Raucous crowd at #NY13 debate

A boisterous audience set the tone of Monday night’s debate in the race to replace Rep. Charlie Rangel for New York’s 13th congressional seat.

The AARP-sponsored event, located at Riverside Church in Upper Manhattan, featured all 10 candidates — nine Democrats plus Tony Evans, the only known Republican contender this year.

Audience members frequently gave explosive applause or choruses of boos mixed with derisive laughter while the candidates sought to answer questions, most of them about elder issues.

When Clyde Williams attacked Assemblymen Keith Wright for his record as chairman of the chamber’s Housing Committee, he faced numerous cheers and boos. During almost all of Sam Sloan’s responses, members of the audience laughed audibly, as they did during the short responses that Yohanny Caceres gave. 

At one point, moderator Sandra Bookman of WABC-TV addressed crowd members, asking them to refrain from interrupting candidates.

As for any policy differences, Mr. Wright said, “As you can see, none of us disagree on the issues” — an assertion that none of his rivals challenged. 

Bag tax battle

Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein joined a majority of Senators in voting to ban taxes on plastic bags on June 7, potentially undoing the City Council’s recently passed law  creating just such a tax.

Mr. Klein, whose district includes Riverdale, did not immediately answer a request for comment. But The Riverdale Review quoted him as saying, “This fee would have hit hard many New York families and consumers, while doing little to encourage actual recycling.” 

With the Assembly led by a Bronx official, Carl Heastie, the legislation may progress no further than the Senate.

But northwest Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz slammed the recent vote.

“I don’t believe that the state should be dictating to the city what they should do about this,” he said in a phone interview.

 “While I applaud the council for attempting to improve the environment by getting rid of some of those horrible plastic bags, I don’t think the stores should be getting a nickel for every plastic bag,” Mr. Dinowitz continued. “A different way of handling it might be similar to the deposit on soda cans and soda bottles.”

Critics including Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. have criticized the city’s bag tax as imposing an unfair burden on the poor. Mr. Dinowitz said Mr. Heastie would work with the City Council to draft a law that both reduces the overuse of plastic bags and the effect a fee would have on poor shoppers.

“I don’t think that we should be telling the city what to do any more than I think the state should be sticking it’s nose in mayoral control,” Mr. Dinowitz said. “Those are city issues.”