The Barack Obama Democrat Club of Upper Manhattan. (Photo: www.obamadems.org)

Upper Manhattan's Barack Obama Democratic Club voted last night on its endorsements, and the list might surprise you. The home club of City Councilman Robert Jackson and City Council candidate Mark Levine, a long-time ally of State Sen. Adriano Espaillat, gave its nods to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio for mayor and City Councilwoman Letitia James for public advocate.

It also voted to endorse Mr. Jackson for Manhattan borough president and--unsurprisingly--Mr. Levine for the 7th District council seat, currently held by the term-limited Mr. Jackson.

The endorsements were all decisive, except for the mayor's race, which required an instant run-off vote. There, Mr. de Blasio beat out second-place finisher, City Comptroller John Liu, 39-18. Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is expected to jump into the race any moment now, also garnered two votes (versus six for former City Comptroller Bill Thompson, the only African-American in the race, and eight for City Council Speaker and earl front-runner Christine Quinn.)

Mr. Levine, who has long been a player in Uptown politics, was previously endorsed by Mr. de Blasio, who has had a long-standing relationship with the club, whose members hail from the largely black and Hispanic neighborhoods of Washington Heights, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights and Inwood.

"When the vote was announced last night, Bill de Blasio said, 'T'his is a huge step forward.' The club membership clearly agrees," club spokesman Alex Luis Castex-Porter said. "Tonight we backed him, and many other qualified, progressive candidates. The Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan is looking forward to working with our endorsed candidates to ensure that New York City sees strong, progressive leadership in 2014."

Mr. Jackson is currently fighting a tough battle for borough president against several well-connected candidates, including former Lower Manhattan community board chair Julie Menin. Mr. Espaillat, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and other uptown leaders have endorsed Ms. Menin. (Mr. Jackson infuriated Mr. Espaillat last year when the councilman backed his challenger and long-time rival, ex-Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, who had made a failed play for Mr. Espaillat's senate seat.)

But despite what sources described as Ms. Menin's aggressive attempts to court members, the club chose to endorse Mr. Jackson by a margin of more than 2-1.

Political club endorsements are not crucial, but are often cited by campaigns as signs of growing momentum and often help candidates collect petition signatures and mobilize voters.

(Photo: Getty)

The race for Manhattan Borough President this year continued to heat up today, with former community board chairwoman Julie Menin rolling up endorsements from State Senator Adriano Espaillat and two other officials in his political orbit, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez and Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa. The current borough president, Scott Stringer, is leaving his post to run citywide for comptroller, and a competitive field of contenders has formed to replace him.

The backing is notable as of the four candidates in the running, none are Latino or hail from the Washington Heights turf represented by the three endorsers. Ms. Menin is from Lower Manhattan and her two announced rivals, East Side Councilwoman Jessica Lappin and Uptown Councilman Robert Jackson, have different political bases. Upper West Side Councilwoman Gale Brewer has previously indicated she would join the field, but has yet to launch her bid.

For what it's worth, Mr. Espaillat, who narrowly lost a primary to veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel last summer, has also had some electoral success since. He easily won reelection against a Rangel-backed challenge from Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, and the Espaillat-backed candidate for Mr. Linares' seat, Ms. Rosa, successfully won on the same day.

View Mr. Espaillat's, Ms. Rosa's, and Mr. Rodriguez's statements supporting Ms. Menin below:

Mr. Espaillat: “Julie Menin is a champion of affordable housing and good jobs for all New Yorkers. As Manhattan borough president, she will fight for working families living uptown, downtown, East Side and West Side. I am proud to support her. She is the best choice for Manhattan.”

Ms. Rosa: “I am supporting Julie Menin for Manhattan Borough President because of her proven commitment to great public schools for every child in our city. As chair of her community board, she successfully fought for three, much-needed new public schools for her neighborhood. When she is elected, she will do the same for all of us.”

Mr. Rodriguez: “Julie Menin has been a strong advocate for small businesses – especially immigrant-owned small businesses – helping them cut red tape and assisting them with government resources and insurance problems. She will be a great Manhattan Borough President."

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.

Congressman Charlie Rangel speaking at his election night party in Harlem.

The race between veteran Congressman Charlie Rangel and State Senator Adriano Espaillat for the 13th Congressional District in Upper Manhattan will come down to paper ballots. Mr. Rangel was initially declared the winner by the Associated Press based on initial results provided by the New York City Board of Elections, but it was subsequently revealed those results did not include votes from many of the precincts in the district. After a re-examination of the votes, the BOE released unofficial results tonight including votes cast in all of the district's 506 precincts that show Mr. Rangel defeating Mr. Espaillat by a margin of just 802 votes. According to the BOE, Mr. Rangel received 18,075 votes, or 44.29 percent of the total cast, compared to Mr. Espaillat's 17,273, 42.33 percent of the votes cast.

These unofficial results do not include paper ballots cast by absentee voters and affidavit ballots submitted by those whose name is not on the voter rolls when they arrive at the polling place. Those paper ballots, which include votes for both candidates, will be counted by the BOE next Thursday and will be the deciding factor in this tight race.

On Thursday, Mr. Espaillat's supporters held a press conference in front of Mr. Rangel's office where they called for a federal monitor to oversee the counting of votes after the issues with the initial results. Some of the supporters also made allegations of voter suppression and voter fraud at the polls on election day. Attorneys for Mr. Espaillat claim they were unable to monitor the recount and sought an injunction against the BOE to be allowed to observe the ongoing vote count. That hearing is scheduled to take place in State Supreme Court Monday.

Mr. Espaillat's spokesman, Ibrahim Khan, released a statement about the unofficial results in which he promised the campaign will continue their push for "transparency" in the vote counting process.

"Four days after polls closed, we finally have a preliminary vote count, excluding thousands of paper ballots. With each new tally, Senator Espaillat's vote total increases," Mr. Khan said. "As paper ballots begin to be counted and this dead-heat race continues, we are grateful to all of our supporters and will continue to push for full transparency in counting every single vote."

According to BOE spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez, there are 2,110 paper ballots cast in the race so far. To make up the make up the difference between him and Mr. Rangel, Mr. Espaillat will need to earn about 69 percent of these votes when the paper ballots are counted next week. Though more absentee ballots may still come in and his supporters have claimed most of the paper ballots were cast in neighborhoods favorable to Mr. Espaillat, if these numbers are correct, it seems unlikely Mr. Espaillat would be able to earn enough of a majority of the paper ballots to take the win away from Mr. Rangel. Either way, considering Mr. Rangel has gone over forty years without losing his seat, Mr. Espaillat's performance in this race was certainly impressive.

View the unofficial results below, which also include the other candidates in the race, Clyde Williams, Joyce Johnson and Craig Schley.

(Updated 10:19 p.m. with the current paper ballot totals from the BOE.)

David Segal (New York Post/Chad Rachman)

David Segal, a former spokesman for Councilman Ydanis Rodríguez, has a new job after a now-infamous series of events a few weeks ago where Mr. Rodríguez fired Mr. Segal, rehired and re-fired him within a very short time frame after the New York Post discovered he spent six months in federal jail for an arson attack on an army recruiting station in 2005.

"Now I am the Communications Coordinator for the Long Island Progressive Coalition," Mr. Segal told us earlier today.

Although the Post labeled Mr. Segal a "terrorist" and a "cop-hating con" in a series of rhetorically charged articles on his rotating position in Mr. Rodríguez's office, Lisa Tyson, the director of the LIPC, told us she wasn't especially concerned.

"We're a progressive organization -- we judge him on the merits of his work and he has long history of really helping people," Ms. Tyson explained. "We're really impressed with his résumé and he has really strong progressive values."

Ms. Tyson reached out to Mr. Segal a few weeks back, after the controversy, and decided he'd be a good fit for the newly created communications coordinator position. She said Mr. Segal would be able to help expand their messaging as they fight for causes like affordable housing on Long Island and progressive legislation in Albany.

Mr. Segal, who's going to stay in Brooklyn and commute out to Long Island, was understandably effusive in his praise for the organization.

"I've been really impressed with how Lisa Tyson's work over the past decade has really made the organization grow," he said. "They are a potent force for progressive politics on the island."

Danilo Medina declaring himself victorious in the Dominican presidential election Sunday. (Photo: Getty)

Recently, a Democratic club in Washington Heights held a meeting to endorse candidates in the local Congressional race. Afterwards, a group of reporters and some campaign staffers went out for beers at a nearby diner, Tu Sabor Latino. Once inside, they ran into a table full of volunteers working on the other major political campaign in the neighborhood—the race for a president of the Dominican Republic, between Danilo Medina and Hipólito Mejía, better known as Papá to his supporters.

Outside the diner, sirens flashed as the police escorted a motorcade carrying one of the Dominican presidential candidates up Broadway. It was a physical manifestation of a phenomenon that has long been familiar to Uptown politicos, in the upper reaches of Manhattan, local politicians can’t avoid bumping into the Dominican campaigns. (There is even a seat in the Dominican congress for a representative
from the U.S., such is the size of the ex-pat community.).

Every four years, the Dominican elections play out on the streets of Washington Heights and Inwood—with colorful signs, flags, trucks with speakers blasting Spanish songs and campaign slogans and personal appearances by the candidates. According to a 2005 study by CUNY’s Center for Latin American, Caribbean & Latino Studies, Dominicans make up over 53 percent of the population in the area, and many of the residents are dual citizens who also vote in their home country.

It turns out, this unique political landscape is riddled with potential landmines for local politicians.

“As much as politicians are constantly trying to avoid slips of the tongue on all issues, Dominican politicians are at pains to not present themselves as in favor of one party or the other when it comes to the Dominican national elections,” a staffer who has worked with several elected officials in Washington Heights and Inwood told us.

The local politicians cope with the split Dominican electorate by strenuously avoiding any declaration of allegiances. One aide for an area official refused to comment for this story telling us they didn’t want “to touch” the issue. State Senator Adriano Espaillat, who represents Washington Heights, Inwood, Riverdale and Marble Hill, used rather graphic terms when he declined to weigh in on the race to the Riverdale Times earlier this month.

“For that, you’ve gotta wear a bulletproof vest,” Mr. Espaillat told that paper. “I’m not getting involved in that.”

In an effort to keep up the appearance of impartiality, both Mr. Espaillat and the local councilman, Ydanis Rodriguez, have appeared at events for both Mr. Mejia and Mr. Medina.

As one staffer explained it, “I think it’s less a relationship of trying to pull them in for endorsements, it’s more of a symbiotic thing in terms of fundraising. I remember people throwing around figures for when Papá was in town....They were saying he was going to bring in like $1 million for his one visit to New York, for like a long weekend.”

At first, it appeared the local elected officials could relax, with the passing of the election Sunday. Mr. Medina, of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, appeared to emerge victorious with 51.21 percent of the vote compared to 46.96 percent for his rival, former president Mr. Mejía of the Partido Revolucionario Dominican. But Mr.Mejía initially refused to make a concession speech, and has disputed the results as "the result of manipulation and abuse of power." So, for now, the U.S. politicians will still have to keep watching what they say, with the slim margin of victory showing just how divided the Dominican electorate is.

“If you support the wrong Dominican candidate, you’re done,” as the staffer put it.

Ydanis Rodriguez

David Segal, the controversial Council aide who was abruptly fired and then rehired after it was revealed he spent six months in prison for torching an army recruitment facility has been fired once again. Mr. Segal said he heard the news via a letter delivered to him as he was at work in Councilman Rodriguez's legislative office in the Council building on 250 Broadway.

"Six hours after I reported to work, after Councilman Rodriguez re-hired me, I was then re-fired by a letter from Councilman Rodriguez delivered to me by the chief of staff," Mr. Segal said. "I will be coming out with a public statement on Monday which will bring a number of facts to light that haven't been made public up to this point."

According to sources in Mr. Rodriguez's office, the councilman reversed his decision to re-hire Mr. Segal because he became "spooked" after seeing a Tweet from NY1 contributor Gerson Borrero. The Tweet in question criticized Mr. Rodriguez for giving Mr. Segal his job back.

Mr. Rodriguez confirmed he fired Mr. Segal with a letter this afternoon.

"Today, I gave a letter to David Segal where I thanked him for the hard work and dedication during the months of services in my office and in my community," Mr. Rodriguez said. "I also let him know in that letter that his services were no longer needed in my office."

Some legal experts have suggested it may have been a violation of employment discrimination laws to fire Mr. Segal in the first place. Mr. Rodriguez defended his right to fire his former spokesman.

"I acted with the rights that I have as a Council member," he said. "It's at the discretion of the Council member to hire or to stop the services of their staff."

Mr. Rodriguez declined to discuss the matter further.

Update (5:16 pm): Here's a photo of the letter Mr. Segal received from Mr. Rodriguez.

Update (6:01 pm): Mr. Rodriguez contacted us with an additional statement.

"Besides giving him the letter, I terminated David because he betrayed my trust by not telling me the circumstances of his arrest in 2005," he said.

Peter Vallone Jr.

Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is not happy that he and controversial Council aide David Segal will be working in the same building again. Mr. Segal is back in the office of Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez after he was initially fired when the news broke that he served time in federal prison for attempting to torch an Army recruitment center in the Bronx in 2005.

"I didn't think it was possible for this episode to get more embarassing, but it just did," Mr. Vallone told The Politicker.

Mr. Segal was contrite when the news of his old arrest first resurfaced.

"I had and continue to have a firm belief that the war in Iraq is unjust. I have a strong set of values based on social justice," he said. "I apologize to anyone I might have disappointed and to those who might not agree with my past."

However, that answer hasn't satisfied Mr. Vallone, because Mr. Segal did not specifically say he was sorry for his actions or whether he was willing to renounce violence.

"I understand redemption and forgiveness, but he hasn't even started the process," he said. "He needs to beg forgiveness of our soldiers and police force, none of which he's done yet, and then the Council could consider rehiring him."

Some legal experts have suggested Mr. Segal's firing may have been a violation of job discrimination laws because he initially he had committed a felony when he got the job as Mr. Rodriguez's spokesman last year. Mr. Vallone doesn't believe that's the case because Mr. Segal reportedly called the officers who arrested him "pigs" in an online rant posted after the incident.

"You don't have to hire someone if the conviction has a direct connection to their job," Mr. Vallone said. "In case people don't notice, we have direct oversight on the NYPD and he called the officers 'pigs' when he was arrested. So, that's a direct enough connection for me."

Mr. Rodriguez has not responded to multiple requests for comment on this story.

Ydanis Rodriguez

David Segal, who was abruptly fired as Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez's spokesman following the revelation he served time in federal prison for attempting to torch an Army recruitment center in the Bronx seven years ago, has been re-hired. Sources tell The Politicker Mr. Segal's precise duties are still being determined, but he is back at a desk in the Council building at 250 Broadway. 

Mr. Segal served six months in federal prison after he was arrested for making a pre-dawn attempt to throw a burning rag into the recruiting office, which was closed at the time. The doors on the building were jammed with glue and he was reportedly clad in rubber gloves and carrying maps of the recruitment center and a note vowing a "wave of violence" directed at the "military industrial complex" would occur throughout the Northeast as a response to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The New York Post revealed the details of Mr. Segal's old conviction in a story published last Friday that branded Mr. Segal "terrorist in City Hall." Within a few hours, Mr. Rodriguez said Mr. Segal had been "relieved from my staff." The Fortune Society, a group that focuses on rehabilitating prison inmates suggested his dismissal "may violate state law" against discriminatory hiring practices.

As of this writing, Mr. Rodriguez has not responded to a request for comment on this story. Mr. Segal also declined to comment.

Arrested protesters lined up inside Vietnam Veterans Plaza. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

In many ways, the story of Occupy Wall Street's May Day protest yesterday is much more about what didn't happen than what did. There were no mass arrests or massive traffic disruptions and workers didn't walk off their jobs en masse. In total, the NYPD said there were "over 50" Occupy-related arrests yesterday, a far cry from the hundreds of arrests that accompanied previous Occupy actions.

After months of dealing with the protests, the police have clearly adapted to Occupy.  Last night, the NYPD managed to clear the crowd that gathered for the May Day finale rally within thirty minutes without the pepper spray and arrests of press and politicans that led to controversy at past protests.

May Day began yesterday morning in Bryant Park, which served as the central hub for a variety of marches featuring thousands of protesters, union leaders and cameo appearances by famous musicians. Though the protesters had vowed to "shut down" the city and police warned of possible "militant elements" and traffic blockades, by the evening, the NYPD said there were only "approximately 30" arrests.

At 5:30 pm, protesters staged a march from Union Square to the financial district. The march finished with a "general assembly" on the Vietnam Veterans Plaza that drew hundreds of people. A speaker informed the crowd that the park was scheduled to close at 10 p.m.

"After that, it will be up to us," they said.

Police circled the park with scooters and columns of officers clad in riot helmets. The protesters seemed to be gearing up for another one of the violent confrontations that has defined their movement.

When the appointed hour rolled around, a Lieutenant with the Manhattan South task force grabbed a megaphone and addressed the crowd.

"This is a New York City park. It is closed at 10 o'clock. You will have a few minutes to leave. If you refuse to leave, you will be arrested," he said.

The vast majority of the crowd moved out of the park and into the surrounding streets. About 11 protesters, including Bishop George Packard and Reverend Michael Ellick of Judson Memorial Church participated in an act of civil disobedience by remaining in the park and were arrested. The Politicker also saw at least two other protesters get pulled to the ground and carried from the park.

At the eviction of the Occupy encampment in Zuccotti Park, members of the press were arrested while attempting to cover the protests leading to a public relations nightmare for the NYPD. This time around, credentialed reporters were allowed to remain in the park to view the May Day crowds being cleared. We spotted "hipster cop" Rick Lee, whose natty attire has made him an accidental star of the Occupy protests, as the police broke up the protest. He pointed towards the arrested protesters who were lined up against the wall of a nearby office building.

"If they only listened to me, we'd all avoid this," he said, before quickly adding, "The Occupiers, I mean."

Ydanis Rodriguez at last night's protest. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

The police also made a clear effort to avoid the political fallout that followed last fall's Occupy protests when Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez was arrested while he claimed to be observing the eviction of Zuccotti Park. Mr. Rodriguez was in attendance last night along with his fellow Council member Jumaane Williams, who was himself arrested while participating in an act of civil disobedience in support of Occupy Wall street last November. As a result of his arrest, Mr. Rodriguez is currently participating in a class action law suit against Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City.

Last night, Mr. Williams and Mr. Rodriguez were permitted to remain in the plaza and view the May Day finale. Shortly before the area was cleared, an NYPD officer brought the councilmen a contingent of Community Affairs officers to accompany them as they observed the protests.

"These guys are Council members. They're here to observe. Make sure they don't get mixed up in this," the officer said.

After the protesters were cleared from the plaza, there were several arrests and clashes with the police as they made their way through the surrounding streets. Though several protesters were pushed to the ground and arrested, there was no sign of the pepper spray that resulted in widely viewed YouTube videos and substantial criticism for the police at past Occupy protests.

When it was all over, a smaller group made their way to Zuccotti Park including Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Williams who gave us their takes on the day's events.

"I think that it is wrong to evict protesters from a public square. That is my belief. We need to change the law. I believe that peaceful demonstration should be allowed in a public place because that is what the Constitution says," Mr. Rodriguez said. "What happened today, the message was clear, this movement will stay and will continue growing in the City of New York."

Mr. Williams echoed his opinion protesters should not be cleared every time they attempt to assemble.

"A public square should be allowed for people to protest," he said. "Today was clearly successful in letting people know the message is still alive, the movement is alive. It's not dead. To let the Bloombergs, the Cuomos, the Obamas, all of them in the Congress know that these guys and people like us who are fighting are not going away until the problems are addressed."

Bishop Ray Blanchette, a clergyman who was with Mr. Williams and Mr. Rodriguez at the protest, said the major remaining question is how protesters can figure out how to make themselves heard when the police have figured out how to quash their demonstrations so effectively.

"The big issue is, how are we going to address the fact that they keep shutting down our protests," he said. "This will prevent any progressive movement. ... The police have us under their thumb."