Oliver Koppell (photo: council.nyc.gov)

State Senator Adriano Espaillat and Congressman Charlie Rangel are continuing to announce endorsement after endorsement of elected officials within and around the Congressional District they are both seeking to represent come 2013. The latest is Mr. Espaillat's endorsement from Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell, who referred to the district as "new" in his statement praising Mr. Espaillat.

“I am pleased to endorse State Senator Adriano Espaillat in the upcoming Democratic Primary for the 13th Congressional District seat,” he said. “I appreciate and commend Congressman Charlie Rangel’s long service in the Congress. However, a new District and a new day demands new leadership. ... He will also be an important role model and advocate for the Dominican and Hispanic communities in my District and beyond. I endorse Adriano Espaillat.”

The idea of the district being new would probably be news to Mr. Rangel, who represented a district that contained about 75% of the reconfigured seat's population through the past decade, and represented a very similar district in decades prior to that. Most incumbents running for reelection this cycle are running in "newer" district's than Mr. Rangel, with their lines scrambled in the court-drawn redistricting plan this year.

On the other hand, the new territory is all in the Bronx and the character of the district now contains an even larger Dominican presence (If successful, Mr. Espaillat would be the first Dominican-American elected to Congress).

For his part, Mr. Rangel rolled his own endorsements last Saturday, notably Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito and State Senator Jose Serrano, who both represent the East Harlem portion of the district. He wrote on his campaign's Facebook page that the endorsements show "Team Rangel's got its eye not only on the blocs that have kept him in office so long, but to the demographics of the new district, which has a much higher percentage of Latino voters."

Also in the Democratic primary are Clyde Williams, Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley.

Oliver Koppell (Photo: Facebook)

Cliff Stanton, a local Parents’ Association Co-President and community activist, has registered a committee for term-limited Oliver Koppell's seat and says he's moving forward with the campaign.

“We’re moving ahead. We’ve got a ways between now and whenever we get the vote next September. It’s going to be all about raising money, raising my name recognition in the community," Mr. Stanton said, contending that many area residents are already familiar with him. Among other things, he's known locally for championing the boycott of the Riverdale Review.

"I’ve had a ringside seat the last few years to what’s happening," he said explained when asked about his motivations for entering the race. "I’m disturbed by some of the things I’m seeing. The ... stubborn refusal to consider creative solutions to our problems in our neighborhood. There’s this pervasive cynicism … that has permeated all aspects of our political, commercial and social life."

Mr. Stanton places some of the blame on the Bronx Democratic Party for spreading this political cynicism. "I'm certain that it is responsible. I'm not opposing individuals here, but I'm opposing this culture, and I'm holding them responsible for perpetuating this culture," he said. "You have families that have been disenfranchised by this political machine, this monster." Needless to say, it seems unlikely that Mr. Stanton's campaign will be fully backed by that local Democratic organization.

Bronx Press Politics was first to note Mr. Stanton's committee, and cited Ari Hoffnung, who's a deputy comptroller for John Liu, as another potential candidate for the seat. Mr. Hoffnung, who has decent amount of campaign cash left over from a previous bid for the seat, currently has a "2013" campaign account.

Members of the Council grilled Tokumbo Shobowale, the chief of staff for Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Steel, who defended a study released yesterday by the Economic Development Corporation that said the bill would put a stranglehold on the city's economy and hurt job growth.

"While we agree wholeheartedly with the aspirations of Intro 251-A to increase the standard of living and lift New Yorkers out of poverty – we disagree that the means proposed in the bill would achieve them," Shobowale said. "In fact, the opposite is true: some unfortunate New Yorkers would as a result of the bill lose employment opportunities."

Showbale added that the bill would limit the construction of affordable housing, drive more manufacturing across state lines, and hurt the city's construction industry.

But even before Shobowale could finish, the hearing turned contentious as Contracts Committee Chairwoman Darlene Mealy interrupted him twice to ask him to summarize his remarks, which were distributed to Council Members, in order to allow everyone else there to speak.

"I think this is a serious matter," Shobowale said, asking to be allowed to finish his statement.

"It is a serious matter but it shouldn't be 12 pages long," Mealy said. "Sixty people would like to testify and some people would like to give you questions."

"I am willing to stay here as long as you like," Showbowale shot back.

The fate of the bill will likely come down to whether or not Council Speaker Christine Quinn decides to bring it to the floor for a vote. It already has the support of a majority of the City Council, and backers are hoping that if  they can get enough members to sign on, it could force Quinn's hand.

In 2009, the Bloomberg administration was dealt a rare setback when the City Council demanded that the Related Company require any of its tenants pay a living wage in order to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx. Related balked, and the deal fell through.

"I was very much involved in that battle," said Council Member Oliver Koppell. "And the argument that was made by the administration and others in connection with the Kingsbridge Armory was consistently this was one project, it's not a citywide project, therefore the Related Company will be disadvantaged in comparison with other developers... This bill is answer to that argument."

Much of the discussion was centered around the EDC study released yesterday, with critics arguing that it ignored important evidence.

"I have great respect for you and for the administration," Council Member Brad Lander told Shobowale. "I generally find the studies you put out to be thoughtful, good economic analysis. This I find to be a $1 million whitewash."

The hearing today was the culmination of a months long advocacy effort by the bill's backers, and rallies have been held all week to support the measure. There was some grumbling that the hearing was held at the smaller chambers in the Council's office building at 250 Broadway, rather than the Emigrant Savings Bank, where they have been holding meetings while City Hall undergoes renovation. Dozens of supporters were forced to sit in an overflow room during the hearing, but their cheers could be heard whenever a Council Member directed a particularly barbed comment at the administration.

At a news conference today, Mayor Bloomberg was asked if he could be persuaded to support the bill.

He did not seem inclined.

"EDC just finished a very big study which showed, yes, it would increase the wages for some people, but it would decrease the number of people employed," he said. "It would be--devastating is too strong a word--but it would be very unfortunate. You would not help people who are starting their way up the economic ladder. You would kill an awful lot of those jobs, and I don’t think that’s a good trade off for us. There are some jobs that just--you’re not going to--they’re not going to be high paying jobs but they’re better than no jobs, and if you drive them out of the city nobody really benefits from it."

For advocates, like Democratic City Councilman Oliver Koppell of the Bronx, that's the good news.

In a public statement today, he referred to the 6,000 - 13,000 figure as "such a small amount of job loss."

A reader who pointed this out to me noted job loss is a sensitive subject for any lawmaker from the Bronx, since that borough has the highest unemployment rate in the city.

On Monday, City Comptroller John Liu issued a statement that said, in part, the "living wage" legislation may "curtail" a number of new, minimum-wage jobs.

The report Koppell cited was released Monday night by the Economic Development Corporation.

Advocates of the legislation said City Hall was trying to "sabotage" tomorrow afternoon's City Council hearing on the bill by releasing the summary of the report, instead of the entire report.