Pro-Israel Donors Gave Thousands to South Bronx and East Harlem Candidates

Despite the South Bronx-East Harlem district being one of the poorest in the city big-money donors based in Manhattan and Westchester County have invested thousands of dollars in the district s City Council race Donors tied to a pro-Israel lobbying group are shelling out thousands to back candidates Clarisa Alayeto and Raymond Santana Credit Campaign of Clarisa Alayeto Michael Appleton Mayoral Photography Office A version of this story was originally published by the Mott Haven Herald a student-powered news outlet at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism covering the Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven Melrose and Port Morris A crowded field of candidates are vying for the open District City Council seat which covers swaths of East Harlem and the South Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven Melrose Port Morris and Concourse-Concourse Village Current Councilwoman Diana Ayala is term-limited The candidates running are chief of staff to Ayala s office Elsie Encarnacion non-profit lawyer Wilfredo L pez state committee member for the th Assembly District Nicholas Reyes Exonerated Five member and criminal justice advocate Raymond Santana paralegal Rosa Diaz and business owner Evette Zayas as well as Federico Colon an aide to former councilman Adam Powell Society Board Chair Clarisa Alayeto is also running once again for the District seat The Board of Elections previously disqualified her for technical errors on candidacy paperwork such as misspellings of her name and mismatched zip codes after a Wall Street-backed political action committee filed objections against her petitions But this week Alayeto won her appeal of that earlier decision meaning she ll remain on the primary ballot next month news site The City published Wednesday Out-of-district money floods local race Despite the South Bronx-East Harlem district being one of the poorest in the city big-money donors based in Manhattan and Westchester County have invested thousands of dollars in the district s City Council race Santana is the only candidate in the District Council race to receive PAC funding securing the maximum contribution of from Striving for a Better New York a political action committee PAC that was under inquiry as part of the federal probe involving Mayor Eric Adams That assessment was discontinued in early April The PAC s goals are to elect leaders from diverse backgrounds who align with its views on citizens safety housing the commercial sector learning and healthcare according to its website Santana and Alayeto have also received large donations from donors associated with Solidarity PAC a newly formed pro-Israel lobbying group Solidarity PAC launched in to advocacy New York candidates who share the PAC s deep-rooted American values and pro-Israel beliefs according to its website Solidarity PAC has endorsed seven candidates across the city but no candidate has listed contributions from the committee as of the the greater part up-to-date campaign disclosure filings The PAC has endorsed three candidates challenging City Council incumbents Ling Ye who is vying to represent the neighborhoods of Red Hook and Park Slope Maya Kornberg running in Borough Park and Windsor Terrace and Dermot Smyth running in an open primary to represent Western Queens They are also backing four incumbent candidates Councilmembers Lynn Schulman Eric Dinowitz Shaun Abreu and Susan Zhuang Who s giving and why Donors to Solidarity PAC and members of their sister organization New York Solidarity Grid have donated considerable amounts as individuals to Alayeto and Santana in addition to donating as individuals to the seven endorsed candidates Alayeto and Santana have not been endorsed by Solidarity PAC but have together received from donors affiliated with the group The city s citizens matching fund initiative stretches these individual donations further and provides an additional that would otherwise not be matched if Solidarity PAC contributed as a group The PAC itself has not made any contributions on behalf of the group according to the largest part fresh campaign disclosure filings Scarsdale resident Adeena Rosen chairperson of Solidarity PAC and director of New York Solidarity Architecture donated each to Alayeto and Santana Rosen is also the largest donor to the PAC itself contributing to the PAC last year Seven donors affiliated with the Solidarity PAC and New York Solidarity Grid have each contributed equal amounts between and to both Alayeto and Santana All seven have also donated to the PAC-endorsed candidates in the other boroughs Alayeto denied knowing of Solidarity PAC and her donors affiliations with the PAC If you are supporting me it s because you endorsement my mission and my vision to do better by my population noted Alayeto in an interview And that means the things that I stand for better guidance sanitation and improvement in citizens safety I m not here to complicate anything I m not here to talk about things beyond my jurisdiction or beyond what I can do commented Alayeto Santana meanwhile has connected a couple of times with Sara Forman Solidarity PAC treasurer and NYSN executive director leading to contributions from PAC members according to a spokesperson from Santana s campaign They ve connected a number of times talking about the race talking about Raymond s agenda and his platform talking about kitchen table issues a campaign spokesperson stated The source also declared Santana informed Forman that he is focused on issues affecting East Harlem and the South Bronx and not foreign strategy Santana could not be reached directly for comment but has criticized PAC spending in District through his Instagram account Santana reposted articles on the Wall Street-funded Ending Homelessness and Building a Better New York group which in recent weeks informed spending in spending on digital ads and mailers supporting candidate Wil L pez I don t have a super PAC behind me I don t have million behind me Santana reported at the District candidate forum on April referring to the PAC s total contributions in all races While Solidarity PAC hasn t formally endorsed a candidate in the District City Council race the campaign spokesperson announced New York Solidarity Framework members are expected to receive voting recommendations or guides before electoral process day Solidarity PAC the affiliated New York Solidarity Infrastructure and Rosen did not respond to the Mott Haven Herald s multiple requests for comment Solidarity PAC previously endorsed candidates competing against Democratic Socialists of America and Working Families-backed candidates during last year s State Assembly race as announced by New York Focus Neither Alayeto nor Santana has been endorsed by either party Israel s continued assault and blockade of Gaza following the Oct Hamas attack on Israel have drawn widespread protests throughout New York City home to the largest concentrations of Muslim and Jewish people in the United States The war has become a divisive issue among elected officers in New York particularly as the Trump administration moves to detain and deport immigrant protestors who participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests including Columbia University learner Mahmoud Khalil One of Santana s donors Craig Balsam wrote in the October th Essays and Reflections collection published by New York Solidarity Infrastructure that it is critical for local elected agents to understand the global political context and the significance of Israel s existence both for Jews around the world and as a key geopolitical partner of the United States To reach the City Limits editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org The post Pro-Israel Donors Gave Thousands to South Bronx and East Harlem Candidates appeared first on City Limits