Talk Bronx New York

It’s been an embarrassment of political riches these days.

Latest is Mayor Bloomberg shaking up Bronx and other pols by saying voters (with guidance from his $100 million-plus campaign checkbook) can fairly (?) decide if he and those hardworking (?) City Council members should glom a third term to save us all from financial implosion.

Bronx BP Adolfo Carrión is still playing coy whether to back out of the controller’s race if it happens. Not to mention the fallout down the boro political ladder.

Then there’s that schizo leadership battle involving Bronx Democratic Party Boss “Jose Heastie.”

While we await expected court action, the rebels opened “the new Bronx Democratic headquarters” Friday in Longwood.

Advice to rebel Party Boss Carl Heastie: After Jose Rivera camp’s thuggery at that stacked vote, we’d keep the records safe elsewhere.

The whole third term thing seems to have bitten Riverdale Councilman Ollie Koppell on his, er, nose, since his bill would abolish term limits instead of Mayuh Mike’s plan for a one-term extension.

Ollie told Crain’s Insider the mayor’s plan “would make this thing look so self-serving that I think it would be on the borderline of offensive.”

One thing for sure, Ollie’s in the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic clubhouse doghouse for backing Jose.

He finally woke up and smelled the cafe con leche, trying last week to get Jose “to step down gracefully.”

If Ollie wants a third term, he’ll really have to do some serious groveling to club leaders and “rebel” County Chairman Jeff Dinowitz.

“There are a lot of people extremely unhappy,” said District Leader Bruce Feld. “Ollie could face big problems.” Read more..

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Through the first mile or so of last Saturday’s Mayor’s Cup Cross-country Championship girls varsity race, Rosey Liu was running with the leaders.

But the Bronx Science junior faded badly during the latter portion of the 2.5-mile course through Van Cortlandt Park.

She allowed eight runners to pass her over the final mile, and finished in 18:16.65, good for 19th place.

“Once I got out, I was turning with everyone,” she said. “(But at the end) I couldn’t breathe, and I dropped.”

It wasn’t exactly the performance the Wolverines runner was looking for - especially after a sophomore year that included a fourth-place finish at the Bronx Borough Championships. But the junior was recovering from the flu.

The Wolverines struggled through a variety of hindrances during the first major cross-country meet of the fall, but they still turned in a solid performance that bodes well for the rest of the season.

A handful of Wolverines on the girls and boys teams missed the meet at Van Cortlandt Park to take their SATs.

Others battled the flu, which Lui’s teammate Anna Hewitt says has been making the rounds at W. 205th Street.

“I actually felt sick a couple days ago. I felt lightheaded the whole race,” Hewitt said. “It began with the draft and change in temperature.”

Still, the Science girls impressed veteran coach Ken Miller, who now believes his team will dominate borough competition.

“I’m very happy,” he said. Read more..

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The Democratic Party organization in the Bronx has been rocked by internal warring so intense that it has been operating in the last week with two headquarters and two leaders claiming to be the legitimate head of the party. And, for a time, neither side quite knew how to resolve the impasse. That is likely to change before long.

The group led by Assemblyman José Rivera, who has chaired the party for the last six years, filed papers in the state Supreme Court in the Bronx this morning to ask that Mr. Rivera be affirmed as the chairman of the Bronx Democratic organization.

The Rivera group is seeking to get the court to invalidate any claim by a faction of rebel elected officials to have their leaders recognized as the officers of the party. The two factions held back-to-back meetings on Sept. 28 with the rebel group electing Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie as the chairman of the party.

Jerry H. Goldfeder, the lawyer for the group led by Mr. Rivera, said that he and “and the current leadership of the Bronx County organization believe they won fair and square and that they were elected under proper procedure.”

Mr. Goldfeder added that there was a 10-day period after the party meeting under the election law to bring the matter before the court. “If it’s necessary for the court to resolve the dispute as to who won,” he said, “we had to begin a court case no later than Oct. 8.” Read more..

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