Maloney Endorsed By Powers As Re-Election Bid Heats Up

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — City Councilmember Keith Powers endorsed U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney for another term in Congress on Tuesday, becoming the latest local lawmaker to announce support for Maloney ahead of a competitive re-election fight.

Powers, who recently won another term representing the Upper East Side and Midtown East in the city Council, called Maloney a "fighter" in a statement shared exclusively with Patch.

"Whether it’s our work together opposing the environmentally detrimental combined heat and power unit at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, her successful decades long fight to finally get universal 3-K in New York City, or her work during the pandemic to transform Garment District factories into PPE production sites — Congresswoman Maloney not only fights for what is right, she also gets it done," Powers said.

Maloney, 75, has represented the Upper East Side in Congress since 1993, having formerly served in the City Council. But her 12th District seat now includes outer-borough neighborhoods like Astoria, Queens and Greenpoint, Brooklyn — and the state's upcoming redistricting process is likely to alter the boundaries even further, potentially removing chunks of her Manhattan base.

Having defeated attorney Suraj Patel by a relatively narrow, 3,500-vote margin last year, Maloney now faces a slew of challengers in the June 2022 primary. Among them is progressive activist Rana Abdelhamid, who earlier this month won the endorsement of the Lower Manhattan political club Coalition for a District Alternative — the first time in Maloney's career that she has failed to win the group's support.

Other Manhattan lawmakers who have long worked with Maloney have voiced support for her in recent months, including new City Councilmember Julie Menin and her predecessor, Ben Kallos.

Maloney, in a statement, said she was "deeply grateful" for Powers's support, noting their shared opposition to the heat and power unit at Stuyvesant Town, as well as advocacy for providing vaccines to Koreatown.

"We have accomplished great things together for our City and I look forward to working with him as we recover from COVID-19," she said.