2 years ago
Top staffers to Mayor Eric Adams are involved in a hyper-local election to challenge a former political rival, four people aware of the situation confirmed — a relatively minor affair for an administration facing a breadth of pandemic-related crises.
Menashe Shapiro, City Hall’s deputy chief of staff, has been making calls to community leaders in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn to unseat a 28-year-old district leader with one of his municipal employees, several of the sources told POLITICO.
Shapiro and his boss Frank Carone — chief of staff to Adams — have long had beef with the young official, David Schwartz, who worked for Andrew Yang’s mayoral campaign and helped the first-time candidate seize coveted endorsements that Adams had been banking on. Schwartz then assisted Justin Brannan in his bid to become Council speaker, putting him on the opposite side of the Adams team once again. (Neither emerged successful in the race, won by Queens Democrat Adrienne Adams.)
To add to the discord, Schwartz has routinely opposed the Brooklyn Democratic Party leader, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who is a close ally of Adams and Carone.
“Tensions between David and Rodneyse have really become apparent in the party,” said one Brooklyn Democratic source. “So I think she decided she wanted to pull in the big guns on this one.”
So when the district lines were recently redrawn, City Hall officials saw an opening to take on a young and ambitious rival.
On Monday evening, their preferred candidate emerged publicly: Pinny Ringel, a longtime city staffer who now works for the mayor’s Community Affairs Unit, confirmed his candidacy to the Jewish publication Hamodia.
Sources involved in the matter say others were also urged to run for the seat before Ringel jumped in.
Immediately following the article, people on both sides of the divide began chattering about City Hall’s interest in a race for a low-level job with little power and few responsibilities, but one that can serve as a stepping stone to higher office.
Shapiro denied any role in the affair. “I’m not involved,” he said in a text message. “I live in Manhattan.”
Ringel described his entrance into the race as a natural step for someone who has worked in government for two decades. “I’m involved in a lot of different ways and I decided to take it to the next level,” he said in a brief interview.
He said he sought and received permission to run from city government officials but declined to say who. “It’s irrelevant,” he said. “I’m not going to be negative in addressing any of the rumors that are floating around.”
“I came up with the idea,” he added. “I made the decision and I’m doing it.”
Ringel’s standing in the administration has been tenuous — something that could be fixed if he succeeds in taking out one of their political rivals, several people familiar with the matter said.
Just days before leaving office, Mayor Bill de Blasio granted Ringel — who had served as a liaison to the politically-influential Orthodox community through various city agency jobs — a salary bump and title change. He was named executive assistant to the sanitation commissioner at a $150,000 salary on Dec. 26.
He had previously been an employee at the Administration for Children’s Services, and as of 2021 was an administrative business promotion coordinator earning $117,870, according to city records.
One source close to the Brooklyn Democratic Party contended Ringel is running for district leader to protect his job.
In a statement, Bichotte Hermelyn declined to address her role in the race.
"It is up to community leaders, who are well-positioned to use their influence to uplift a candidate who will speak for and unite the communities of Midwood and Borough Park,” she said. “I will support the candidate the people believe will best represent their interests as district leader. Choice is critical for democracy to work, and this is a community that has long been underrepresented at the grassroots level."
Meanwhile, Schwartz went on the offensive Tuesday, racking up support across the city if not in his own backyard.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who also endorsed Yang, along with Max Rose, the former Staten Island Congress member who represented parts of southern Brooklyn, both endorsed Schwartz’s reelection bid.
“My friend, @DavidSchwartz48, is a rising star in NYC politics, a force to be reckoned with,” Torres tweeted. “I am proud to support him.”
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