchestrate last summer Senate coup, along with billionaire Tom Golisano.

"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Pigeon said, adding that he felt coverage of the race was obviously "one-sided" and that the media had turned Espada into some kind of "Beelzebub."

"There was no fair reporting about him," Pigeon said.

No one gave Espada credit for bringing some reform to Albany as a result of briefly siding with Republicans last summer, Pigeon said, citing the end of "three-men-in-a-room" decision making and the empowering of committee chairs. (Many pundits brushed the reforms off as mostly cosmetic at the time.)

Talking to reporters, Espada said much the same thing. "What I tried to do was become an independent voice," he said, "at a great cost to myself and my family." 

"I think he was dealt a bad hand," Pigeon said. "But you haven't seen the last of him -- or me."

Diaz Sr. Wins Primary, But Loses an "Amigo"

In last night's primary election, Sen. Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr. defeated his challenger, community organizer Charlie Ramos, to move on to the general election in the Senate's 32nd District, where he's been in office since 2003.

But it wasn't all smiles for Diaz. While he was victorious, his Senate buddy, Pedro Espada, Jr., lost his seat to challenger Gustavo Rivera. Diaz has been a staunch defender of Espada throughout this election season, endorsing and even campaigning for him.

"I'm going to lose an amigo," Diaz told reporters as poll numbers started coming in during his election party last night--a classy buffet dinner and open bar celebration at Morris Park restaurant Maestro's.

This afternoon, Diaz sent out a press release saying that with Espada's looming departure, he "refuses for hispanics to forgo leadership" in the State Senate, and expects his colleagues to fill Espada's vacant spots with other Hispanic legislators (Espada is the Majority Leader, and also heads the Senate's Housing Committee).

What Happened to Bronx Dem Machine?

We're all a little bleary-eyed here at BxNN after a very late night of Tweeting (did you follow us?) and shuttling between candidate events. We'll have more for you later, but for now just a couple of items/thoughts  ...

By now, you know that incumbent Pedro Espada was defeated by a significant margin and that he conceded early in the evening. But, as for upsets, Gustavo Rivera's victory was the only defeat of a Bronx incumbent legislator despite several primary races. Assemblyman Nelson Castro appears to have beat back a tough challenge from Hector Ramirez (though he has yet to officially concede). The top, and perhaps only, priority of the Bronx Democratic Party was defeating Castro.

And seeing that the Party, headed by east Bronx Assemblyman Carl Heastie, formally stayed out of the Espada-Rivera match-up, it's hard to see what, if anything, they accomplished last night. What happened to their mojo and focus of two years ago when they ousted Jose Rivera and other leaders of the Party and elected Ruben Diaz, Jr. borough president? 

Gustavo Rivera's victory, on the shoulders of labor unions, individual elected officials acting independently of the Party machinery, the Working Families Party, an impressive crew of young volunteers, and a slew of engaged and fed-up Bronxites, shows that formal Party support is not always necessary for victory.

We'll have more for you soon, including video of Gustavo Rivera's victory speech. In the meantime, share your thoughts in the Comment section.

Candidates Hit Up Senior Centers, Campaign for Last Minute Votes

Espada near PS 33, a busy polling site. In the background is one of his bodyguards (Photos: James Fergusson)

The elderly typically vote in large numbers, and so most candidates running for election (or reelection) penciled in visits to local senior centers today.

At around 1 p.m., Senate candidate Gustavo Rivera and Councilman Fernando Rivera, who's endorsed him, spoke to seniors at Morris Senior Center on East 181st Street.

Rivera, seniors said afterwards, is a relatively new face at the center, unlike his opponent, State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. who's well known. "He [Espada] comes around, he shakes your hand, a lot of people are swayed by that," said one 80-year-old woman, who was quick to say that she, personally, "cannot stand him, because of all the things they're saying in the [news]papers."

Rivera at East Concourse Senior Center

About an hour later, at East Concourse Senior Center on East Tremont Avenue, Cabrera and Rivera repeated their message, interrupting a game of bingo in the process. "I'm here to introduce you to the man who's going to be your next state senator," said Cabrera. "We need an honest man, not crooked politicians." Then he added: "This man is going to help me bring money into this senior center."

Rivera told the group of about 60: "The main difference between my opponent and me is simple. I want to work for you. I want to be accountable to you."

For local senior Dina Alverez, Cabrera's and Rivera's message fell on deaf ears: she'd already voted, and for Espada. "I know he has a lot of problems, but I like Espada," she said. "When he talks to you, he listens to you and your problems. You can't believe all you read in the papers."

Mary Kelly, another senior, seemed bored by the whole spectacle. "People [candidates] all basically say the same thing, 'cos they know what you want to hear," she said. She voted this morning but wouldn't say for whom.

When Cabrera and Rivera were done, the bingo continued - for a minute or two. Then Hector Ramirez showed up. Ramirez, who's running against Assemblyman Nelson Castro in the 86th Assembly District, gave a brief speech, before stepping outside and talking to local residents. He got chatting to one woman, who, during her walk up the block, had been given several campaign fliers - one of Ramirez's, one of Rivera's, and one of Castro's. Smiling, Ramirez gently removed Castro's from her hand and discarded it.