The economic downturn (says the Times) has been a boon to candidates running in next week's NYC Primary Election. Among the contenders to benefit from a surplus of unemployed professional people ready and willing to volunteer, is CD1 candidate PJ Kim:
On Thursday night, Mr. Kim, a 30-year-old Princeton and Harvard
graduate who has worked as both a management consultant and an
executive for a nonprofit group, and several unemployed volunteers
fanned out across Wall Street, handing out literature about his
campaign. One of the volunteers was Kwadwo Acheampong, a 25-year-old native of the South Bronx who graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and Duke University before landing a job as an equities analyst at Goldman Sachs. He lost his job this summer and moved back in with his family. While
handing out the literature, he approached some clean-cut young men to
tell them why they should vote for Mr. Kim. Then both he and they did
double takes: They were former colleagues from Goldman Sachs.
The Times continues to shower attention on PJ Kim, after endorsing him on Saturday. Candidate Kim is featured in a separate article in today's Times about incumbents on the ropes after voting to extend their own term limits:
Mr. Kim, who is one of four people challenging (incumbent Alan) Gerson, entered the race four months ago, assuming he would be a long shot. But since then, he has received several important endorsements, including one from District Council 37,
the largest union of government workers. And he said that while voters
were primarily concerned with problems related to schools, open space
and quality of life, “Term limits cuts across every single issue… It becomes part of the miasma and the dysfunction of New York,” Mr. Kim said. Mr. Gerson said term limits were a nonissue. “The voters know me and they know I made a principled decision,” he said. But
even for a challenger, the issue can be tricky: Mr. Kim opposes term
limits in general, but did not support the way the Council changed the
voter-approved law.
City Councilmember Rosie Mendez tells Gotham Gazette over-development in the neighborhood still tops her agenda.
Orchard Street between Grand and Broome is featured in New York Magazine's "Know Your Block" series.
Chinese tennis player Li Na spends time in New York City's Chinatown.
The New York Times Magazine has a long profile of director, and part-time LES resident, Spike Jonze.
Adam Platt of New York Magazine gets around to reviewing DBGB.
