West Siders Stick Together

by dan rivoli

state sen. tom duane, a chelsea democrat who represents most of the upper west side, endorsed his colleague eric schneiderman for attorney general.

"since he came to albany, eric has set himself apart as a true reformer and a tireless advocate for all new yorkers," duane said in a statement. "from hate crimes legislation to civil rights and anti-illegal gun laws, to his steadfast leadership in the fight for marriage equality, eric has distinguished himself as the single best candidate to serve new yorkers as their lawyer."

duane and schneiderman, who has represented parts of the neighborhood since 1998, both introduced and sponsored legislation on anti-lgbt discrimination, marriage equality and tenant rights issues.

with duane's support, schneiderman adds another west side elected official to his endorsement list. rep. jerrold nadler already threw his support to schneiderman.

speaking of nadler, the upper west side congressman backed rep. charles rangel, his colleague to the north, at the harlem congressman's 80th birthday bash.

rangel is fighting 13 counts of ethics violations and four democratic primary opponents.

rep. jerrold nadler was quoted by the wall street journal as saying he read the charges and "if this were a court of law, most of this would be thrown out. it wouldn't stand up."

rangel's harlem-based district also covers the upper west side north of west 89th street. he faces four candidates in the sept. 14 primary, including joyce johnson, a former aide to elected officials, vince morgan, a community banker, east harlem assembly member adam clayton powell iv and labor activist jonathan tasini.