Phone bank desks set up for the telethon. (Photo: Adriano Espaillat/Twitter)

Northern Manhattan, the highest point of the island, largely escaped the kind of devastation Hurricane Sandy caused elsewhere in the five boroughs, however residents and politicians from the area are pitching in with a storm relief telethon this afternoon that will be broadcast on La Mega radio station and at least three Spanish-language cable television outlets. The telethon includes planned appearances by the New York Yankees' star second baseman Robinson Cano, several of the likely 2013 mayoral candidates and a slew of area politicos.

"Although Upper Manhattan has been spared by the storm, we recognize our responsibility to help fellow New Yorkers," State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who organized the event, said in a statement. "The Uptown Cares Telethon will directly help raise funds for victims on Staten Island and around the City."

Proceeds from the telethon, which is airing from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. today, will got to hurricane relief efforts in Staten Island and other parts of the city that were hard-hit by the storm. The donations will be administered by the not-for-profit Hispanic Federation Inc.

In addition to Mr. Espaillat, Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, Assemblymen Herman "Denny" Farrell and Guillermo Linares, Assemblywoman-elect Gabriela Rosa and Democratic District Leader Mark Levine. The event is bringing together a group of politicians that found themselves at odds after the hard-fought congressional primary between Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Rangel last June.

To dial in to the telethon call 1-800-776-4096.

Senator Ruben Diaz (Photo: RubenDiaz.com)

Bronx State Senator Ruben Diaz is offended by the plan to keep Congressman Charlie Rangel in Washington by dramatically changing the contours of his district to include parts of The Bronx and Westchester.

"What a joke! What a farce!  What a lack of respect to Sheldon Silver, to the rest of the Assembly members and to the people of the Bronx!" Mr. Diaz said in a statement sent out today. "We do not need Charles Rangel to come to the Bronx."

The Politicker first reported the proposal to change Rangel's district after Veteran Assemblyman and Harlem powerbroker Herman "Denny" Farrell revealed it at a town hall meeting last Friday. Mr. Farrell said the plan would give Mr. Rangel "a district that can be won" because his longtime stronghold in Harlem is "no longer black."

"There are not enough African American residents in Harlem to keep Charles Rangel in his position, and there is no one to blame but Charles Rangel himself – and his colleagues," Mr. Diaz said. "They allowed African Americans to lose Harlem to others communities."

Mr. Diaz picked up on the plan after Daily News columnist Bill Hammond described it as "an insider’s view of how the ugly gerrymandering sausage gets made" in an editorial in today's paper.

"These words expressed today in a Daily News column by Bill Hammond ... practically confirmed to the world what I have been asking all along about our representatives in Albany," Mr. Diaz said. "Are they are all a bunch of sell-outs or do they have the best interest for our community as their top priority?"

Mr. Diaz particularly took umbrage at Mr. Farrell's claim the Assembly waited until Mr. Rangel's district was mapped to draw the rest of the State's federal legislative lines.

"I say, ‘Charlie we can’t draw anything else in the State till we draw you. That’s always been our position– we do you and then everything,’" Mr. Farrell said.

Mr. Diaz described Mr. Farrell's comments as "an insult" to politicians in The Bronx.

"When I hear that Denny Farrell practically say that the Assembly will not do anything until 'we do' Charles Rangel. I must wonder who is the real Speaker, Sheldon Silver or Denny Farrell.  I also wonder how my Bronx colleagues will respond to this insult. I’d like to know how they can allow themselves to be disrespected like that," Mr. Diaz said.

Mr. Diaz wasn't the only one who was angered by the plan described by Mr. Farrell. At a newspaper roundtable today, Mr. Rangel blasted the proposal.

"I’ll be damned if I want the district to go to Mt. Vernon. ... Hell, Canada sounds just as likely," Mr. Rangel said. "the head of the dragon would be in Mount Vernon, the belly would swell up in the South Bronx, the neck would get from the belly to the head, and the tail would be Harlem."

Mr. Rangel said the district was unlikely to withstand scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice and said he would make staying in Manhattan his top priority. At the town hall last week, Mr. Farrell a longtime friend and ally of Mr. Rangel's, said the congressman originally "blew up" when presented with the plan before eventually agreeing to it. Based on his comments today, it sounds like Mr. Rangel has changed his mind again.

Keith Wright (Photo: NYS Assembly)

Assemblyman Keith Wright said the Department of Education's plan to close the middle school at Wadleigh Secondary School of Performing Arts is the final straw that has convinced him to propose a bill that would repeal mayoral control of city public schools.

"People are up in arms. They are quite frankly tired of the dictatorial and despotic policies coming out of City Hall where they just arbitrarily and capriciously decide that they're going to close schools," Mr. Wright told The Politicker. "This is the Alamo as far as I'm concerned right now. This is the absolute Alamo and I'm not going to take it anymore."

Mr. Wright brought up the issue at fellow Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell's town hall meeting on 147th Street Friday night where he described attending last week's rally against the Wadleigh middle school closure.

"I made a rather emotional statement. I said that I am ready tomorrow or Monday to go up to Albany and to repeal mayoral control, because we have been through too much," Mr. Wright said. "I've had enough of this mayor in so many ways and I've had enough of mayoral control of our schools. So, you may see a bill coming out of my office to repeal mayoral control very, very soon."

Mr. Farrell said he would co-sponsor the bill and Councilman Robert Jackson, who also attended the meeting, said he would propose a Council resolution in support of the bill.

After the meeting, Mr. Wright explained to us why he opposes the Wadleigh middle school closure.

"This is a good school, it's a school that was not failing. It had just received an 'A' rating no less than three years ago, and then, they took away well over a half-a-million dollars from the school. Thus, its rating went down to a 'C,'" Mr. Wright said. "I have no doubt that the mayor wants to phase out the school and put in a charter school. I have nothing against charter schools, I just think they need to find their own edifices."

Mr. Wright said he definitely plans to follow through on the plan to introduce a bill repealing mayoral control of schools.

"Absolutely," he said. "The sooner, the better."

Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell and Congressman Charlie Rangel together at the 2010 Puerto Rican Day Parade. (Photo: DennyFarrell2012.com)

The contours of Charlie Rangel's congressional district are expected to change dramatically this year, moving upwards into The Bronx and Westchester, according to Herman "Denny" Farrell, a longtime assemblyman and Harlem powerbroker.

Mr. Farrell revealed the new district lines at a town hall meeting on 147th Street last night where he said the rest of New York's federal legislative lines have been held up as the State Assembly tried to figure out a way to create a district that would set up Mr. Rangel to win a 22nd term in the House of Representatives.

"The main issue we have is the question of Charlie Rangel's district," Mr. Farrell said. "The problem we have is that Charlie Rangel's district is no longer black."

Mr. Rangel's district has been synonymous with Harlem for generations and nurtured several of New York's most important political figures, including not just Mr. Rangel, but his predecessor, Adam Clayton Powell. The district must change because of sweeping demographic changes that have led to an influx of white and Hispanic voters. Mr. Farrell explained how the problem was eventually solved and said Mr. Rangel is definitely going to run for re-election in "a district that can be won."

Mr. Farrell and Mr. Rangel are close allies who have worked together for the better part of five decades. During that time, Mr. Rangel has become the third longest serving member of the House of Representatives and the Dean of New York's Congressional delegation. Because of this, Mr. Farrell said the Assembly's top priority during the redistricting process that occurs every ten years is making a district for Mr. Rangel that he finds satisfactory.

"You must understand, for the last 40 years, whatever district Charlie Rangel wants, we give it to him, we in the Assembly," Mr. Farrell said. "Every ten years, they call me they say, 'Denny, you've got to get Charlie to come down here, we got to cut the district.' Charlie says, 'I'll get there.' I say, 'Charlie we can't draw anything else in the State till we draw you. That's always been our position-- we do you and then everything.' He's the Dean. He's the number one."

Congressional districts are re-mapped once each decade based on new population figures in the census. Since other states now have larger populations compared to New York than they did in 2002, the Empire State is going from 29 Congressmen to 27 and individual districts are all being expanded.

According to Mr. Farrell, this expansion caused tension between Mr. Rangel and his allies in the Assembly, because the congressman wanted his seat to remain in Manhattan and his colleagues didn't think he'd be able to win in the upper reaches of the island where he's held sway since 1971 because of changing racial demographics.

"The district he now has, which goes up to 231st Street and goes down to, I think, 86th Street on the West and goes down to 96th Street, I think, on the east, it is approximately 26% African American, 41% Latino and the remaining others whites," Mr. Farrell said. "Charlie and I have been arguing for the last year-and-a-half, because he originally said to me, 'Denny, there is no way ... I want to be in Manhattan, we've got to be in Manhattan.' I said, 'Charlie, you can't do it.'"

Mr. Farrell said Mr. Rangel was initially enraged by the thought of drastically changing the shape of his district.

"He and I have been working together for forty years. He has never hollered at me in 40 years, he blew up at me," Mr. Farrell said.

Earlier this month, Mr. Rangel expressed his frustration with the redistricting process in a conversation with The Politicker.

"We’ve got to expand. To expand you’ve got to push somebody aside,” Congressman Rangel said.

At his town hall meeting, Mr. Farrell explained why Mr. Rangel's allies in the Assembly thought he needed to change his district in order to stay in office.

"Charlie Rangel's district has to get larger by 200,000 [people.] The only place he can get that 200,000 on the island of Manhattan is to go further south," Mr. Farrell said. "What that would mean is the district would be represented by a white. Now that sounds racist, but so be it. What I mean by that is, if you had that district, we would probably have a Dominican run, two blacks run and one white. The white will win because of the way the numbers are and I even could tell you who the people are because they're all sitting there waiting."

Several politicians have expressed interest in challenging Mr. Rangel for his seat depending on how the lines were drawn. The New York Times reported Clyde Williams, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, is likely gearing up to challenge Mr. Rangel and Vince Morgan, a former aide to Mr. Rangel, has already started a campaign for his seat. Former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, who ran in 2010, is also looking at the seat should Mr. Rangel retire, as is Assemblyman Keith Wright and several other Uptown politicians. State Senator Adriano Espaillat is also considering a campaign for the House of Representatives if there is a majority Latino district in Upper Manhattan, however he isn't interested in running against Mr. Rangel.

Mr. Farrell said he and Mr. Rangel's allies in the Assembly repeatedly warned him against keeping his district as is to avoid "a war with our Latino brothers."

"The one thing we don't need is minorities banging at each other. We don't need that, and I said, if we do that district you'll have a Black/Latino war and we don't want it," Mr. Farrell said.

After many discussions, Mr. Farrell said Mr. Rangel's allies in the Assembly "finally got him to accept" his district would have to change.

"We talked and we talked, and finally, around November he called me and he said, 'Well, Denny, I guess we're going to end up having to go into The Bronx. ... I said, 'Come on Charlie, you can keep your office here," Mr. Farrell said.

Eventually they settled on a plan to create a district with favorable demographics that allows Mr. Rangel to retain control of some territory near his Harlem Home by making a swath from Manhattan, through The Bronx and up into Westchester County.

"He will cut around, he will go up at 155th Street, he will cut up and go up into The Bronx, he will go to Co-Op city and he'll go up into Westchester," Mr. Farrell said. "By doing that, we have brought--the district will end up being approximately 41% African-American and that was the number we had to raise. It'll be a mix of Latino, and then Asian and white, so it'll be mixed, but it will be a district that can be won."

Sources tell The Politicker, Mr. Rangel's new district could leave a neighboring Congressional Member with a much larger Latino population in her district and a potential challenge from Mr. Espaillat.

Earlier this year, Mr. Rangel was considering retirement after he was censured for misconduct by the House of Representatives for multiple alleged ethics violations. Mr. Farrell said he helped convince Mr. Rangel to run for another term by telling him he needed to run again to prevent "those stupid stories that were in the paper being his legacy:"

"He was talking about retiring, I said, 'You can't retire. ... Plus, come on Charles, the bottom line is, I want the Daily News, the Post to understand that the people of this district know who you are and want you,' I said. Because that supposed sanction happened after he was re-elected. So, I said, 'You've got to get re-elected one more time to let people know.' ... He's done too much for us to have those stupid stories that were in the paper being his legacy. That's not going to be his legacy. So he said, 'Yes.'"

According to Mr. Farrell, Mr. Rangel's hesitation about running came mainly from his wife.

"I think his problem was not his problem, but his discussion was with his wife," Mr. Farrell said. "I think she was sort of saying something to him, 'Forty years has been a long time.' But I think he is going to--not think, he has said he is running for re-election."

Now that the plan to keep Mr. Rangel in power is set, Mr. Farrell said the Assembly can begin working on putting the other pieces of New York's Congressional redistricting puzzle into place.

"We put that plan together, but we have not solved all of the other problems that we now have to solve in the State," Mr. Farrell said.

But Mr. Jackson, who represents West Harlem up to Washington Heights, appears to be rectifying the problem.

Next month, Assembly member Denny Farrell will host a low-dollar fundraiser for the councilmember in honor of Mr. Farrell's 80th birthday party--or, as he calls it, the 40th birthday celebration of his 40th birthday.

"Denny does not want gifts for his birthday but would rather if you wish, you give a donation of at least $20.00 to Robert Jackson who is running for Borough President," the invite reads. "This donation is not a requirement but Denny and Robert would appreciate it."

Mr. Farrell is the former head of the Manhattan Democratic Party, and so his raising for Mr. Jackson is a clear signal of where the  machine will be in this race. Mr. Jackson, it is worth noting, has always been something of an outsider in Harlem political power structure.  Harlem elected one of their own, Virginia Fields, to BP in 1997 and would have likely repeated the feat in 2005 had Keith Wright and Bill Perkins not split the vote.

Invite can be viewed below:

 
Denny's Birthday Party
 

"Our City Council woman is doing a fantastic job," Farrell said, while he was flanked by both Dickens and Congressman Charlie Rangel. "And I think that in the near future we will be using the word 'speaker' in front of her name. That is what it is going to be all about. And we are working to make sure that happens."

It is unclear which "we" Farrell was referring to here. The Harlem political establishment? The Manhattan Democratic Party, which he used to lead? He and Rangel? Or was it the royal "we."

Either way, it would seem to doom the prospects of Melissa Mark Viverito, the East Harlem Councilwoman also mentioned as a possible Speaker. Mark Viverito however would need the support of her fellow uptowners, which seems unlikely given Farrell's statement.

Other names mentioned as possible future speakers include East Side councilman Dan Garodnick,  Mark Weprin from Queens and Stephen Levin from Brooklyn.