Espada Ponders Moving Back To The Bronx Even Before Leaving For Albany

That Pedro Espada sure is clever.

No, not in the manner of helping his re-united constituents of the Bronx as a State Senator in the next session. Like everything Espada does, this is all about him and damn those that get in his way, even members of his own gang. Today he made it clear that if he doesn't get what he wants in Albany, he'll come back to the Bronx to run for Borough President next year.

From The Daily Politics:

Senator-elect Pedro Espada Jr. said in an interview today that he would "seriously explore the option" of running for the office he has always coveted - Bronx borough president - if its current occupant, Adolfo Carrion, departs, as is widely expected, for a job with the Obama administration, creating the need for a special election to select his replacement.

Assuming Carrion does head to Washington, Espada's said his decision will come down to whether or not he gets a leadership post in the Senate.

"Quite frankly, it all depends on how we end this Senate conference issue," Espada said. "...I'm absolutely not ruling it out. If I end up in a position of leadership, then obviously, that's where I'm going to stay...I like the state Legislature. But if I end up being irrelevant and superfluous and unwanted, you tell me what makes sense. What makes sense is to find a way, at my age, I'm 55 years old, to have a meaningful impact."

This shouldn't come as any big surprise to regular readers of DN Bronx Bureau Chief Bob Kappstatter's column, as he noted earlier this week that Espada couldn't be counted out from a possible race for Carrion's seat.

I wonder if Ruben Diaz Sr. is surprised, since the thinking was his son was going to run for the position. I guess Diaz and Espada aren't such good friends in the own gang. Espada though is known for doing what it takes to retain and enhance his power, whether it be by switching parties or joining political gangs to force Malcolm Smith to cede plum positions for those that do not care about the principles (what's left at least) of the Democratic Party.

News Corp Spreads NYC Tentacles

While Rupert Murdoch fights to take over the Wall Street Journal, he has begun spreading his enormous enterprise even further with local papers. After picking up a slew of Brooklyn and Queens newspapers, the company just acquired two Bronx weeklies. Of course this does not match the reach of the Wall Street Journal, but it counts in the Bronx, and it counts when looking at the end game.

From The New York Times:

The News Corporation, owner of The New York Post, bought two weekly newspapers in the Bronx yesterday, giving it a chain of neighborhood papers throughout three New York City boroughs that it hopes will complement The Post.

(snip)

The Bronx Times, which covers the entire borough, and The Bronx Times Reporter, which covers the southeastern neighborhoods, have a combined circulation of about 40,000 copies. Last fall, News Corporation bought The TimesLedger newspaper group in Queens and The Courier Life group in Brooklyn, with 28 weekly papers, 27 of them geared to covering specific neighborhoods.

Next month, News Corporation plans to expand circulation of some of those in the Howard Beach and the Richmond Hill areas of Queens, and to introduce two new weeklies covering Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

News Corp, like many other media conglomerates is always looking to grow bigger and reach readers with a synergistic approach. The advertising is mentioned first because that is just business. Though what the the Times does not cover is the journalism. Locals count on small time reporters to tell them what is going on in their neighborhood, not just what is for sale at the local market. News Corp has a decidedly conservative bent that might not be appealing to readers in the Bronx. It is a shame to see these two small weeklies be sold to Murdoch.;