Bronx cop-stopper wants LI nod for DC

Alessandra Biaggi, a “defund the police” Democrat who has represented Riverdale and other Bronx neighborhoods in the state senate since 2019, has taken her show on the road. She’s entered a crowded field to fill the congressional seat in a newly gerrymandered district that links Long Island’s north shore to Westchester’s south shore through slivers of Queens and the Bronx.

This third Congressional District seat currently covers Long Island’s north shore and a piece of Queens and is held by Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who is running for governor instead of reelection.

When asked on Sunday if he would support Biaggi, Suozzi said “No. I’m going to support a common-sense Democrat.”

Biaggi is a 35-year-old progressive firebrand in the mold of 32-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Both women won their positions by deposing powerful incumbents — Biaggi defeated state Senator Jeff Klein; AOC KO’d Rep. Joseph Crowley, the Queens political boss who was viewed by many as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader.

In announcing her candidacy, Biaggi, who lives in Pelham in Westchester, said she’d bring “experienced” and “fearless” leadership to Washington. 

“I will work to combat climate change and protect our shorelines, expand voting rights, enact universal pre-K to support working parents, provide opportunity and relief for the middle class, protect abortion rights, ensure public safety and a fair criminal legal system, and deliver affordable healthcare for all.”

Biaggi’s Twitter feed contained both her own tweets critical of police — including one in which she said “the police in this country are soulless” and another simply asserting, “We must defund the police” — and anti-police retweets, the NY Post reported.

She’s been a supporter of the state’s controversial bail reform law and has said in an archived version of her website that “New Yorkers are overpoliced and underprotected,” according to the Post.

Nassau County Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs said Biaggi won’t be his choice.

“If someone chooses to educate voters about her record, it will be a problem for her in this district,” Jacobs said.

Regarding Israel, Biaggi told Jewish Insider last spring that “it’s important to me, and it’s also important to the district.”

“If there was an easy answer to solving this conflict, we would know it,” she added. “But there isn’t an easy answer to this issue, and I think that it’s one that has to be handled with delicacy.”

Other Democrats who have announced for the June 28 primary include Nassau Legislator Josh Lafazan, public relations executive Robert Zimmerman, and community organizer Mellanie D’Arrigo. Republicans who have filed to run are George Santos and Kevin Surdi.

UPDATE: The original version of this story, published in our print edition and posted online, reported that the NY Post said Biaggi's Twitter feed had been "scrubbed." A Biaggi spokesperson told The Jewish Star that an anti-police tweet cited by the Post was a retweet that was removed by its author, and that Biaggi had not "scrubbed" her Twitter feed.