NYC-CC08: Heckling, housing, health: Council District 8 hopefuls face off at South Bronx forum

Dozens of South Bronx and East Harlem residents turned out on April 26 for a spirited forum among the candidates vying for the City Council District 8 seat, soon to be vacated by the term-limited Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala.

The district of over 180,000 residents will choose from a crowded field of candidates for the June Democratic primary: Clarisa Alayeto, chair of Community Board 1; Elsie Encarnacion, Ayala’s current chief of staff; Wilfredo Lopez, a nonprofit attorney; Raymond Santana, one of the exonerated Central Park Five; and Nicholas Reyes, a State Committee Member for the 68th Assembly District and Bronx nonprofit staffer.

All the forum questions came from community members and local organizations, including South Bronx Unite, Guns Down Life Up and New York Communities for Change. The event was held at M.S. 224/I.S. 343 in the South Bronx.

While the conversation, moderated by BronxNet’s Gary Axelbank, covered timely topics such as environmental health, the opioid crisis, public school funding and the concentration of shelters in the South Bronx, concerns over Lopez’s campaign finances continually surfaced.



https://www.bxtimes.com/heckling-housing-health-council-district-8-hopefuls-face-off-at-south-bronx-forum/