As his own webpage shows, Jerry Nadler is not home anymore. The congressman who now includes Roosevelt Island in his district – New York 12 – has no office within it.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
After Republicans challenged a gerrymandered congressional district map set up by Democrats, a judge from out in the sticks upstate waved his wand, erasing it. The result was a new map that, without once blushing, virtually kicked one of two senior Democratic representatives out of office.
Representatives Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney got crammed into a single, central Manhattan District. One or the other had to go, and in a primary battle, Maloney got the exit.
It wasn’t a pretty fight. Because both candidates were on the same page on almost every issue, a whisper campaign ensued.
Which was worse, Nadler’s health or Maloney’s age-related decline?
Voters, of course, had a Tweedledum vs Tweedledee choice.
He Won, But Nadler Is Not at Home
As a conscientious observer of political goings-on in New York, Roosevelt Islander Sylvan Klein spotted the discrepancy right away.
“Nadler’s district office is not located within his district,” he wrote.
He’s right as the map posted on the congressman’s own website unabashedly shows.
His office is at 201 Varrick Street, blocks south of the district line.
Rumors circulated during the primary campaign alleged that Nadler had no intention of serving a full term. His health was so bad that he’d resign before serving it out.
So, why go to all the trouble of relocating?
His purpose in running? Maloney operatives whispered that he was becoming a placeholder for his protege, Scott Stringer who would slip into his seat in Washington.
It’s plausible, but who knows if it’s true? Time will tell; so, stay tuned.
The WIRE: Two Futures, One Empty Chair
It is December 6, 2015, and David Stone is writing to Dr. Jack Resnick about a chair that will soon be empty. Dick Lutz is preparing to leave the Main Street WIRE, and Stone has been encouraged to ask whether he might replace him. Seven years of covering art, Cornell Tech and questionable practices inside Public Safety have taught Stone how the paper tells an Island story.
