As speaker, Heastie seeks to boost Bronx's profile, funds

Having a local elected official lead the state Assembly has brought a range of apparent benefits to the Bronx.

Since Assemblyman Carl Heastie assumed the post following the arrest of Assemblyman Sheldon Silver on corruption charges earlier this year, a plethora of local projects have received millions of dollars in state funding.

While northwest Bronx officials have fought for years for money for an expensive footbridge to link both halves of Van Cortlandt Park, Mr. Heastie’s ascension helped seal the deal. This year’s state budget included $4 million for the project, while the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Environmental Protection contributed an additional $4 million each.

At a May 8 press conference about the footbridge, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who previously served in the Assembly alongside Mr. Heastie, noted the impact of having friends in high places.

The Bronx no longer has to beg for what it wants, Mr. Diaz said, it now asks.

Mr. Heastie, who did not answer numerous interview requests for this article, is also credited with directing $2 million toward a facility for the Bronx Children’s Museum. Bronxites have clamored for Metro-North stops in the East Bronx for decades, and this year finally saw a $250 million allocation for four stations there.

Since becoming assemblyman for the 83rd district — a cross-section of Williamsbridge,  Wakefield and Parkchester — in 2001, Mr. Heastie has largely avoided the political scandals endemic to the borough. But recent machinations by the Bronx Democratic County Committee (BDCC) to phase Robert Johnson out of the District Attorney’s office and replace him with Darcel Clark reminded many voters of the bad old days of back-room deals and self-interested politicians.

“You see changes on occasion, but business as usual has a way of creeping back in,” said Kenneth Sherrill, professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College. “[Mr. Heastie] got through the last legislative session relatively unscathed, and that was an achievement in and of itself.”