A Bronx Council Race Wrapped In A Newspaper Boycott

For more than a year, a group in the Bronx has led a boycott of the Riverdale Review, a weekly that covers the northwest Bronx neighborhood. The group, Recycle the Review, charges that the paper offers slanted coverage of local politics and public schools. It advocates for the dumping of all copies of the paper, culled from street corners and apartment buildings, into recycling bins.

One of the boycott’s main proponents, Tony Perez Cassino, who ran for Council against Oliver Koppell in 2009, has also repeatedly raised questions on his blog about whether a purported loan secured by Riverdale Review publisher  Andy Wolf more than a decade ago was facilitated by Congressman Eliot Engel and Koppell – and whether that has led to biased coverage in favor of the local elected officials. Those questions have also been raised by the Riverdale Press – the Review’s main competitor and rival.

Now, a City Council race shaping up in 2013 could very well be a proxy fight over the local newspaper war. (Or, perhaps, the newspaper war is a proxy fight over the local Council race.)

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who has a strong relationship with Koppell and Engel, generally gets very good coverage from the Review and is seen as close to the paper. And in an interview, he confirmed strong rumors that he is looking at running for Koppell’s seat when he is term-limited in 2013.

“I’m not planning on running for Council – but I’m also not planning on not running for Council,” Dinowitz said.

Meanwhile, Cliff Stanton, who is leading the Recycle the Review boycott, just registered a campaign committee to run for the Council. That news was broken by Brendan McHugh of the Review – and Stanton’s response to the newspaper he is boycotting was telling.

“We spoke to Stanton over the phone, but he said he wasn’t going to speak with the Riverdale Review.

“This is not the best time to have the conversation. Frankly, I’m not going to have a whole lot to say,” he said.

When asked if he would continue to boycott our newspaper, he would not say. “Listen, we have nothing to say to each other. I have nothing against you personally, OK?” he replied.

 And when pressed further, he stuck to his guns. “I have nothing to say to you.”

We tried to change the question, asking him what he would bring to office, but he hung up on us.”

Dinowitz said he believes that, since Stanton registered a campaign account, his reasons for boycotting the Review have become clearer. Dinowitz suggested that the boycott has been politically motivated all along.

“It’s interesting that this all leads in the end to a political campaign,” Dinowitz said.

Stanton, meanwhile, had harsh things to say today about local Democrats to the Observer. He charged that Bronx County Dems were responsible for spreading 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 told the Observer. “You have families that have been disenfranchised by this political machine, this monster.”