Get ready for a rumble in the Bronx.
Accountant-turned-community advocate Marjorie Velazquez is challenging Councilman Mark Gjonaj, saying his seemingly endless scandals and real-estate ties make him unfit to serve.
“How do you roll out a red-carpet welcome to the Hells Angels?” Velazquez asked the Daily News on Sunday. “You’re bringing a biker gang to the district and you don’t roll out the same thing to the community when they need better housing, when they’re struggling with transportation and education?”
She was referring to the Hells Angels’ recent purchase of a new headquarters in Gjonaj’s East Bronx district, a deal in which the councilman’s own staff attorney represented the infamous motorcycle gang. Three Hells Angels members were charged with a murder in the Bronx last month, though Gjonaj has been silent about the matter.
“People have a choice between me and someone who is the most legally and ethically challenged Council member,” Velazquez said. “People deserve someone who will fight for them.”
She accused Gjonaj of being out of touch with his own district, parts of which had a 20.6% poverty rate as of 2017.
“It comes back to listening to the everyday needs of the community, and for Gjonaj, that’s not a priority,” she said.
Velazquez indicated her campaign will be all about helping the community recover from the ravages of coronavirus.
That means assisting low-income students with internet access, helping people get unemployment benefits and providing relief for small businesses through measures like commercial rent relief.
“Our priorities should always be about building up small business; it should not be about adding more to real estate’s profit,” said Velazquez, noting Gjonaj’s family business is Bronx real estate.
A former accountant for DirecTV, Velazquez got involved in community advocacy following major work and car accidents in 2012.
“I wanted to turn my pain into public service,” said the native Bronxite, 38. “Being an accountant is holding structures and businesses accountable. Applying it to my community is the community holding the electeds accountable.”
Velazquez worked on campaigns for Councilman Ritchie Torres and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. An Assembly district leader and member of her local community board, she recently helped launch a food charity that’s provided about 15,000 meals to Bronxites since the outbreak of the coronavirus, she said.
Gjonaj, who’s about 50 and one of the most prolific fundraisers in city politics, beat her for the Council in 2017. For next year’s Democratic primary, Velazquez is counting on a coalition of voters who are fed up with the status quo in the Bronx — where Gjonaj’s allies in the local Democratic Party have been on a stunning losing streak.
“The reality is this community is really diverse and the reality is that everyone needs to know that they have a seat at the table and that everyone knows that they have access to me, not just donors when I feel like it,” she said.
Gjonaj’s spokesman Reginald Johnson rejected the criticism and lashed out at the challenger.
“Councilman Gjonaj’s focus is on the 7,000 Bronxites on their sixth day without power due to [Tropical Storm] Isaias and working to find classroom and small business solutions during the pandemic,” he said in a statement. “As a district leader, it’s surprising that MIA Marjorie has nothing more on her mind than a campaign that’s a year away.”
