As the New York state legislative session heats up so does the food served at the Capitol, but rarely is there any kosher food. When kosher food is available it is brought in from outside the capital complex from such venues as the Price Chopper supermarket or from downstate, even though there are more kosher-observing Jews in the legislature now than ever before.
The typical venues to have an evening reception are the Albany Hilton hotel, the Renaissance hotel, the State Room, the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, the theatre lobby of The Egg Performing Arts Center, The War Room bar, the Albany Capital Center, the swanky-upscale Fort Orange Club, where membership is required to have an event, the Albany Room inside the concourse of the Empire State Plaza, the Desmond Hotel, or the Albany Marriott. Lawmakers line up receptions to fill their coffers at some of these establishments, as do lobbies and advocacy groups.
Some of the more prominent and worthwhile events attended by state lawmakers include the New York State Conservative Party conference, New York Conference of Mayors, State Business Council, New York State Association of Counties, New York State Farm Bureau, Brooklyn Night, Queens Day and sometimes Bronx Day. Then there is the secretive and closed reception for the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee. The Conservative Party and the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee are more open about their desire to allow peering eyes to see their process unfold from the backrooms.
There are many more food events during lunch time. Many groups have sandwiches prepared for their staff and guests who often travel to Albany from New York City on Tuesdays, known as lobby day, as these advocacy organizations barnstorm the legislative office building (LOB) to try to get a few minutes with a particular lawmaker that matches the group’s agenda. These groups often have lawmakers come to them and speak about the issue of the day important to the organization’s agenda while they have lunch in the Well of the LOB.
There are plenty of lawmakers who only have their legislative receptions in New York City. Such was the case recently for Assemblyman Lester Chang (R – Sunset Park, Brooklyn). Chang has been making inroads trying to get prominent Chinese-Americans elected to office as Republicans. Last election cycle he succeeded with Republican Steven Chan who beat an incumbent Democrat Asian lawmaker for a Brooklyn Senate seat that encompasses most of Chang’s district.
On Sunday, January 12, Chang held a swanky fundraiser at Trump Tower in Manhattan. The fundraiser featured Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, a talk show host on WABC. Sid Rosenberg, another talk show host on that radio station, bowed out and was replaced by Sliwa, who is making another bid for New York City mayor as a Republican later this year.
“What Lester Chang did [to win his assembly seat in 2022] was good old-fashioned retail politics. He got young men, young women of high school age and college age out there. He went door-to-door. The odds were dismal for him. He had to not only get the growing Chinese vote; he had to continue to maintain the Italian vote and he had to get the growing number of Orthodox [Jewish residents] who are now registered to vote,” Sliwa told an attentive and polite crowd. “He went into every neighborhood and knocked on every door and he did the impossible. He beat a 32-year veteran [lawmaker, Peter Abbate] who had the support of the Democratic machine.”
Sliwa then spoke about how he met Chang more than 20 years ago.
“Lester and the Guardian Angels walked through the Hasidic area, the Satmar area of Williamsburg, the Black Lives Matter contingent was still on us looking to bust heads. Lester was the only one to stand with us. This man was with us every step of the way. Every step of the way,” Sliwa recalled. “His word is his bond. He is there for the poor, the unfortunate and not just members of his Chinese community. He’s there for everyone. I wish we had more elected officials like Lester Chang who remembers his roots, how he grew up in Brooklyn. He was cross-examined viciously in the Assembly when they said, You’re not from Brooklyn, you’re from Manhattan.”
Chang cruised to victory in last year’s election winning with 97.3 percent of the vote running unopposed. There were 401 write-in votes against Chang totaling 2.7 percent of the 14,589 total votes cast. Clearly, Chang has some work to do in the district to find out who wrote in someone else’s name and bring them to his side before the next election in 2026.
It’s not just in Albany where you have to cater kosher food from another venue. At Chang’s Trump Tower fundraiser, food from Essen New York deli on Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn and Ostrovitsky’s bakery were the choice eateries for the event. Chang’s staff brought in pastrami and corned beef sandwiches from Essen’s and an assortment of delicious sugar-free and sugary cookies as well as an apple pie from Ostrovitsky’s.
Another major elected official in the state giving major props to Chang was Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Jewish Republican. Blakeman is a congregant of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, a modern Orthodox synagogue.
“I think it is important that we have Lester Chang as a NYS Assemblyman. He is a proud veteran, a proud Asian-American, someone who is a fighter and will bring safer communities to New York City,” Blakeman told The Jewish Press at Chang’s fundraiser. “He is someone who will bring the message of change to the state Assembly and someone who will fight the crazy rules, regulations and laws that are promulgated by the far-left Democratic party. I’m here to support Lester Chang. He is my friend. He’s somebody I look up to and I think he’s going to be an outstanding leader in the New York State Assembly.
Assemblyman Michael Novakhov (R – Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn), a Russian Jew, attended the fundraiser made possible by Chang’s connections to Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump.
“There are similarities between me and Lester. We both came from socialist countries for a better living. The fact that we came from a socialist country is not because we’re a socialist but because our families were looking for a better living,” Novakhov told The Jewish Press. “We went to a capitalist country for a better living. Then we all kind of realized that this state is moving in the wrong direction. This state is becoming socialist. There’s a lot of things in common between us and we’re not career politicians.
“I was amazed when someone stood up and said, ‘I am proud to be a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.’ They have no idea what socialism really is. It’s a very ugly system. We are here because our communities chose to send us to Albany to fix things. This is what we are trying to do, very honestly.”
The leader of the Brooklyn GOP took time away from his busy schedule to travel into Manhattan for the fundraiser.
“Assemblyman Lester Chang is an amazing representative of his community. His heart and soul are dedicated to helping everyone. He doesn’t ask who they are or what their party affiliation is,” said Richie Barsamian, Chairman of the Brooklyn GOP and a Bay Ridge resident. “As he served our nation for 24 years in the Navy, he always seeks to serve our state, our city and he is a responsible representative. He’s also a friend and a very good man.”
Barsamian now has three Republicans seated in the Assembly chamber and one in the Senate. He has also cross-endorsed two Brooklyn Democrats and one Brooklyn Senator.
“Assemblymembers Kalman Yeger and Jamie Williams along with Senator Simcha Felder, are all Democrats who received the Republican party line. It’s not about the party. It’s about responsible leadership. When you talk about someone like Senator Simcha Felder, it doesn’t matter whether there is a “D,” it doesn’t matter whether there is an “R,” it doesn’t matter if there is a “C” [after their name]. These are people in elected office who are doing a fantastic job. It would be wrong of me not to consider their voting record. It would be wrong of me not to bring them before our committee,” Barsamian told The Jewish Press. “Our fight must not be over subtle differences. Our fight must never be to attack Democrats. I don’t believe in that and that is not what I represent. Our fight is to bring people together and we are accomplishing that. You cannot attain victory in southern Brooklyn without unity and a genuine common-sense message.”
Barsamian, who recently became county chairman when his predecessor stepped down, admits he couldn’t win these seats without Democratic voters crossing over to vote Republican.
“I respect those who have a deep faith. I can never, ever allow any bigotry, any hatred or any animosity to exist. I don’t stand by when antisemitic acts take place. I don’t stand by when hatred is used as a weapon. Our victories don’t just come from the Republican party or even the Conservative party. Our victories come because people have heard the message and they have seen the messenger,” Barsamian concluded.
So far, back in Albany, the legislature has met for five days totaling eight hours of conducting the business of holding committee meetings, debating and passing bills on session days. There are another 57 days to go before the session wraps up for the summer.
