NYS’s former Attorney General Robert Abrams writes of his Bronx childhood and rise in Democratic Party politics. Photo via Amazon.com
Adams at the Actors Temple - With Bway coming back, our sure-to-be mayor Eric Adams made an appearance on Sunday evening at a performance of “Mandela” at the Actors Temple on West 47th St. Adams showed at the end, spoke and stayed to chat. The house was packed. Masks all around.
“Mandela” was written by John Ruiz Miranda, who is the first firefighter elected to public office and is a District Leader in East Harlem. He wrote the play with his wife, Yolanda Brooks, and directed it. The role of Mayor David Dinkins was played by Keith L. T. Wright, who is the current Leader of the NY County Democrats, and who served in the NYS Assembly from 1992 to 2016.
Kumbaya time - After a vigorously fought City Council race in District 5 for the seat being vacated by Ben Kallos, Julie Menin won. And on July 19, electeds - Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Senator Liz Krueger, Assembly Members Dan Quart and Rebecca Seawright, and Council Members Keith Powers and Ben Kallos who did or did not support Menin - joined together with community leaders and others outside the Q Train Station on 86th and Second Ave to endorse Menin in the November election. In a statement, Menin said that she is “thrilled to be endorsed by this great group of elected officials” and looks “forward to working together with all of them to fight for a stronger, safer, and more equitable City!” Hear hear.
And here and there - Now that we’re hopefully entering a post-pandemic time, some things to just write about and share - A must-read is Bob Abrams’s “The Luckiest Guy in the World” where NYS’s former Attorney General tells of his Bronx childhood and rise in Democratic Party politics. There are behind-the-scenes details of his interactions with world leaders from Golda Meir, George McGovern, Mario Cuomo, Robert Moses, Cesar Chavez to Shirley Chisolm. In addition to being AG from 1979 to 1993, Abrams was Bronx Borough President and an Assembly Member. In his memoir, he tells the story of his rise in politics and role in battling political machine bosses and special interests. His progressive values and optimism are present throughout. Abrams practices law in NY and is an UES’er ... A cheeseburger named Cosby - Sarge’s Deli on Third and 38th isn’t backing away from keeping their cheeseburger topped with a grilled sliced hot dog on the menu and calling it the Cosby Cheeseburger. It’s been on the menu for many years and they’ve never called it the Huxtable Burger after Theo Huxtable who became famous for his tv burger ... Old garage, new use - A new Pet Adoption Center is coming to East Harlem at East 103rd St. between First and Second Ave. The Dept. of Design and Construction is renovating an old garage into a new facility for the specific use of providing animals to adopt for the city. The Center will work with adoptable dogs, cats, guinea pigs and other animals. Construction started in June and is expected to be complete in about a year-and-a-half. The building design, by Wendy Joseph of Studio Joseph, will emphasize natural light and have a colorful street presence. Welcome new neighbor and much needed pet adoption center.