Rep. Charles Rangel, 81, at the September unveiling of a portrait celebrating his previous chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Rangel's office)

Rep.Charles Rangel, an enduring Harlem institution at 81, won’t be yielding his Congressional seat anytime soon, it appears. A high-profile Rangel fundraiser last month at a Washington, D.C., restaurant reportedly raised around $50,000, with major Democratic Party figures out in force.

And in an email to his campaign’s mailing list earlier this month, Rangel made clear that he plans to “fight like hell for the privilege of serving again” in the 15th Congressional District. This is his 40th year as a member of the House of Representatives and his 20th Congressional term.

“Charlie’s definitely running again,” confirmed Bob Liff, a Rangel spokesman. “He always campaigns like he never takes anything for granted,” and next year’s primary and general elections will be no different.

The latest available Federal Election Commission filings show that Rangel’s main campaign committee, Rangel for Congress, received $652,485 in contributions this year and has $338,054 in net available funds. From July 1 to September 30 alone, his committee raised $345,946.

In last year’s primary, despite a highly publicized House censure for ethics violations, Rangel easily outpaced the next most popular Democratic candidate, former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, 26,101 votes to 11,834.

“What happens in Washington isn’t always reflected in the people’s districts,” said Liff. “On the substance of the job, Charlie Rangel hasn’t lost anything. I challenge you to find another district where a Congressman has had more impact on the lives of people on the street, and really on virtually every block.”

In fact, Liff argued, the 2010 censure might have bolstered Rangel’s support. “Last year we had, in some ways, a better turnout, as there was a sense among people in New York that Charlie was being unfairly treated,” he said. Liff argued that Rangel’s transgressions were “merely rules violations, without any corruption or personal gain involved.”

Last year, in a field of five Democratic opponents, Rangel still drew over 50 per cent of the vote in the Democratic primary. He then defeated Republican Michael Faulkner by a landslide in the general election, with 80 percent of the vote.

But upcoming elections may bring another unpredictable shift for Rangel and others, as a state taskforce redraws Senate, Assembly, and Congressional district lines. Electoral redistricting, which takes place every decade, could reflect the significant demographic changes in Rangel’s district, specifically its growing Hispanic majority. According to the Census, the district is currently 46 percent Hispanic, 26 percent African-American and 21 percent Caucasian.

Pundits of all stripes have speculated for some time about who might eventually replace Rangel when he does step down or lose at the polls. He may be warily eyeing one potential challenger, experienced Washington political operative Clyde Williams, as evidenced by some nameless sniping in a December 6 campaign email. Another possible challenger, Vince Morgan, has received local press attention as a vocal critic of problems with Columbia’s Manhattanville development.

The candidate considered closest to a natural Rangel successor, and most likely to win his endorsement eventually, is Assemblyman Keith Wright. Liff noted that Rangel has a “lot of respect” for Wright.

“People are positioning themselves for when Rangel moves on,” said one Democrat familiar with Rangel’s work. “He’s been there for 40 years, and everyone has had to wait; now you have three generations waiting there, who want that seat.”

Read interviews with each of these likely contenders – Clyde Williams, Vincent Morgan and Assemblyman Keith Wright – all likely to play a key role in Harlem politics next year.

Assemblyman Keith Wright, pictured here at his district office in Harlem's 125th Street State Office building, has long been an active player in Manhattan politics. (Photo by Nat Rudarakanchana)

Assemblyman Keith Wright, first elected to the New York State Assembly in 1992, has often been portrayed as Rangel’s favorite to inherit his seat, when Rangel resigns from the House of Representatives or declines to seek re-election. Wright, however, is coy about his plans.

“I would look at running, sure,” said Wright casually in an interview at his district office, deep within the towering Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office on 125th Street. “I would show some real interest.”

Asked about potential competitors in 2014, the 56-year-old Wright said he had “no idea.” What about State Sen. Bill Perkins, widely considered a key competitor in that scenario? “He’s a fine senator,” was all Wright would say. “I have not discussed this with him.”

Wright’s district office, cluttered but warm, is dominated by photos of historic Harlem politicos and tokens of constituent gratitude, reflecting his longtime involvement in neighborhood politics. The state building itself is a politically-wired hub, housing Rangel, Perkins, and City Councilwoman Inez Dickens.

Wright, chair of the Assembly’s labor committee, formerly led the influential Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus. Throughout his career he has worked on issues involving small businesses, affordable housing, youth and the working class.

“Listen, we’re a district that needs a lot of help,” Wright observed, “whether it’s in education, economic development, healthcare, or housing – you name it.”

Though the Assemblyman spends a good deal of his time in Albany, many constituents are familiar with him. Born and raised in Harlem, he currently lives in the Riverton Houses, the large mid-income development on 135th Street and Fifth Avenue, in the very apartment he grew up in.

Last February, after the State Supreme Court ordered that Riverton Houses be sold because of a massive default by its former owner, Wright announced that he planned on “involving various State and City agencies to ensure that tenant needs are being properly addressed.”

“Of course I have a very special closeness to the property,” said Wright, once the complex’s tenant association president. “I think it’s an anchor in the neighborhood, but certainly it doesn’t make me work any harder or any less because I live there. I work just as hard for other properties in peril.” He explained that he felt wary of the sale happening too soon and to the wrong people.

Some think Wright’s grassroots activism and strong Harlem roots make him a frontrunner for Rangel’s seat one day. “People know Wright and he’s very well-liked,” observed Basil Smikle, a political strategist and adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “There’s a natural progression from Assemblyman to frontrunner for Congress, should Rangel step down sometime.

“Those prospects would look good for him – he has a lot more credibility and gravitas than others like Williams and Morgan,” Smikle added. His own bid for Perkins’ senate seat in 2010 was backed by Wright’s Democratic club, known as the Frederick Samuel Democratic Club.

Wright had considerable political experience before becoming an elected official, having worked for former Mayor David Dinkins during his tenure as Manhattan borough president.

“Working with Dave Dinkins was probably the most important job I had in so many ways, because it reintroduced me to my community,” he said. “You really don’t know a community unless you walk the streets, and that’s where I started walking the streets.”

Wright ran for Manhattan borough president himself in 2005, but lost the Democratic nomination to current incumbent Scott Stringer, whom he describes as a “great” borough president.  Eight other candidates ran in that hotly contested primary, with Wright receiving 8,078 votes to Stringer’s 40,226.

He said he learned a lot in that race, which allowed him to establish relationships with key political players throughout Manhattan. “It gave me a chance to get into Chinatown, Gramercy Park, Inwood, Chelsea, you name the neighborhood,” he said. “I formed some great friendships and alliances.”

That campaign led, in Wright’s view, to his becoming chair of the Manhattan Democratic Party in 2009, a position with some influence on official party nominations of Civil Court and Supreme Court judges. “It’s probably the most important position that a person could serve in without anyone knowing about it,” he said. “It’s the position no one knows about.”

Responding to criticism of those nominations from the Daily News, Wright defended the transparency and fairness of the process, commenting that “no one can dispute the quality and caliber of the judges that we have nominated.”

As for two other potential Rangel-replacers, Clyde Williams and Vincent Morgan, Wright said he knew Williams had “done some work, helping a couple of businesses in Harlem” but that otherwise,”I don’t know what other kinds of public service he has participated in. I have nothing bad to say about Clyde, but quite honestly, if you’re running against Rangel, you really need to have more grassroots experience.”

Much the same could be said of Morgan, he said. “In Congress, seniority is what really makes the difference. Would people want a person that’s been in Congress for 40 years, or someone who’s just kind of a neophyte?”

In contrast, though he himself has no Congressional seniority, “Wright has a lot of clout and sizeable influence,” said Smikle. “When people ask what he’s done and what he can do, he will have that narrative all ready.”

Read more about political players Vincent Morgan, Clyde Williams and Charles Rangel in this special Congressional 2012 report.

Education

Tufts University, BA in Political Science and History

Rutgers University, Degree in Law

Past Career Highlights

Director of Uptown Office, Manhattan Borough President’s office (1986 – 1990)

Assistant Director of Government Relations, New York City Transit Authority (1990 – 1992)

Assemblyman, New York State 70^th Assembly District (1992 – present)

Family Politics

Wright’s father was the late New York Supreme Court Justice Bruce Wright, a controversial city judge.

Campaign Finances

According to New York State Board of Elections filings, the Friends of Keith Wright, his main campaign committee for Assembly, raised $101,747 between November 1, 2008 and November 1, 2010. Wright was last elected in November 2010.

Recent Controversies

The New York Daily News recently criticized Wright for making the process of nominating Manhattan judges more opaque and questionable, by not publicly disclosing the names of panelists who recommend candidates as in previous years. The newspaper also noted that Wright’s administrator attended interviews and asked questions, a role previously served by a non-political administrator.

There are also recent claims from the New York Daily News concerning minor campaign rule violations by judicial candidates Wright backed.  “The Daily News doesn’t know what they’re talking about. First of all they wrote fiction. But that’s never stopped them before,” Wright responded. “They were upset that some judges didn’t file financial disclosures.” But Wright said the judges had filed them, “so they didn’t know what they were talking about.”

Vincent Morgan, a Congressional candidate for upper Manhattan, makes his political pitch in an interview at the trendy Harlem Tavern. (Photo by Nat Rudarakanchana)

Vincent Morgan arrives at the fashionable Harlem Tavern on 116th Street and Frederick Douglass, sharply dressed in a suit and tie, to make his case that he symbolizes a fresh type of Harlem politician.

Morgan, 42, expects to run again next year for New York’s 15th Congressional seat, which primarily covers Harlem, Inwood, Washington Heights and the Upper West Side. He challenged incumbent Charles Rangel in last year’s Democratic primary, but placed last of five candidates.

Still, Morgan isn’t worried. It’s more important that he “actually saw through, from beginning, middle, and end, a campaign,” says Morgan, a former community banker. “I talked to a lot of people and I think I laid the foundation to be the strongest candidate against Charlie Rangel in 2012.

“I know the street, and I know the issues,” he continues. “I’m looking forward to 2012 because I think people are ready for a change, and they’re ready for a change from someone who’s been here and raised their kids here.”

Born and raised in Chicago, Morgan moved to Harlem in 2000. Later, as chairman of the 125th Street Business Improvement District, managing aspects of upper Manhattan’s chief commercial artery, Morgan became familiar with residents, businesspeople and property owners.

Most recently, as a community banker at TD Bank, Morgan says he directed $25 million in direct investment in upper Manhattan to meet the bank’s Commercial Reinvestment Act obligations. The sum includes small business loans, grants to local nonprofits and about $20 million in commercial loans, often to construction developments with affordable housing components.

Morgan identifies “economic empowerment” –including creating jobs and establishing a class of local entrepreneurs — as his top campaign issue; he also emphasizes education, public safety and socially responsible development.

As a former employee of both the 125th Street Business Improvement District and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corp., two influential uptown business groups, Morgan has strong local business ties. At both organizations, he worked closely with local business owners.

“I can read financial documents,” he says. “I know how to structure a deal.” While he pays respects to elder statesmen like Rangel, he also insists that “times have changed” and that it’s “time to progress.”

Morgan got his first taste of politics in 2001, when he worked for Rangel’s office as a special assistant. He describes Rangel as “old school: many elements of his personality are larger than life. He’s a very, very skilled politician.”

Morgan will invest $50,000 of his own money in his campaign, he says, and claims to have raised about $15,000 in the most recent quarter. But his profile page on the website of ActBlue, a nonprofit Democratic political committee listed on his official campaign website as the only online way to contribute, shows only $700 raised from four contributors for the current election cycle.

He need not officially report all contributions, however, until the Federal Election Commissions filing deadline of January 31.

His latest official campaign finance filings, for July 1 to September 30, report only a single contribution of $24,220, from Morgan himself, along with campaign expenditures of $6670. His campaign committee, Morgan for Congress, has raised no money this year.

Morgan says his target is to raise $500,000 by summer, but adds that fundraising isn’t everything in this race, where Rangel is expected to outspend everyone.

“If you think you can win this race by just buying it, then you forget who lives in this district,” Morgan says. “These people expect to be talked to, and money can only take you so far.”

In recent weeks, Morgan has drawn press coverage as a vocal critic of the West Harlem Local Development Corporation, currently under investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Morgan has criticized the group as lacking accountability and proper organization and documentation.

Morgan himself started a business partnership in April 2004 in Chicago, called South Parkway Venture Group LLC, which eventually faced “involuntary dissolution.”  A company usually faces involuntary dissolution for fraud, or for failing to maintain itself and register annual reports.

Morgan explains that he allowed the state to dissolve this partnership, set up specifically for a personal real estate purchase, after which it was no longer needed. He doesn’t find the incident noteworthy or improper.

Basil Smikle, a political strategist and adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, says of Morgan: “He represents a younger generation. He’s very smart, has a great sense of the community and has spent a good amount of time raising his family in Harlem.”

When Smikle ran unsuccessfully against State Sen. Bill Perkins in last year’s Democratic primary, he campaigned with Morgan, who got a “great reception,” he said. “He’s got some great relationships in the neighborhood.”

Morgan, however, only received 1210 votes in last year’s Democratic primary, of 52,602 votes cast. Nonetheless, he remains optimistic about 2012.

Read more about political players Keith Wright, Clyde Williams and Charles Rangel in this special Congressional 2012 report.

Education

Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Masters in Public Administration

University of Illinois at Chicago, BS in Management

Career Highlights

Community banker, TD Bank (2006 – 2011)

Chairman, 125th Street Business Improvement District (2009 – 2011)

Marketing director, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (2004 – 2006)

Special assistant, NY 15th Congressional District Office (2001 – 2004)

Current Employment 

Morgan resigned from TD Bank in March 2010 to focus on his Congressional campaign.

Campaign Finances

Morgan’s treasurer Reynaldo Snyden received a warning letter from the Federal Election Commission in April for failing to file a campaign finance report by the January 31 deadline. Ultimately no fine was levied. However, Morgan’s campaign committee Morgan for Congress has received at least three warning letters for improper filing.

Recent Controversies

Morgan has criticized the organization which distributes community funds connected to Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus expansion. “There needs to be more transparency on the expenditures and verification that those expenditures went to something tangible,” he says. “We shined a light on something important at a stage where we can correct it before any more money is outlaid.”

Clyde Williams sits in front of Katrina Parris Flowers, a small Harlem florist he aided while working for the Clinton Foundation. (Photo by Nat Rudarakanchana)

No stranger to Washington, or to the White House, Clyde Williams has worked for both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as a domestic policy advisor and as political director of the influential Democratic National Committee, respectively.

In an initial meeting at Lenox Avenue’s stylish Italian restaurant Settepani, where he often takes guests and associates, Williams, who is 49, carefully outlined his likely 2012 bid for a seat in New York’s 15th Congressional District.

He sounded modestly optimistic about outpacing Rep. Charles Rangel in the primary, but insisted on defining the race in terms of district issues,  not personalities.

He emphasized education, unemployment and job training, and added that he had a “great deal of experience” working on economic issues in government.

“The issues that are most important to a community like northern Manhattan – and I want to be clear that the district is not just Harlem, it’s northern Manhattan  – are economic issues, the same issues that impact people all across our country,” said Williams in a subsequent telephone interview.

“I’ve seen first-hand, up close and personal, how good government can work and how government can actually do nothing,” he commented. “It’s extremely important that you pay attention to economic issues, because if you figure out how to move the ball on those issues, you can impact the community in a profound way.”

Born and raised in Washington, Williams first moved to Harlem in 2001 to work with the Clinton Foundation. He also ran the Harlem Speaker Series, which invited figures like former President Clinton, then-Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Congressman Charles Rangel, to speak in Harlem.

Though previously he split his time between Washington and New York, since June Williams has moved to Harlem full-time.

Williams has reportedly raised around $50,000 for his race, according to a recent article in the New York Times. He declined to confirm the figure, saying only that “people will find out how much money I’ve raised when I have to file my disclosure form” with the Federal Election Commission.

He acknowledged, however, that previous reports about his fundraising have captured figures in “the right ball park” for his early, exploratory campaign activities.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, Williams officially registered the Clyde Williams for Congress Exploratory Committee on November 9, allowing him to raise funds for a possible race. The committee, headed by Williams’ longtime friend Samuel Ginsberg, has not yet submitted official campaign finance reports and isn’t required to until January 31.

Williams also refused to comment on a poll he commissioned to assess his chances in the race against Rangel; he hired Whitman Insight Strategies, a firm often associated with Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The New York Daily News has reported on the poll’s results, which showed that only 35 percent of those surveyed would vote for Rangel in the key Democratic primary. The sample was made up of 600 district residents likely to vote in the key Democratic primary.

In fundraising, he said, he would “cast a wide net…You definitely reach out to people you have some relationship with, but you have to go beyond that, too. We’ll see what happens.”

Williams’ ties to Harlem are fairly strong. Although he only moved to the neighborhood in 2001, Williams led the Harlem Small Business Initiative under the Clinton Foundation, which has offices on 125th Street. The program helped small local businesses with accounting, computing and other administrative tasks by providing expertise and mentors.

One business it aided is Settepani itself, where staff greeted Williams with respect. Williams deflected questions about how much work he has done in the community, however, saying instead that people can learn about his work by asking those affected by it.

Williams is also listed as the CEO of CEMK Inc., primarily a management consulting firm, according to official New York Department of State records. Opened in April 2005, the firm is currently defunct: Williams says he shut it down after he moved back to Washington in 2008, though it “still exists on paper.”

Williams and his campaign treasurer Ginsberg are also mentioned in a contract between Dicon Technologies LLC and SpongeTechReid. SpongeTechReid acquired Dicon for $2.35 million in July 2009, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Williams explained that he and four friends originally bought Dicon Technologies, which manufactures sponges in Savannah, Georgia, but eventually decided to sell the company as the national economy worsened. He declined to say how the $2.35m was split between the five company directors, or how much he initially invested in the firm.

SpongeTechReid CEO Michael Metter was later convicted in August 2010 for massive business fraud, after the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated the firm, which soon declared bankruptcy. “Dicon Technologies was a company we bought. It was a company based in China – we brought the company back to America and created 125 manufacturing jobs,” Williams said. “Just as friends, we bought a business.” He added that he had no inkling of SpongeTechReid’s corporate malfeasance.

Sources familiar with the uptown political scene felt unsure about Williams’ chances next year. “He’s a serious candidate with good credentials, but he has to come up with a compelling narrative for voters in the district,” said Basil Smikle, a political strategist and adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

“His biggest issue is getting voters to know who he is, and really understanding the workings of the neighborhood. He’s got to get to know all the tenant leaders, community leaders and clergy leaders, and that takes time.”

Read more about political players Vincent Morgan, Keith Wright and Charles Rangel in this special Congressional 2012 report.

Education

Howard University, BA in Political Science

Past Career Highlights

National Political Director of the Democratic National Committee (2009 –2011)

Vice President for State and Local Government Affairs at the Center for American Progress (2004 – 2005)

Domestic Policy Advisor to the Clinton Foundation (2001 – 2005)

Current Employment Status

Williams has resigned from full-time employment to focus more fully on his likely 2012 campaign.

Family Politics

Mona Sutphen, deputy chief of staff for Barack Obama from 2008 to 2011, is Williams’ wife. Sutphen and Williams met in the White House.

Recent Controversies

Williams recently commissioned a poll, costing $25,000 to $30,000, by Whitman Insight Strategies, to assess his chances in the upcoming race against incumbent Charles Rangel, according to The New York Daily News. In an email sent to his campaign mailing list, Rangel urged Williams to release the findings, but Williams has declined to disclose the poll’s results or cost. The Daily News reports the findings as encouraging for Williams, however.

A copy of the constitution of the United States is in display at the lobby of Federal Plaza 26, which houses the U.S. CItizenship and Immigration Services. (Photo by Marina Lopes)

Hundreds of men and women in turbans, saris and business suits wait quietly in the New York District Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, clutching identical white manila folders that contain their legal documents. Standing in a single file line that snakes around the lobby, Jose , an illegal immigrant facing deportation, is not alone.

His team of supporters includes two pastors, a lawyer and three volunteers, all part of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, an organization calling for an end to the Department of Homeland Security’s involvement at Rikers Island.

Jose was arrested and held at Rikers pending an arraignment on his case. Although all criminal charges against him were dropped, he was transferred to federal custody, detained for a year and is now facing deportation. Jose’s hearing has been delayed until January. (To avoid identifying him, the Uptowner has agreed to change his name and omit details of his case.)

But future arrests of undocumented immigrants may bring less harsh consequences. In November, Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a landmark law that will end collaboration between New York law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities in detaining illegal immigrants who, like Jose, have no criminal records. The law will take effect in March.

For 16 years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, has arranged with municipal, county and state law enforcement to help identify illegal immigrants, under a program known as Agreements of Cooperation in Communities,  or ACCESS.

The New York Police Department, for example,  has allowed the immigration agency to receive case information on detainees and to maintain a trailer at Rikers Island. Last year, 2,552 inmates were released from the city’s Department of Corrections directly into federal custody, according to the law.

Spearheaded by East Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, the law comes at a time when states like Arizona and Alabama have expanded their ability to enforce federal immigration law.  But Bradley Shaw, a Washington Heights immigration lawyer familiar with the law, said New York views immigrants differently.

“In New York City, immigrants are part of our daily life. We connect with them on a one to one basis,” he said. “That changes people’s hearts, because they realize why people are here. They are here to work, take care of their family.”

Although immigration laws are civil and not criminal, ACCESS is geared toward police departments because they often are the first to get custody of undocumented immigrants, said Shaw.

“If you get arrested at a traffic stop and they run a background check or ask for ID,  and you cannot show that you are a legal resident or have authorization to be here, you are detained,” said Shaw.

In the past decade, the federal government has requested that a police department inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement if an illegal immigrant is released on bail or if charges are dropped.  The agency requests that police detain the person for up to 48 hours. “ICE will then come and pick them up,” said Shaw.

The New Sanctuary Coalition started its campaign in August 2009, joining with Make The Road New York and the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights to inform the public about ACCESS and to call for an end to immigration authorities’ involvement in New York City jails.

“A lot of how this actually functions or doesn’t function is hidden,” said the Rev. Kaji Spellman, who accompanied Jose to his court hearing and co-chairs the New Sanctuary Coalition.  “When stuff isn’t visible, it can’t be challenged. Even our presence is a challenge.”

In addition to accompanying undocumented immigrants to court appearances, New Sanctuary mobilizes political and religious support to try to prevent deportation.

Mark-Viverito said that advocates from Open Road New York and the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law approached her with a legislative strategy to end deportation of immigrants with no criminal record.

“Many of us were not aware that there was a direct relationship between the Department of Homeland Security and our correctional facilities, and that there were actually federal agents based in Rikers Island,” she said.

Mark-Viverito met with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and held rallies and information sessions to promote the bill. “Considering that it was historic legislation, there was kind of a concern that maybe we didn’t have the authority to legislate,” Viverito said.  ”So there was a lot of back and forth in terms of tweaking the legislation.”

Once Quinn was on board, the next challenge was convincing Bloomberg to shift his position on the ACCESS program, said Mark-Viverito.

“The administration was indicating along the way that they were not supportive of the changes we were trying to enact,” she said. “We tried to encourage them to make administrative changes so that we wouldn’t have to legislate it. They were not open to that.”

According to Mark-Viverito, the Bloomberg administration felt no need to change the way the Criminal Detention Program operated.

“They weren’t convinced despite the fact that, according to the Department of Correction’s own data, it was clear that 50 to 55 percent of the people having these detainers dropped on them were people who had no criminal past and were for low offenses, misdemeanors,” she said.

After meeting with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, the City Council had a second hearing.

“When we finally were able to draft legislation and show them that there was a way that we could fulfill what we were asking for and still keep people safe, they saw that they couldn’t fight it, I guess,” said Mark-Viverito of the Bloomberg administration.

“What do you do in situations where there is not a major criminal background to warrant holding this person? That’s what this law is trying to address,” Shaw said

The law prevents the Department of Corrections from holding individuals once charges are dropped and from notifying federal authorities of their release. It does not apply to illegal immigrants who are charged with crimes, have cases pending or are on a terrorist watch list.

While he praises the law, New Sanctuary organizer Ravi Ragbir said that the coalition’s work is far from over.

“It’s a first step, because the people impacted by this law are a small fraction of the ones who need help,” said Ragbir.

Mark-Viverito said the law acknowledges the economic contributions all immigrants make to the city.  Immigrants represent 43 percent of the city’s overall workforce and contribute 32 percent of the City’s revenue, according to the law. “The future of the city’s cultural and economic growth is at risk because of a current political climate that is focused on the deportation of immigrants,” the law states.

“My hope is that we can encourage other municipalities that have similar relationships to the ones that we do with the Department of Homeland Security to enact similar legislation,” said Mark-Viverito. “So that is the next step, that we can take this to other areas and maybe encourage people to think about it as well.”

Public Housing like the St. Nicholas Houses wait for repairs. (Photo by Chris Le)

James Thomas is tired of waiting. But it’s a wait he’s come to expect from the city. Earlier this month, Thomas discovered a clogged sink in his kitchen; he grumbled, partly about the blocked pipe, partly because he had to call in a work order. He wasn’t holding his breath.

“They said they won’t be able to come until next month,” says Thomas, 52, walking his two small dogs outside the Grant Houses in Harlem, where he lives. Cooking and washing dishes are even more of a chore with a clogged sink. “It also stinks,” Thomas says.

But the New York City Housing Authority, which provides public housing and oversees its maintenance, considers Thomas’s problem a non-emergency repair — neither a danger nor potential danger to his life, like a gas leak, flood or power failure, which are given priority. So Thomas’s broken sink finds itself under a stack of similar work orders.  He does have one option: if he pays a $50 fee, a repairman will be dispatched immediately. Thomas doesn’t want to spend that much.

But he can’t do the job himself or hire his own repairman. The Housing Authority discourages this; it doesn’t want any liability if tenants or outsiders cause further damage or structural changes. Thomas has no choice but to wait. “It’s a simple fix,” he says, almost baffled. “I don’t know how or why it takes so long.”

Thousands of residents endure similar waits when their leaky pipes, broken refrigerators or tripped circuit breakers need repair. It’s become an accepted reality: That’s what happens when you live in public housing like the Grant Houses, with its nine 54-year-old buildings, 1,940 apartments and estimated 4,519 fellow residents. That’s what happens when your landlord is the city and the city, recovering from a recession, must operate more than 2,604 buildings, most 40 to 70 years old.

Actually, a monthlong wait represents a marked improvement, Thomas says. In 2009, after 10 years in the apartment, his walls began to peel and crack. He called for a paint job. “The development used to have its own painters on site,” Thomas recalls. Not anymore. The Housing Authority told Thomas repainting would take three months. The painters didn’t come for two years.

“Right now it sucks,” Thomas says of the city’s maintenance of public housing. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I give them a 4.”

A woman passing with her own pair of dogs overhears and chimes in: “Well, this is where the poor people are. The city don’t care about them.”

A recent survey of all Housing Authority developments revealed more than 280,000 outstanding repairs, with an average of eight pending work orders per apartment. The authority estimates all basic interior fixes would cost $500 million.

“The agency respects and understands resident frustration over the backlog of repair and maintenance work,” says Housing Authority spokeswoman Sheila Stainback. “NYCHA works unceasingly to address all requests.” But budget deficits restrict its efforts, she says.

Eighty percent of the money for public housing repairs and renovations come from the federal government. However, this money has steadily declined over the decade. In 2001, the Housing Authority received $410 million per year for housing improvements. In 2011, it got only $270 million. Congress is now proposing to further reduce capital subsidies to $205 million.

And the Housing Authority already bleeds, reporting an annual operating deficit of $60 million.  Its budget tightens every year, threatening not only apartment maintenance but also jobs. Since 2005, the Housing Authority has laid off 661 employees, about 11 percent of its workforce, many of them maintenance workers.

With fewer employees and less money, the Housing Authority can’t keep pace with the ballooning number of repairs. So Jimmy Cortez, 18, who lives in the Grant Houses with his mother, waited weeks before the city patched a rat hole in his bedroom.

Jay Brown, who lives with his cousin in the St. Nicholas Houses, endured rotting walls for months. “It’s not fair to people who pay rent,” he says. “When you call, it might take one or two weeks, sometimes a month, before they give you a repair ticket. Then you wait another few months until they decide when to fix it. It’s sad.”

For work orders, the Housing Authority uses a computerized system called the Centralized Contact Center, or CCC. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives about 1,447 calls a day, according to the Housing Authority.

“As an agency we have to be as customer-oriented as we possibly can,” Robert Podmore, former deputy general manager for operations, says in a press release. “To achieve that we must be as efficient as we can. If someone calls in and needs a repair, it’s our responsibility to take care of it. The best way to do that is to make an appointment.”

That’s not always simple. “It’s a joke,” Brown says of the system. “Disorganized.” When a neighbor needed to fix a gap in a wall, Brown says, the Housing Authority scheduled the plasterer one day and the carpenters and painters on another. “Jobs like that used to be fixed all at once,” Brown says. “Not anymore.”

Brown adds that the system’s automated directions particularly frustrate senior citizens, like his aunt. “Sometimes she hangs up and never gets an appointment,” he says.

To respond to the growing number of repairs, the Housing Authority moved $11 million from its capital budget to tackle the backlog and, in June, launched the Work Order Task Force. “We promised that we would work hard to address delays and expedite service to our residents,” says Carlos Laboy-Diaz, the authority’s current deputy general manager of operations, “and we have followed through by creating the Work Order Task Force.”

The pilot program teams tradesmen — maintenance workers, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, plasterers and painters — and aims to complete repairs without follow-up appointments —  a one-stop, one-time fix. In June, the program began at five housing complexes and has since expanded to 17 in all five boroughs.  More than 23,300 work order tickets for 6,488 apartment units have been completed, the Housing Authority reports.

“In spite of our budgetary constraints, we have a responsibility to work smarter and better with what resources we do have,” says Housing Authority Chairman John B. Rhea. “The Work Order Task Force working throughout the city is our commitment to our residents to continue seeking solutions to enhance their quality of life.”

Buildings and complexes with the highest number of work tickets per apartment get priority. So far, the task force has completed repairs at three Harlem developments: Drew-Hamilton, Fred Samuels and Manhattanville Rehab, which averaged five work orders per apartment in June.

Lucy Watts, a 13-year resident of the Drew-Hamilton Houses, was relieved to see the task force in her building. She’d waited more than a year for repairs to cracked tiles and a leaking bathtub. “I was like, ‘Finally!’” she says. “It took long enough. But I’m glad the city is finally doing something about it.”

Despite improvements, the backlog of outstanding repairs persists and tenants like Thomas at the Grant Houses, which haven’t been visited by the task force, still play the waiting game. He isn’t hopeful. “What are you gonna do?” he says, shrugging. “You either take it or leave it.”

Living Wage supporters gathered downtown for a public hearing. (Photo: Jacqueline Guzman)

On a cold afternoon, a crowd of Living Wage NYC Coalition supporters lined up outside the downtown Emigrant Savings Bank Building, picket signs in hand, to enter a City Council hearing on the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act.

Group leaders distributed blue T-shirts with the organization’s logo to demonstrators from around the city, including Washington Heights and Harlem; they wore them as they chanted: “What do we want? Living Wages! When do we want it? Now!”

If passed, the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act — also called the “Living Wage Act” — would require large city-subsidized developers to pay employees a minimum hourly wage of $10 with benefits or $11.50 without. The amount would increase yearly, to match inflation.

The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but some tip-based service workers can legally make less.

An earlier version of the bill, introduced by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. in May 2010, was revamped after some council members expressed concern about the broad range of businesses the law would affect.

The revised proposal applies only to new development projects receiving more than $1 million of financial assistance from the city or the Economic Development Corp. It wouldn’t apply to prior projects, unless their agreements change or are renewed.

If the law passes, mom-and-pop businesses with less than $5 million in revenues would be exempt, along with non-profits, manufacturers and affordable housing projects. Despite those changes, uptown officials and residents express mixed feelings about how the bill might affect their neighborhoods.

For proponents like longtime Harlem resident and activist Queen Mother Delois Blakely, the message is clear: residents need higher wages to sustain an adequate quality of life.

At the public hearing, Blakely sat amid the sea of blue T-shirts and listened to heated debate among council members. Most spectators left after almost four hours, but Blakely waited patiently to testify.

“This is a human rights issue, as far as I’m concerned,” Blakely said after the meeting, pointing to the rising cost of living. “If we cannot feed ourselves, clothe ourselves or have shelter for ourselves, then something is wrong with the equation,” she said, “especially for working class people.”

In upper Manhattan, the bill has received support from some elected officials, organizations and religious congregations. Community Board 12 members from Washington Heights and Inwood recently passed resolutions formally backing the legislation. Council Members Robert Jackson, Ydanis Rodriguez and Melissa Mark-Viverito have publicly announced their support.

Council Member Jackson determined that a full-time minimum wage employee earns just $15,080 a year; he challenged the bill’s opponents to contemplate supporting a family on such a meager salary.

“Do you think that is too much money to earn under the circumstances that the city would give developers subsidies and the high cost of living in New York City?” he asked panelists. Most workers end up having to work overtime, he added.

Harlem activist, Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely, testified for the bill. (Photo: Jacqueline Guzman)

Opponents, including the Bloomberg administration, fear developers will be reluctant to undertake new projects in the city if they have to pay employees more.

Days after the public hearing, Central Harlem Council Member Inez Dickens officially withdrew her support for the Living Wage Act in an Op-Ed published in the New York Daily News. In the article, Dickens expressed concern for small businesses in her district, though the Act specifically excludes those with less than $5 million in revenues.

“If we are going to pull ourselves out of this recession, we must nurture the creation of new small businesses and encourage them to hire people here as well,” Dickens wrote. “If they are forced to pay this higher wage, they most certainly will choose not to come.”

Another major concern is that the law might actually hurt the people it’s intended to help, because it would result in fewer full-time jobs.

“Fair Wages may have unintended consequences for employees due to low levels of income allowed for various programs,” Henry Calderon, president of the East Harlem Chamber of Commerce, said via email. “Business owners will always hire the minimum employees needed to maintain their margins, no matter what the economy is doing. If the hourly wage goes up, then the number of employees who are part time, goes up as well.”

Individual opinions on the Living Wage Act are just as varied. Harlem resident Will Reese, a 60-year-old teacher, said the quality of life issue for New Yorkers goes beyond wages. “There are people here who are exploited all over,” he said.  Neither for nor against the act, he felt the entire economic system needed an overhaul. Living wage “doesn’t solve the problem and it doesn’t change anything,” Reese concluded.

Travis Buckley, 21, has supported himself with minimum wage jobs before, but it hasn’t been easy. “It’s practically impossible to pay rent, buy food and pay other bills with minimum wage,” said Buckley, now a manager at a major video game store in East Harlem. “The cost of living goes up every year,” he added. “We need to compensate for that.”

“I make $14 an hour and can barely live off that,” said Alicia Harrington, a 24-year-old mover in Harlem. Living on half that amount is unimaginable, she added. She supports a wage increase but fears it may result in fewer jobs. “It’s a win-lose situation,” she said. “The ones who actually get those jobs will win; those who don’t will lose.”

Living Wage ordinance experts have researched that concern extensively. “It’s fairly clear-cut that there is some impact on employment,” said Kristen Monaco, an economist at California State University, Long Beach, “though it may not be particularly large.”

In many cases, the benefits of implementing a living wage outweigh the costs, Monaco concluded. One such benefit is less reliance on public assistance programs like welfare, thus cutting government costs.

Monaco also rebutted the contention that developers would hesitate to bring new business to cities like New York. “We’re talking about major population centers here,” she said, adding that the argument applies more to smaller cities.

Similar living wage policies have already been implemented in more than 15 cities nationwide. San Francisco passed a living wage policy in 2000 and next year will become the first city to top a $10 minimum wage. Los Angeles and Philadelphia have also been successful in setting these policies without affecting local business climates, according to a 2010 study from the University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education.

Although the bill has been endorsed by 29 out of 51 City Council members, its outcome remains uncertain. Speaker Christine Quinn, said to be on the fence, has faced public pressure to make a decision, especially since she hopes to succeed Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, support for the Living Wage NYC campaign has gained momentum, said Dan Morris, communications director for the Retail, Warehouse and Department Store Union, which leads the coalition. Two uptown pastors, the Rev. Jesse Williams and the Rev. Michael Walrond Jr., “have been making powerful, moral arguments for living wage,” Morris said, and have drawn support from many Harlem residents.

“We’re doing everything we can to get the bill passed in the new year,” Morris said, adding that campaign organizers are very optimistic. “The debate is over, we’ve basically won.”

East Harlem's McDonald's received a C grade by the city's health inspectors (Photo by Lucy Pawle)

Holding a half-eaten Happy Meal in his hand, Mike Serrano, 45, walked out of McDonald’s in East Harlem looking satisfied. He had picked up some fries and a McRib for his daughter, but couldn’t resist buying supper for himself. What he didn’t know was that the restaurant was rated C, the lowest grade the New York City Health Department can give without closing an establishment.

Serrano’s smile swiftly turned to a disgusted expression as he digested the news. He hadn’t noticed the C posted in the window – “They always have posters in the window, it just blends in,” he said. According to the Health Department’s website, this McDonald’s on East 110^th Street was found to have mice and flies at its latest inspection in October.

“I need to pay more attention to these things,” Serrano said.

East Harlem’s restaurants rank the lowest uptown and in Manhattan overall, according to the Health Department’s grades. Its most recent statistics show that in Central and West Harlem, 66 percent of restaurants have an A rating and 1.6 percent a C. In East Harlem, 58.7 percent of food establishments have an A rating, while 3.5 percent have a C.

Introduced just over a year ago, the restaurant grading system has caused controversy. The Health Department insists it helps maintain hygiene standards and forces restaurants to improve their game. But  New York State Restaurants Association Executive Vice President Andrew Rigie disagrees.

“The current system is subjective and very complex, leading to confusion and unfair grading,” he said. “It is a snapshot in time, but the sign hangs in the window for many months.” The association represents 5,000 eateries.

It’s rare to find a C-graded restaurant in East Harlem displaying the sign. Most have “grade pending” signs – which they are legally entitled to display if they’re challenging the decision – or no sign at all.

Bigger and older buildings are more likely to get lower grades because of difficulties in keeping them clean, Rigie said. East Harlem restaurant owners agree.

“I have a large building and it’s very old so there’s more to inspect,” said Erik Mayor, 36, owner of Milk Burger on Third Avenue. “The probability of something being there is much greater, and we also have a lot of pests in the area – just look at the asthma rates.”

At Restaurant Cuchifritos nearby, Maria Testal, 27, was preparing for this weekend’s opening. Her family owns numerous local restaurants and she agreed that the building plays a huge role in hygiene. “The buildings are old and the construction is old which makes it much easier for rats to come,” she said. But with her years of experience, she was confident her place would rate an A, “no problem at all.”

Open for nine months, Milk Burger, until last week, had a “grade pending” sign in its window because Mayor was contesting his C rating. It won an A, but if Mayor hadn’t prevailed, he insisted, his restaurant would have been short-lived. “People just won’t go there,” he said. “It plays a critical role.”

Mayor said he spent a lot of time in court fighting about $1,500 in fines from his C-graded inspection. Both the grade and fines cause immense anxiety, he said, because inspectors keep returning regularly. But he is delighted with his new A, which means inspections will be fewer. “It’s a year that I can conduct my business without having to look over my shoulder,” he said.

Mayor argued that East Harlem was challenging for businesses. “If you can make it in the industry here you can make it anywhere because it’s so brutal here,” he said. Poverty is a big factor, he explained. Employing enough staff and finding hours in the day to focus on health and hygiene can cost money that some restaurateurs feel they can’t afford to lose.

Serrano agreed. “You get what you pay for in East Harlem,” he said. And people don’t want to pay very much. “If people stopped going to restaurants with low grades, then things would change.”

Mayor seems right to be worried. “If I saw a C, I wouldn’t go in and I don’t think anyone else I know would,” said Carlos Baez, 48. But Baez was sitting in McDonald’s and like Serrano, had failed to notice the C-rating sign. “It needs to be more visible,” he said. “You just can’t see it.”

Up Third Avenue on 116^th Street, Adrian Sanchez, manager of Kahlua’s Café, ensures his team works hard to maintain its A grade. “I talk to my people, my workers, and remind them how important it is,” he said. “If we go down to a B we have less customers and less money.”

But even for restaurants graded A, health violations can bring large fines that many will struggle to pay. Sanchez thinks many restaurants will simply close. “The department needs to give us a break because they ask for ridiculous things,” he said. “Business is tough for everyone, so they should be more understanding and not fine us for things like leaving a door open.”

Rigie said that levying additional fines was “unfair and creates unnecessary anxiety.” How can an A-graded restaurant receive thousands of dollars in fines? he wondered. “Either it’s clean or not.”

Things might change if Rosemary Cruz, 47, is any indication. The East Harlem native and taxi driver regularly eats in the area, but her habits have changed since the grading system’s debut. “I think it’s great they’re grading restaurants,” she said. “I would never eat at a C-grade restaurant, and I’ve stopped going to some places.”

The Health Department insists its inspectors grade East Harlem restaurants as they do any other area of the city. “Every restaurant in New York City is inspected on an individual basis and the neighborhood in which it is located in does not impact its grade,” it said in an emailed statement.

Mayor admitted that he couldn’t entirely blame the inspector for his previous C grade. “Negligence is about 20 percent of the problem, I have to admit,” he said. Having owned restaurants for four years, he said the grading system had made him change his habits. “It does force you to improve an work on your restaurant,” he said.

Huang Ying Xia, 80, lives alone in senior housing, and would love to see a Chinese vegetable stall open nearby. (Photo: Nat Rudarakanchana)

Huang Ying Xia, an 80-year-old immigrant from Shanghai, has lived alone in an East Harlem senior housing center for four years. Her husband moved back to China to better cope with his medical problems; meanwhile, she hesitates to ask her married children to drive over from New Jersey just to keep her company.

Feeling sick and intimidated by the wintry weather, Huang missed the most recent community trip to Chinatown, where she usually buys Chinese groceries, prescription medicines and, sometimes, an ethnic dinner.

“I like going down to Chinatown, because I’m able to talk to the people there,” said Huang in Mandarin, though she notes she has never lived there. “People around here don’t really speak Chinese.”

Just this fall, Alma Collazo, the social work coordinator for Linkage Houses – where Huang and six other elderly Chinese reside – began offering free monthly shuttle bus trips to Chinatown, in conjunction with East Harlem’s Union Settlement Association. Collazo had noticed that elderly Chinese residents couldn’t easily make the long trek to Chinatown alone.

In response to such concerns, City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito is also devising a plan to invite Chinese businesses to East Harlem. Initially, she hopes to bring a stall selling fresh Chinese produce to La Marqueta, the city-owned marketplace at East 115th Street and Park Avenue.

“This is an idea that came about as a result of interactions and outreach with my Chinese constituents,” said Mark-Viverito. “Residents in senior buildings asked about some assistance in getting to Chinatown in order to shop.”

Mark-Viverito plans to work with Chinatown Councilwoman Margaret Chin, as well as the city’s Economic Development Corporation, to make this fledging business plan a reality.

She is more cautious, however, about inviting even a handful of other Chinese businesses to East Harlem too hastily. Although the area’s Chinese population has grown and become more visible in recent years, it remains relatively small.

According to the Center for Urban Research at the City University of New York, Asians represented only 0.9 percent of East Harlem’s population in 2000, but had reached 3 percent by 2010. This represents an increase of almost 1250 Asians over the decade, with 1766 Asian East Harlem residents counted in 2010.

“We’d want to see how this stall is received first,” said Mark-Viverito. “We want to see how the community responds.” She added, “I think the community will respond well.”

Asked about possible tensions between new Chinese businesses and longtime local businessowners, she noted, “This is a stall in La Marqueta. It’s not a bodega, and what it can do is limited, since right now it could only sell produce.”

At least two stall owners in La Marqueta, John Colon of Breezy Hill Orchard and Mama Grace of the X-Square African Caribbean Food Store, would welcome a future Chinese neighbor.

Justin Yu, president of the city’s Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said he agreed “100 per cent” with Mark-Viverito’s plan. But Yu added that “there would have to be incentives” for larger Chinese businesses to move into East Harlem. Businesspeople would only be attracted to the area if they spotted opportunities to make money, in addition to providing a public service to locals.

“The government should give these businesses a place, like a greenmarket, to regularly sell these vegetables,” he said.

Mak Cheung, 73, has lived at Franklin Plaza, an East Harlem public housing complex, for over a decade; he was also glad to hear of the plan.

“It’d be more convenient,” he said of the proposed stall, speaking in Cantonese. “I would definitely buy from there. I also wouldn’t have to spend any money getting down to Chinatown anymore.”

Franklin Plaza is particularly popular with Chinese families, said Preston Tan, Mark-Viverito’s Chinese community liaison. Commenting on the plan, Tan said, “I think it’s great, and will definitely attract a lot of Chinese customers. Even if it’s a small stall, it’s a start, and we don’t know how it would fare if we made a big Chinese supermarket.”

The local Chinese population also needs medical and health services, Tan said, and special attention for Asian children attending schools here.

Huang’s concerns, however, are smaller in scale. She’d love to be able to buy fresh fish from a local Chinese-style wet market stall, instead of frozen fish from Costco, where she’s currently forced to shop because of her limited mobility.

“In our culture,” she concluded, “we love to eat live, fresh seafood.”

Read more about ethnic changes in East Harlem here.

Jose Pimentel appeared in court on November 20, but not yesterday. (Photo: AP)

Jose Pimentel, the 27-year-old Muslim convert of Dominican origin who was arrested  November 19 for planning an alleged terrorist attack, waived his right to appear in court for a scheduled hearing yesterday.  He has been charged with multiple felonies, including explosive intent, conspiracy, criminal possession of weapons and supporting acts of terrorism.

Pimentel was scheduled to appear in New York Criminal Court at 2:15.  However, as his new attorney, Lori Cohen, had predicted in a phone interview last week, “Nothing is going to happen Monday.”

Of the 96 cases listed on Judge Frank Nervo’s docket, Pimentel’s case had attracted the most attention; reporters were lined up,  ready for action, when Cohen left the courtroom to consult with her client. She returned to announce, “The defendant has agreed to waive his presence in court.”

The grand jury action was postponed until January 9. Typically, a person arrested on felony charges cannot be detained without an indictment or hearing for more than six days, but in Pimentel’s case the defense and prosecution agreed to an extension.

“I don’t think he wanted to come to court,” Cohen later told reporters.

Last week, Cohen said she had taken on the case, after a Legal Aid lawyer had a conflict of interest, because, “I’m a criminal attorney. This is what I do.”  She said she had no idea how long a trial might take, but believed that her client could receive a fair trial despite potential biases against Muslims.  She declined to estimate how long discovery would last. “The process will take a while,” she said.

Asked whether Pimentel’s mother’s apology to New Yorkers had made her job harder, Cohen replied, “His mother said what she said. I don’t control her.”

Pimentel, arrested in Washington Heights with a bomb almost ready, the police said, has been held on Riker’s Island without bail.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office could not be reached for comment.