Marc Landis. (Photo: Facebook)

When Marc Landis, a leading candidate to represent the Upper West Side in the City Council next year, talks about himself, he often boasts of his long record of fighting for affordable housing in New York City. The attorney and Democratic district leader, praised by his many endorsers for his tenant advocacy, also works closely with Tahl Propp Equities, a large real estate developer that has been sued by Manhattan tenants and accused of "predatory" financial practices in rapidly gentrifying Harlem.

"Tahl Propp was one of the early companies that we and other organizers spotted coming in and buying up large amounts of affordable housing and they weren't a known actor in the affordable housing or real estate world," said Emily Goldstein, coordinator of preservation and policy at Tenants and Neighbors, a statewide tenant advocacy group. "In more recent years, I know that they've said they care about affordable housing. They've said they care about the Harlem community. And yet their actual practices in many of these buildings have been detrimental to low and moderate income tenants, to the physical housing stock and arguably to the community."

Mr. Landis is the chair of the real estate department at the law firm Phillips Nizer, where he has worked in various capacities with the developer Tahl Propp Equities. Mr. Landis, who describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a "real estate and corporate transactional attorney focused on the acquisition, development and preservation of affordable housing," declined to speak on the record about his work with the company. But, according to a Tahl Propp attorney, Mr. Landis has collaborated extensively with the company.

"We continue to work with him on numerous types of deals and he's a great resource," said Neda Barzideh Levy, VP and general counsel at Tahl Propp, though she declined to specify the particular cases or instances to which Mr. Landis has lent his expertise.

The firm, according to tenant advocates, is a part of a new wave of real estate developers that, as private equity companies, buy up large chunks of affordable housing at speculative prices that realistically can't be supported by the low rent that tenants are paying, setting up a choice between attracting more affluent tenants to the buildings or running into financial trouble as debt piles up.

Indeed, Tahl Propp, which owns more than 3,000 apartments across the city, has repeatedly clashed with Harlem tenants over the last decade. A 2008 report detailed the plight of several buildings in Harlem that Tahl Propp purchased, describing how the company would, according to residents, cut back on maintenance repairs to increase profit margins and force lower-income residents away, thus creating vacancies for market-rate apartments. For example, Tahl Propp pulled one building at 1900 Lexington Ave. from the state's Mitchell-Lama program, which provides affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate and middle-income families. A resident of that building, Alvin Johnson, founded Harlem Tenants Against Tahl Propp even before that happened.

"They come in and they buy up Section 8 buildings, former Mitchell-Lamas, and they take buildings out of the Mitchell-Lama program triggering these high, exorbitant rents," Mr. Johnson told Politicker, referring to buildings where low-income tenants receive federal vouchers to help pay their rent. "Or they put pressure in the Section 8 building. They enter into these agreements with the government where the government pays them rent that is so ridiculous that the government is actually running out of money ... with their rent-stabilized buildings, they look to convert them all to co-ops and condos."

In 2010, Tahl Propp further settled a $3 million lawsuit at the Normandie, a building at West 119th Street, which the company converted from rentals to condos in 2005. Residents complained that the building had exposed structural beams and pipes, cracked hardwood floors and various other maladies. A year later, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development took Tahl Propp to court amid allegations that tenants were denied heat and hot water in one of Tahl Propp's newer condo conversions in Harlem. Tahl Propp, according to HPD, paid $1,000 in penalties and corrected the issues. Last year, Tahl Propp faced litigation from its own investors.

Although activists like Mr. Johnson describe the company's efforts to keep housing affordable as halfhearted at best and nonexistent at worst, a company spokeswoman contested any claims that the company isn't completely committed to building and maintaining affordable housing. She said the company, in addition to donating school supplies and toys to Harlem children, is now building two low-income housing developments and has received top quality of life scores from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"They are committed 150 percent to affordable housing," said the spokeswoman, Linda Alexander. "They've spent literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in the community."

For their part, Mr. Landis' campaign was happy to talk about the candidate's other work on affordable housing issues, like organizing tenant associations at three Upper West Side buildings, leading lobbying trips to Albany on behalf of tenants' rights and filing a suit against Fannie Mae to force the lender to provide emergency repairs to apartment buildings.

Mr. Landis is running to take over from term-limited City Councilwoman Gale Brewer against a crowded field that includes Helen Rosenthal, Mel Wymore, Ken Biberaj, Debra Cooper, Noah Gotbaum and Thomas Siracuse.

Robert Jackson

Over the weekend, Thomas Lopez-Pierre, an uptown activist who has been running a Council campaign characterized by a series of angry, racially charged emails sent another missive endorsing Robert Jackson, the man he's trying to replace. Mr. Jackson is prevented by term limits from running for re-election to his council seat and is instead pursuing the Manhattan borough presidency. However, Mr. Jackson is clearly not eager to have Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement.

“We totally reject Thomas Lopez-Pierre. Throughout his life, Robert Jackson has been a leader fighting for justice and understanding and against bigotry and intolerance," Richard Fife, Mr. Jackson's spokesman, said in a statement. "He has condemned the racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic rants of Lopez-Pierre in the strongest way possible."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's earlier emails have targeted Mark Levine, one of his rivals in the race to replace Mr. Jackson, as a "a White/Jewish candidate" who, if elected, would potentially damage "the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community" in the Upper Manhattan council district. He has also blasted Brian Benjamin, an uptown realtor, as an "Uncle Tom" who "sold out the Black people of Harlem" by supporting Mr. Levine. Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest message came after Mr. Jackson responded to his initial missives by joining with other area politicians by signing onto a "Say No To Hate" petition condemning "the use of discriminatory language and rhetoric in all 2013 New York City political races" and issuing a joint statement "condemning the hateful language used by Thomas Lopez-Pierre" that referred to his emails as "despicable" and "shameful."

In spite of Mr. Jackson's harsh criticism of him, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he is eager to support Mr. Jackson's bid for the Manhattan borough presidency in his latest email.

"I plan to vote for you and encourage my Black and Hispanic supporters to vote for you (and encourage my contributors to give to your campaign, please advise me on who I should speak with about contributing to your campaign) as the next Manhattan Borough President," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "Yes, you can consider this email an official endorsement from Thomas Lopez-Pierre for your campaign for Manhattan Borough President."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's endorsement email also addressed Mr. Jackson's joint statement against him. While he said he agreed in principle with the statement's sentiment that the Upper Manhattan council district draws "strength" from being "one of the most diverse in the city," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said Mr. Jackson's statement did not recognize that, in practice, "White/Jewish" and "Asian residents" pose a threat to black and Latino members of the community.

"For Black and Hispanic tenants in the 7^th Council District, the so called diversity you speak of in your 'Joint Statement' means that Black and Hispanic tenants get pushed out of their apartments to make way for White/Jewish people and other high income people," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "What you failed to mention in your 'Joint Statement' was that the White/Jewish people moving to Upper Manhattan are NOT moving here to live in social-economic peace, in brotherhood with low income Black and Hispanic people–but they are here to push out low income Black and Hispanic people out of their own community."

Along with his critique of the joint statement and his endorsement of Mr. Jackson, Mr. Lopez-Pierre's latest email contained more harsh words for Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin. The joint statement and petition were among many negative reactions to Mr. Lopez-Pierre's first messages about Mr. Levine and Mr. Benjamin, but Mr. Lopez-Pierre claimed the situation had help him raise money for his council campaign [sic throughout].

"My public comments about Brain Benjamin has been very good for fundraising–you be surprised by how many people know Brain Benjamin and do NOT like him (for the rest this campaign, I plan to use Brain Benjamin as my very own campaign ATM machine - and Mark Levine, I am saving the best for Mark Levine)," wrote Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "To be fair to Brain Benjamin more people dislike Thomas Lopez-Pierre than they dislike Brain Benjamin – but give me time, I am sure that I can close the gap to within 40 points by Primary Day. If I may add, Brain Benjamin dates some of the best looking women in NYC – and he does NOT discriminate base on race: Black, White, Asian and Hispanic, he has sex with them all! For a short little man, he does have great taste in women–please make it a point to check out anyone of the many hot women he has on his arm and that share his bed–they all have two things in common – they are hot looking and they tower over him like the Harlem State Office Building on 125^th Street and 7^th Avenue."

According to the latest data from the New York City Campaign Finance Board, Mr. Lopez-Pierre has raised $8,239 for his council bid in the past six months.

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a candidate for an Uptown City Council seat who has been making a series of racially-charged arguments against one of his rivals in the race, Mark Levine, has taken things to a whole other level. In an email filled with racial slurs, expletives and violent rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre blasted Brian Benjamin, a real estate developer, for deciding "to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre went on to call Mr. Benjamin an "Uncle Tom" who by joining Mr. Levine's campaign, "sold out the Black people of Harlem."

The email was addressed to Mr. Benjamin and over 30 Uptown political figures, including Mr. Levine. Politicker has confirmed the email was sent from Mr. Lopez-Pierre's address.

We've reproduced Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email to Mr. Benjamin in full below, but be warned, it is decidedly not safe for work.

"January 3, 2013

Brain [sic] Benjamin:

First I would like to say Happy New Year!

Now that bullshit is out of the way, I wanted to say this to your face but I did not want my words to be misunderstood.

So I am sending it to you in writing and sharing it with others.

I see that you are on the host committee for Mark Levine for City Council.

I would hope that one day you would give me the legal grounds to bitch slap you.

You are an uncle Tom Nigger bitch.

Its Nigger bitches like you that have sold out the Black people of Harlem.

To think there are about eight other candidates in this race that are Black and Hispanic and you decided to pick Mark Levine the only White/Jewish guy in the race to raise money for.

What good does it do our community (by this I mean Black and Hispanic people) to have uncle Tom Nigger bitches like you graduate from Ivy League schools if all you do is suck the cock of guys like Mark Levine.

All the best,

Thomas Lopez-Pierre

PS, The reason why you got your Nigger ass kicked (politically) by Jamaal Nelson when you ran for district leader is because Black people in Harlem can smell the Bitch in you.

They know that you are a weak, little short man who sucks White/Jewish cock."

Additional Reporting by Hunter Walker

Thomas Lopez-Pierre (Photo: ThomasLopezPierre.com)

Thomas Lopez-Pierre, a Harlem activist with a controversial past who is running for term-limited Councilman Robert Jackson's seat, circulated an email late last night in an attempt to plan a "private meeting" to "discuss the potential damage to the political empowerment of the Black and Hispanic community if Mark Levine, a White/Jewish candidate was elected to the 7th Council District in 2013." This morning, Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker he isn't organizing the meeting himself and is working on behalf of a larger group who became concerned when they read a report on the political blog The Perez Notes that the Upper Manhattan political machine headed by State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez has been working to "clear" the crowded field of candidates running for the seat to help Mr. Levine win.

"Now that he actually has a chance to win it's scaring people," said Mr. Lopez-Pierre. "So, what started first as a discussion of the blog post has now mushroomed among candidates and community leaders into basically a 'Stop Levine' campaign."

The race to replace Mr. Jackson in the 7th District is shaping up to be one of next year's most hotly-contested Council campaigns. In addition to Mr. Levine, who is a local district leader and founder of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, and Mr. Lopez-Pierre, there have been at least eight other candidates eyeing the seat. These hopefuls include local power broker and district leader Maria Luna, Socrates Solano, an aide to Congressman Charlie Rangel, Cheryl Pahaham, the outgoing vice chair of Community Board 12, and another district leader, Marisol Alcantara.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre registered to run for the seat last month. He is also running to be a district leader in the 69th Assembly District, which includes parts of the Upper West Side and Harlem. In June, Mr. Lopez-Pierre launched a political club in the district called the Douglass Grant Democratic Club. Earlier this year, Mr. Lopez-Pierre, who operates several real estate businesses in Harlem, also formed a political action committee dedicated to backing candidates who would support more charter schools in the area.

In his email announcing the meeting about Mr. Levine, Mr. Lopez-Pierre identifies himself as the chair of the Douglass Grant club and said he has spoken to "a number of Black and Hispanic candidates and Black and Hispanic community leaders" who share concerns that Mr. Levine could win without the support of the area's predominantly African-American and Latino voters because there are so many candidates running for the seat.

"The purpose of the private meeting would be to rally support behind one Black candidate and one Hispanic candidate in order to provide Black and Hispanic voters with a less confusing selection of candidates to consider," Mr. Lopez-Pierre wrote. "A number of community leaders have expressed the dire concern that with so many Black and Hispanic candidates planning to run for the 7th Council District that Mark Levine would sneak into office (like a thief in the night)."

According to his website, Mr. Lopez-Pierre is "of Puerto Rican, Dominican and Haitian descent." Despite his strongly racial rhetoric, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he thinks Mr. Levine could be "an excellent candidate" for a number of other offices. However, he doesn't want to see a white candidate take a Council seat in a community that is predominantly made up of minorities and was previously occupied by an African-American.

"It's about progress....How can the Latino community explode in population and then we get a non-Person of Color as a Council person?" Mr. Lopez-Pierre asked. "The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus at the City Council will be negative one if something isn't done next year."

Under the current redistricting proposal for next year, the 7th Council District would be 47 percent Hispanic and 20 percent African-American. Despite the area's demographics, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes the number of likely voters in the community is largely caucasian. Because of this, he said he is concerned Mr. Levine could dominate a crowded field "while blacks and Latinos are fighting among themselves." Mr. Levine, who speaks fluent Spanish, has in the past garnered considerable support in the community. In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Mr. Espaillat in the State Senate race to replace Eric Schneiderman and received about 39 percent of the vote.

"The reality is that white people, even if they're in black neighborhoods, do not share the same values in terms of what is important to low income black and Latino families," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "He cannot come and pimp--and I hope you quote me on this--he cannot come and pimp the black and Latino community to be his foundation for his political empowerment."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email about Mr. Levine isn't his first foray into heated email identity politics. In July, he sent another email criticizing "dumb" African-American politicians for allowing Dominican "control" of Harlem. That message wasn't the first time Mr. Lopez-Pierre stirred up controversy. Last year, he was arrested for stalking, though the case was later dismissed by a judge and the Harlem Club, a private singles club he founded in 2004 provoked the outrage of many in the community who saw it as sexist and trashy.

Mr. Lopez-Pierre told Politicker his arrest was caused by a "business partner" who "cheated" him. He said the case was "laughed" out of court by the judge. Comparing himself to the rapper and entrepreneur Jay Z, Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he believes people will not hold his controversial past against him as he increases his involvement in local politics.

"I serve an awesome god. I live in a great nation. I live in a nation where a former drug dealer can host a fundraiser for the President of the United States," Mr. Lopez-Pierre said. "Our community has embraced him and my community has embraced me over this stupid Harlem Club....This is not the stuff that black and Latino people in the hood care about. They care about education, public housing, healthcare. They care about the issues."

Mr. Lopez-Pierre declined to reveal the names of any of the other local political leaders he claims share his "concern" about Mr. Levine's candidacy because he said his conversations with them occurred "in confidence." Though he is currently standing alone in his effort, race has been an undercurrent in other recent campaigns in Upper Manhattan and Mr. Lopez-Pierre's email is an early indication one of the City's most crowded campaigns of 2013 may be even more racially charged. Mr. Lopez-Pierre said he hasn't set a date for the meeting because he wants the field for the race to be fully formed before he begins his push to whittle the hopefuls down to a single African-American and Latino candidate. When the meeting does occur, Mr. Lopez-Pierre believes he is one of the contenders who should merit consideration.

"I am one of the serious candidates," he said. "I have a history of being able to raise money from what I call bourgeois negroes, like middle class."

Update: (4:18 p.m.) We reached out to Mr. Levine who responded by talking more broadly about the nature of the district.

"The 7th Council District is incredibly diverse, one of the most diverse in the city actually, which is a wonderful thing. Whoever is going to represent the 7th in the Council has to be someone who brings people together, it can't be someone who divides us," he told Politicker this evening. "What I've done my entire life, whether it was in the nonprofit arena or progressive activism on the campaign trail, has been about bringing people together."

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.

Reverend Al Sharpton eulogizing Sylvia Woods at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon. (Photo: Getty)

Harlem restaurateur Sylvia Woods was a legendary chef, but she was also a key figure in the Uptown political scene. At her funeral service at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon today, many of the high-powered regulars from Woods' eponymous restaurant showed up to share their remembrances and pay tribute to Woods as a pioneering African-American businesswoman, an ally in the civil rights struggle and, of course, a superb chef.

"Every protest, every movement, every plan, every law started with a breakfast, or lunch or a dinner at Sylvia's," former Governor David Paterson explained.

Today's service was one of three memorials for Woods. On Saturday, her family is holding a "homegoing celebration" in her native Hemingway, South Carolina. Yesterday evening, Bill Clinton and Mayor Michael Bloomberg were among the luminaries who gathered for a "salute" to Woods at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Woods' granddaughter, Tren'ness Woods-Black, spoke to reporters prior to today's service and said the turnout at yesterday's event showed her grandmother was beloved by average citizens as well as the boldface clientele.

"From presidents on down to 70-year-old people who have been eating at the restaurant every day, that's what showed up yesterday and that was a true representation of what Sylvia's is all about," Ms. Woods-Black said.

Before the service got started, Woods lay in state in an open casket as the mourners packed into their pews. As the ceremony began, Grace Baptist's associate pastor, Reverend William Franklyn Richardson III, plead for brevity from the scheduled speakers, who included Mount Vernon Mayor Ernest Davis, Abyssinia Baptist Senior Pastor Dr. Calvin Butts, Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP's New York State Conference and former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.

"We would like you to keep your remarks to two minutes," Reverend Richardson said. "Do that out of respect for this family, who has already had one service and will go to South Carolina for another, so I ask that you would not labor them or any of us by going over two minutes."

None of the speakers managed to stick to the time limit.

Woods' eulogy was delivered by Reverend Al Sharpton who reminisced about watching "Sylvia's grow from a counter to a global sightseeing place." He said he was introduced to Woods and her restaurant while he worked as a tour manager for legendary soul music singer James Brown.

"The first time I met her was in the late 70's when James Brown brought me to Sylvia's. He used to go there when it was just a counter, but he loved the food there," said Reverend  Sharpton. "When he was in town...I would be with him and he would look at everybody and say, 'Let's go by Sylvia's.' And I would go, one, because I lived in New York and, two, because I was one of the few that understood what he was saying when he was talking."

Reverend Sharpton also shared stories of visiting Sylvia's with two other famous dining companions.

"I remember one night Bill O'Reilly from Fox News--that Bill O'Reilly--he wanted to go to dinner," the Reverend said. "He goes, 'I want to go to Sylvia's.' We went to Sylvia's and he got out of the car waiting for everybody to recognize him, but when you're going to Sylvia's, you're just somebody else going to Sylvia's."

Reverend Sharpton noted Mr. O'Reilly got into a bit of a controversy following their meal at Sylvia's when he went on his syndicated radio show and expressed surprise that "all the people up there are tremendously respectful" despite the fact "it's run by blacks" and has "primarily black patronship."

"I was amazed he was amazed," Reverend Sharpton said.

The Reverend also described eating at Sylvia's with President Barack Obama.

"There's a picture as you come into Sylvia's of then-Senator Barack Obama and I eating at Sylvia's. And that night he was on his way to the Apollo to have a fundraiser in his quest for the presidency, but you look at the picture and he's eating fried chicken and cornbread. I was on a diet, I just had coffee in front of me," said Reverend Sharpton, who recently became a vegetarian.

Reverend Sharpton also gave his explanation for Sylvia's appeal among Harlem's power lunch set.

"She built that restaurant as a family business and all of Harlem became her family....Sylvia was connected to the community. Today, we have others in business, but they see the community as something to go through on their way somewhere else," said the Reverend. "Sylvia wasn't trying to go somewhere else, she was connected to us. Wasn't no accident we had our meetings in Sylvia's. Other folks had chicken, wasn't no accident that every political figure went to Sylvia's, every major cultural actor went to Sylvia's, every major minister went to Sylvia's. She was connected to us."

After the ceremony, Reverend Sharpton accompanied several of Woods' crying family members to a private gathering in the back of the church as the guests walked out into the street. The Politicker spotted Mr. Paterson and asked him what he generally ordered at Sylvia's. He answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Fried chicken, collard greens and potato salad. Sylvia's problem with me was that I would always eat it. She was like, 'Why do I even put a menu in front of you, because you just want to eat the same thing.'" Mr. Paterson said. "I always say I'm going to have something else, but rarely did I."

A group of pallbearers placed Woods' casket onto a hearse were it made the journey from Mount Vernon to Owens Funeral Home in Harlem, taking the restaurateur's body on a final trip down 125th Street.

Charlie Rangel on stage at Sylvia's.

"I also want to publicly thank my wife," Mr. Rangel said. "I forgot exactly what the contract was all about, it's been so long ago, but I'm certain it didn't include all of the bumps that she has gone through with me. Especially with the press that has been so hostile at times, of course, the health problems that I have had."

Mr. Rangel suggested the candidates who ran against him underestimated him due to his medical difficulties. He made it clear this was a mistake.

"I hate to disappoint my opponents for misjudging the importance of medical science when it comes to being ill," Mr. Rangel said.

His health was one of several factors that was seen as potentially weakening Mr. Rangel in this election. The redistricting process and years of demographic shifts saw Mr. Rangel's district expand from his Harlem stronghold to include portions of the Bronx and a Latino majority that seemingly favored his opponent, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who would have become the first congressman of Latino descent if he managed to defeat Mr. Rangel.

Now, after winning this race, it is Mr. Rangel who is making history. His staff said his victory will make him the first African American congressman elected in the Bronx. In his election night speech, Mr. Rangel, who stood before a sign dubbing him "The Lion of Lenox Avenue" in Harlem, assured the audience he knows what needs to be done to serve his new constituents in the Bronx.

"Every hope and dream we've had on Lenox Avenue is the same thing they've had on Fordham Road," Mr. Rangel said.

Mr. Rangel also addressed his doubters, specifically the newspaper editorial boards who endorsed one of his rivals, Clyde Williams. He called the boards "strange people" for failing to recognize he was the best candidate in the race.

"The surprising thing is, some of the editorial boards--and I recognize they're special people--they thought otherwise even though they didn't know who was running against me," Mr. Rangel said. "When I asked them, 'Who are these people and what have they done?' They looked just mystified that you would challenge the editorial board."

Mr. Rangel finished his speech by vowing to prove to these "strange people" that he deserved to be re-elected.

"If they didn't think after 42 years that I was the best qualified, I promise them that, in the next two years, they'll have no question about the fact that you elected the best," said Mr. Rangel.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club (Photo: HarlemCharterSchoolParentsPAC.org)

The network of Democratic clubs in Harlem that gave Congressman Charlie Rangel his start hope they can secure him a 22nd term. Harlem's political clubs have spawned several other notable New York politicians including former Mayor David Dinkins, ex-governor David Paterson and Mr. Rangel's predecessor in the House of Representatives, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. The political landscape in Upper Manhattan has changed quite a bit over the years and the district Mr. Rangel is vying to represent now includes the predominantly Latino areas of Washington Heights and Inwood, which his main opponent, Adriano Espaillat, represents in the State Senate. In a race that's expected to have low turnout, the members of Harlem's democratic clubs are working hard to ensure their neighborhood comes out in full force for Mr. Rangel.

Mr. Rangel's home club is the Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Club where he is district leader along with Councilwoman Inez Dickens, who Mr. Rangel is fond of referring to as his "political wife." When we arrived at the club this afternoon, Ms. Dickens was there along with several other supporters coordinating efforts. A poster on the front of the club proclaimed, "Remember, Charles Rangel helps us. Now it's our time to help him." One man stood outside on a cellphone trying to instill urgency in another campaign volunteer.

"Is there going to be a presence on the street?" he asked. "Because you don't see shit out here."

The man declined to discuss the campaign with The Politicker.

Ms. Dickens was more forthcoming. She said "there's no doubt" there will be low voter turnout because "people are not acclimated to June being an election time," but she was confident the club's efforts would pay off.

"We are mobilizing our base of voters, our core supporters. They will be out. And, of course, every club member has their own base and we're bringing out our base to come out and vote and support Congressman Rangel," Ms. Dickens said.

Lynette Velasco, an aide to Ms. Dickens, was also at the club working on Mr. Rangel's re-election effort (although she made sure to let us know that both she and Ms. Dickens took the day off from their official Council duties to avoid running afoul of the prohibition on mixing campaign and government work). Ms. Velasco said the early exit polls in Harlem looked "promising" for Mr. Rangel, however she said she hadn't seen any numbers from the neighborhoods where Mr. Espaillat is strongest.

"We don't know what's going to happen, but we'll see," Ms. Velasco said.

About seven blocks away at the Frederick E. Samuel Democratic Club, where one of the district leaders is Mr. Rangel's longtime ally, Assemblyman Keith Wright, a group of people was working surrounded by flyers for Mr. Rangel and boards listing the number of volunteers deployed at each polling station. A man was on the phone with another volunteer admonishing them for taking too much time in between missions. Wilma Brown, the club's other district leader, told The Politicker that she and the others there working on Mr. Rangel's campaign were not giving any interviews.

One of Charlie Rangel's flyers featuring a photo of President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama didn't give Rep. Charlie Rangel an endorsement in today's election, but that didn't stop supporters of the longtime congressman's re-election bid from peppering Harlem with flyers featuring a huge picture of the president embracing Mr. Rangel as voters headed to the polls. The flyer describes Mr. Rangel as "a key leader in passing Obama's healthcare law."

Throughout this campaign, Mr. Rangel has both publicly and privately expressed a desire to earn the president's endorsement. However, though the president has endorsed other congressional candidates, the White House has repeatedly declined to weigh in on Mr. Rangel's race. In 2008, Mr. Rangel endorsed President Obama's opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton. Two years later, as Mr. Rangel was about to be censured for ethics violations by the House, President Obama gave an interview in which he described the ethical flap as "very troubling" and said he hoped Mr. Rangel would choose to "end his career with dignity."

Mr. Rangel's supporters in his home political club, the Martin Luther King Jr. Democrats also distributed another election day flyer featuring smaller pictures of Mr. Rangel with President Obama and with President Clinton as well as other leaders. President Clinton taped a birthday message for Mr. Rangel earlier this month, but he also hasn't given any official endorsement in the race.

Mr. Rangel isn't the only candidate in the race for whom flyers have been issued implying the support of Presidents Obama and Clinton. Campaign For Our Future, a super PAC that's supporting Mr. Rangel's rival, Clyde Williams, sent out mailers that said, "Barack Obama isn’t supporting Charlie Rangel. Why should we?,” but they also disseminated Spanish-language mailers that said "Obama and Clinton support Clyde." Another one of Mr. Rangel's opponents, Adriano Espaillat, has also used President Obama's image on his flyers.

The White House press office referred our questions about Mr. Rangel's flyer to President Obama's re-election campaign. As of this writing, the Obama campaign has not responded to multiple requests for a comment on this story.

Charlie Rangel preparing to cast a ballot for himself in Harlem. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

Charlie Rangel went to vote at P.S. 175 in Harlem this morning and, in a brief press conference afterward, the longtime congressman was dismissive of his opponents, the media and the entire possibility he might lose. Today's race is seen as potentially the toughest of the congressman's over forty years in office thanks to the changing demographics of his district. However, Mr. Rangel first replied with a joke when a reporter asked what he'd do if he loses.

"Well, if I lose tonight, I will sleep just like a baby and cry myself to sleep," he said with a smile.

After a few laughs, the Congressman followed up to say he doesn't think about losing at all.

"No, no," said Mr. Rangel. "If you have the spirit that's necessary to overcome these political obstacles and if you're fortunate enough to know that they're not obstacles that you can't overcome, than the whole attitude, 'What do I do if I lose?' never reaches that mental level. It really doesn't. I would find some way to tell you if I thought it did."

Prior to taking questions from the large crowd of assembled reporters, Congressman Rangel spoke for several minutes in an attempt to, in his words, "get rid of some of the nonsense questions" that have surrounded this race right off the bat.

"Let me try to get rid of some of the nonsense questions and that is, am I too old to run for reelection. Clearly, I've gone through the process, I've done what candidates are supposed to do," he said.

Several of Mr. Rangel's opponents have suggested his Upper Manhattan district is in need of new leadership after his over forty year tenure. The congressman has also been dogged by persistent reports of health problems. Between February and April he was hospitalized multiple times with what he described as spinal virus. Mr. Rangel attempted to shoot down any health concerns. He also implied his main rival, Adriano Espaillat, waited until he was in the hospital before deciding to run.

"I don't think anybody that's runnning or not running is going to challenge my health, albeit one candidate made certain that I had a health problem before he announced," Mr. Rangel said, adding, "Certainly, if health was a factor, he made one big political mistake."

Mr. Rangel said he was motivated to run to extend his lengthy tenure in the House of Representatives by the current climate in Washington. Though President Barack Obama has refrained from endorsing Mr. Rangel and even once implied he thought the congressman should retire, Mr. Rangel said his admiration for the president was one of his reasons for wanting to win re-election.

"The one reason why I think it's important that I be allowed to extend the service to my country, and the Congress and my district is because of the times that we find ourselves in the Congress. Never before have we faced such a fiscal crisis," said Mr. Rangel. "On the other side of this coin, I have never been so inspired by any politician and certainly no president as I have about President Obama."

In addition to Mr. Espaillat, former Democratic National Committee political director Clyde Williams, businesswoman Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley, an ex-model, are on the ballot against Mr. Rangel. The congressman said none of his opponents have shown they'd be a better choice for voters.

"I've been so fortunate in this campaign that none of them, not one of them, has ever indicated they can do the job better," Mr. Rangel said.

Both the New York Times and the Daily News gave their endorsements to Mr. Williams. Mr. Rangel criticized their decision, citing the large margin of victory he enjoyed in his last re-election campaign and his support from other elected officials.

"I know that some newspapers are committed to making decisions that are not always based on the facts, but that's their choice," Mr. Rangel said.

After nearly fifteen minutes of talking, Mr. Rangel's aides began to pry him away from the crowd of supporters and supporters that assembled outside the school to watch him vote. As he was walking back to his car, The Politicker asked about his accusation that Mr. Espaillat is hedging his bets in their congressional race by simultaneously circulating petitions in order to run re-election to the State Senate if he loses.

Congressman Rangel brandished an alleged copy of a petition he said Mr. Espaillat was circulating during their NY1 debate earlier this month. Yesterday, in a conversation with The Politicker, Mr. Espaillat vigorously denied he's still pursuing his senate seat and claimed the petition showed by Mr. Rangel looked "fake." However, the congressman repeated the charge on Good Day New York this morning saying Mr. Espaillat is "filing that he wants to run again for the State Senate" and "should at least be mature enough" to only go after one job.

In his press conference, Mr. Rangel reversed his stance and said he takes Mr. Espaillat's word that he's not running for multiple offices.

"I believe Esplinard when he says he's not running for anything except the Congress. I believe him," Mr. Rangel said, mispronouncing his opponents name. "I want this reporter and anyone else listening to know that when Senator Esplinard says on television with me that the only office that he's running for or interested in is the House of Representatives and that he has no interest in the seat that he vacated, which is the [State] Senate, that I am one person that believes him."

Clyde Williams (photo: clyde2012.com)

Despite strong fundraising numbers, a well-organized campaign and his experience working in national politics, former DNC political director Clyde Williams is generally seen by insiders as a likely third place finisher behind State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Rep. Charlie Rangel in the race for Upper Manhattan's newly redrawn 13th congressional district. However, Mr. Williams told The Politicker he's confident about his chances when we caught up with him last night as he met with voters in rapper Doug E. Fresh's Harlem restaurant, Doug E.'s Chicken & Waffles.

"I feel very good," Mr. Williams said. "I don't particularly say I know exactly what the breakdown is going to be, but based on what we've done, our own analysis, we feel good about where we are. We know where our voters are, we plan on getting them to the polls."

When we asked Mr. Williams whether he thought it was a mistake to count him out, he had a quick one word reply.

"Totally," he said.

Mr. Williams cited his newspaper endorsements and his aggressive campaigning as evidence he could pull off an upset.

"Look, I've gotten the endorsement of the New York Times and the Daily News. We knocked on 38,000 doors, we got more than 6,000 signatures on our petitions," said Mr. Williams. "We're doing our due diligence. We're not going to worry about what people say."

Along with his ballot petitions and door-to-door stops, Mr. Williams said he's sent "more than 188,000 mailings" and participated in "hundreds of events" in the district. Over the weekend, his supporters also plastered Mr. Espaillat's base in Washington Heights with posters showing a photo of Mr. Williams during his days working in Bill Clinton's Harlem office playfighting with Muhammad Ali. According to a spokesperson for Mr. Williams, they also took advantage of the recent heat wave by distributing "thousands" of "Vote Clyde Williams" branded water bottles throughout the district.

Though Mr. Williams thinks he has a good shot, Mr. Espaillat seemingly dismissed his opponent yesterday by telling us Mr. Williams might want to set his sights on the State Legislature in Albany rather than Washington.

"He’s got a promising future, maybe as an Assembly member,” Mr. Espaillat said of Mr. Williams.

We asked Mr. Williams about Mr. Espaillat's suggestion. He thanked Mr. Espaillat for saying he would do well in Albany, but insited he's not interested in a career as an assemblyman.

"I have no desire to do that," Mr. Williams said. "I'd focus on today, but that's nice of him. Next time you see him, you can tell him I said that."