![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Page-9-Photo-1.jpg\")
<\/a>(L to R) CONGRESSMAN RITCHIE TORRES, Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Virginia Krompinger, candidate for female district leader in A.D. 81, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), Michael Heller, State committee person in A.D. 81, and Ben Jackson, male district leader in A.D. 81, attend a reelection campaign launch event in Riverdale on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our Feb. 19th print edition.<\/p>\n
Kicking off his reelection campaign in Riverdale on Sunday, Feb. 8, to retain the northwest Bronx seat he has held for four decades, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz<\/a> (A.D. 81) was joined at the event by family, friends, members of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, and Bronx elected officials, including Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson<\/a>, Congressman Ritchie Torres<\/a>\u00a0(NY-15) and Council Member Eric Dinowitz<\/a>\u00a0(C.D. 11), who each took turns to endorse him.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Held at the campaign headquarters he shares with Torres, the assemblyman addressed a packed room of around 80 to 100 people, highlighting his latest legislative achievements and his long-term impact on the district, which includes some or all of the Bronx neighborhoods of Norwood, Kingsbridge, Spuyten Duyvil, Riverdale, Van Cortlandt Village, Fieldston, Woodlawn, and Wakefield.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In reference to the assemblyman, Gibson spoke about how detrimental it is when communities don\u2019t have a voice or an advocate in office who understands that when they are elected, they must deliver for their constituents. \u201cOver the years, Jeffrey Dinowitz has done just that,\u201c the borough president said, in part. \u201cConsistent leadership matters for such a time as this when we are seeing protected programs, safety net programs at risk of being cut, when we are seeing so many of our neighborhood institutions like a supermarket closing, we need our assemblyman to deliver for the people that he represents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, the assemblyman had said on Feb. 6 that thanks to the advocacy of local elected officials and the Riverdale Main Street Alliance, Fine Fare Fresh supermarket will be available to residents in Riverdale and beyond. Later, Gibson added in part, \u201cI am proud to support Jeff Dinowitz in his reelection for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Torres, who is also running<\/a> for reelection, said in part of the assemblyman, \u201cHe knows more about our community here in the northwest Bronx than all the elected officials. He knows it, he breathes it. He\u2019s the heart and soul of our community, and the institutional memory. I often refer to Jeff Dinowitz as our elder statesman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The congressman added, \u201cAnd that\u2019s not so much a commentary on his age, but on his wisdom. He truly knows our community. He\u2019s been serving it since 1994. I think I was 6 at the time, so I probably knew more about the \u2018Rugrats\u2019 than I did about Jeff Dinowitz, but for me, the most impressive fact about Jeff is not the longevity of his public service but his effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Eric Dinowitz<\/a> reflected on his time growing up watching the assemblyman, his father, live out a political life, saying it wasn\u2019t a surprise that he, himself, went on to become a teacher and later a councilmember. \u201cIt was born out of that type of upbringing and what we see every day and what we see is someone committed to our community,\u201d the councilman said of his father.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cIt\u2019s not so much about talking policy over the dinner table or talking about what legislation you\u2019re passing, but when you see your dad and your mom contributing to the community in the way they do, it just becomes the natural thing that you do. I\u2019m surprised that my kids, every Friday, instead of coming home, you know what they do every Friday? With my mom, at KRVC [Kingsbridge Riverdale Van Cortlandt Development Corporation nonprofit], they\u2019re giving out food. They\u2019re unpacking the boxes. That was just the value system we were raised with in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Among other measures, the councilman referenced his father\u2019s work [mostly in the wider Riverdale area] on eliminating the toll for commuters across the Henry Hudson Bridge, installing a walkway on Kappock Street, a four-way stop sign by Johnson, Cambridge and Oxford Avenues, and \u201cholding developers accountable on Waldo and Dash Place.\u201d He added, \u201cFor every single person in New York State, Assemblyman Dinowitz is delivering. He\u2019s demonstrating what good policy and what good politics do, and what hard work does.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The councilman then called on his colleagues to canvass for the assemblyman, saying, \u201cWe put in a fraction of the work ethic that he has so that he can continue to deliver for each and every one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Later, the assemblyman thanked everyone for joining the event on what was a cold day. \u201cI am running and I\u2019ve run a number of times and why am I doing this?\u201d he asked. \u201cA lot of other people at this stage of the game might say, \u2018Ah, you\u2019ve served a long time!\u2019 I love my job. I love doing this. I love being in the neighborhood. I love working with our community. I love it, and I always have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman went on to say that he started his political career before he could vote, volunteering and working on housing-related issues. \u201cIt was a tough time,\u201d he said. \u201cI volunteered on political campaigns and so the two things kind of merged for me\u2026 working both in the community and for good candidates for what we called, at the time, liberal Democrats. I don\u2019t think people use that word anymore but I do.\u201d Amid one or two laughs from the crowd, he added, \u201cWoke schmoke.\u201d He said he continued the work of Liberal Democrats over the years because he wanted to make sure his neighborhood was the kind of neighborhood where his kids would want to raise their kids.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Gesturing to his grandchildren, the councilman\u2019s two boys, who were present, amid applause, the assemblyman said, \u201cAnd one of my kids is raising his kids here because it\u2019s a great community.\u201d He went on to talk about prior rough times that The Bronx went through saying, \u201cMany people left The Bronx. We stuck it out. We stayed here because this is our home, and now I like to feel like I was part of what I call The Bronx Renaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the borough was now \u201cdoing amazingly well.\u201d He continued, \u201cWe can always do better. There are many things we have to improve but I\u2019m never going to stop fighting for The Bronx and certainly for the community that I have lived in all of my life.\u201d He then explained that many constituents were unfamiliar with the work carried out in Albany, saying more seniority ensured more of an ability to chair \u201cbetter\u201d committees. He said he was chair of the codes committee, which he explained has a wide jurisdiction and is probably second only to the ways and means committee [in terms of importance \/ prominence.]<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The codes committee reviews legislation impacting the state\u2019s criminal and civil justice systems and the ways and means committee plays a key role in negotiating the state budget, analyzing economic trends, and issuing fiscal reports.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Jeffrey Dinowitz said one of the benefits of chairing committees was the ability to get things done more easily, \u201cif you know how to get things done,\u201d he added. He cited the eviction moratorium as an example. \u201cDuring the pandemic, tens of thousands of New Yorkers might have been evicted,\u201d he said. \u201cMany people couldn\u2019t pay their rent, a lot of people were out of work, they just didn\u2019t have the money.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cSome people were still working but only part-time. It was a horrible time for a lot of people. We passed, and it covered over a year, what was called the Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium, and that law prevented probably tens of thousands of people, certainly thousands, from being evicted and put out on the street during the pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He went on to say that he \u201cstood up to the landlords,\u201d and \u201cthe industry\u201d and \u201cgot it done\u201d despite what he said was opposition from the likes of now-Republican Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17). He questioned how many people might have died had they been thrown out of their homes amid the pandemic. \u201cI mean look what\u2019s happening now because of a cold,\u201d he said. \u201cMany people who are homeless have died just because of this cold wave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman also talked about his work sponsoring the bill (now law) that eliminated non-medical exemptions for vaccine requirements<\/a> for kids in public schools which he said had started prior to the pandemic, adding that at the time, there had been an outbreak of measles in California. \u201cThere\u2019s something called the religious exemption which meant that people could just say, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s against my religion!\u2019 which it almost never is and so we put in legislation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman said vaccination rates subsequently went up in New York State, and he compared this with what is happening now in South Carolina, Texas, and Florida, all red States, where there are measles upticks. \u201cI guarantee you that at some point, somebody\u2019s life or lives will have been saved because of this law,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll never know who they are.\u201d He said it wasn\u2019t an easy thing to do either. \u201cWhy? I have never been the target of so much hate, threats, intimidation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Some in-jokes followed before the assemblyman acknowledged that Torres also knew a lot about threats and intimidation. As reported<\/a>, the congressman\u00a0has been the target of several protests wherever he goes due to what many consider to be his controversial stance on the war in Gaza, and the extent of the campaign contributions he has received from AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee].<\/p>\n Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) kicks off his reelection campaign during an event held at his campaign headquarters in the Riverdale section of The Bronx on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. Video by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n Then, seemingly checking that his grandchildren were not within earshot, the assemblyman added, \u201cSometimes, there were times when other people\u2019s names were mentioned in those threats and it was disgusting but we persevered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n On the elimination of the Henry Hudson Bridge toll, he said any driver in The Bronx who goes over the bridge now gets an instant rebate if they have an easy pass. \u201cAnd why is that important?\u201d he asked. \u201cWell, everybody\u2019s talking about affordability now, right?\u201d He said the savings for those who use the bridge to commute every day amount to $1700 per year, per driver.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman went on to talk about the Climate Change Superfund Act<\/a>, which he said he never dreamed would get passed as quickly as it did, adding that some amendments to it were requested by Gov. Kathy Hochul. He explained how it imposes a fee on the worst polluters among the fossil fuel industry, and estimated it will raise $3 billion a year for 25 years, without raising taxes for any New Yorkers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He said it was not an easy bill to pass, saying there was pushback from both oil company lobbyists and Republicans. \u201cEvery Republican except one in the State Assembly opposes it, everyone, even though it was in their own constituents\u2019 interests to support it,\u201d he said. He added that Trump and some Republicans in red states were also now trying to challenge it in the courts. \u201cI\u2019m confident that we will win and then this money will start pouring in and it will be a big help to New York,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman moved on to the topic of immigration<\/a> saying that what was happening in terms of ICE activity across the country was \u201ckind of scary.\u201d He added, \u201cIf people weren\u2019t as angry and concerned before, they should have been once Ren\u00e9e Goode<\/a> was shot dead by them.\u201d He went on to describe the killing of Alex Pretti<\/a> by Border Patrol agents as an execution, adding, \u201cHe was tackled, he was put to the ground, they took his legal gun, which people like that always support, took it away from him, and then he was shot. That stuff is threatening to our democracy so we have a big fight on our hands and I think we have to all stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He said for this reason, after the primaries, he planned to spend more time in the 17th congressional district campaigning [against Lawler]. \u201cI didn\u2019t spend all these years in politics just to see the hard work of me but of lots and lots of other people, the work that we\u2019ve done, become undone because of Trump and his mindless followers,\u201d the assemblyman said. Later, saying the Trump administration had set its sights on New York, the assemblyman added, \u201cI have the experience and determination to effectively fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to sponsoring several laws down through the years<\/a> on such matters as voting rights<\/a>, sex trafficking prevention<\/a>, sexual assault prosecution<\/a>, and others, as reported, more recently, in December 2025, the assemblyman and State Sen. Pete Harckham (S.D. 40) introduced<\/a>\u00a0legislation which aims to protect residents from civil arrest while going to, remaining at, or returning from polling places in New York State. According to Harckham and Dinowitz, civil arrests supported by a judicial warrant or a court will still be allowable under the new bill, however.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In October 2025, the assemblyman said he was also pleased to know that the City Council was moving ahead with gun reform legislation that he said was similar to a law<\/a>\u00a0he sponsored at State level which passed in 2024, which requires the posting of notices and the handing out of those notices when an individual obtains a gun license.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The assemblyman went on to thank his colleagues in government, including Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), who could not make the event, and State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), saying they worked as a team to get things done like stopping the proposed cricket stadium<\/a> in Van Cortlandt Park. He described Gibson as a machine who worked all day every day in every part of the borough, and said the councilman was an \u201cincredible partner.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He also commended Torres, acknowledging the scope of his district and adding, \u201cThey love him. What\u2019s not to love?\u201d Torres then joked, \u201cI can introduce you to a few people who don\u2019t love me.\u201d The assemblyman responded, saying, \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be fun if we didn\u2019t have a few. We have to stand up to something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He also thanked the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club. \u201cI want to thank my family, my wife of 47 years, Sylvia Gottlieb, a saint, 47 years, of course, Eric, and two of my favorite grandsons. Thank you everybody and let\u2019s work together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>(L to R) CITY COUNCILMAN ERIC Dinowitz (C.D. 11), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), and Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) are pictured at the reelection campaign launch event in Riverdale for Assemblyman Dinowitz on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>ASSEMBLYMAN JEFFREY DINOWITZ (A.D. 81) hugs one of his grandsons after his reelection campaign launch event, held in Riverdale, wraps up on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>(L to R) MICHAEL HELLER, STATE committee person for A.D. 81, Virginia Krompinger, candidate for female district leader in A.D. 81, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), his grandson, a Team Dinowitz supporter, and Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) and his son are joined by supporters during a reelection campaign launch event in Riverdale on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n