Mayoral Rival is on Island to Win Dominicans at Home
She came bearing vitamins, toys and
good will from the borough of Manhattan, home to thousands of relatives
of the people of this island nation. But the visit Friday by C.
Virginia Fields, the Manhattan borough president, comes as she prepares
a run for mayor and joins the jockeying already under way for support
in a community that is considered more in play in this year's race for
City Hall. Ms. Fields kept a whirlwind schedule here in the Dominican
Republic, dispensing prenatal vitamin pills at health clinics and
hospitals, meeting business and community leaders and attending a
reception at the largest university here. Months ahead of the election,
the candidates are making their interest in Dominicans clear. According
to the Census Bureau, there are more than 530,000 people of Dominican
ancestry in New York. Although many do not vote, they still represent
one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the city. Ms. Fields's visit underscored
the extent to which she could complicate the plans of Fernando Ferrer,
a Puerto Rican and former Bronx borough president who is trying to
become the city's first Latino mayor. In an interview, Ms. Fields
acknowledged that she and Mr. Ferrer had met last week and, although no
formal agreement was signed, she said with a laugh, they agreed that
attacking each other could divide Democrats and could jeopardize the
party's chances of retaking City Hall. [more]
Ferrer Flip Flopping Already.
Mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer told a police group yesterday the cop
shooting of Amadou Diallo was a tragedy and not a crime — a far cry
from 1999, when he joined other prominent New Yorkers outside Police
Headquarters to protest the shooting. [more] and [more]
DIALLO MOM RIPS FREDDY FLIP-FLOP Kadiatou Diallo, Mr. Diallo's mother, said in a telephone
interview from her home in Gaithersburg, Md., when told what Mr. Ferrer
had said. "I am surprised to hear he said that because he was among the
people in the community who stood with us and asked for justice for
Amadou." [more] "I'm very surprised and hurt. What happened to my son was a crime that went unpunished," Kadiatou Diallo told The Post. [more]
Pictured:
Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields who has advocated
against Police raids and established a hot line for victims of faulty
Police no-knock raids in 2003. [more] and [more] and Saikou
Diallo, father of slain Amadou Diallo, sits on the stairs on
Monday January 29, 2001, near the Bronx, NY, apartment door,
background left, where his son was shot 41 times by 4 New York City police
officers in 1999.
