Exonerated Central Park Five member declares victory in NYC primary for Harlem council seat

Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated Central Park Five who spent seven years in prison before becoming an advocate for the wrongfully convicted, declared victory Tuesday night in a crowded Democratic primary to represent a Harlem-based seat in the New York City Council, easily defeating two sitting state lawmakers in a neighborhood that previously had a long history of backing the political establishment.

Salaam garnered about 50% of the vote in his race against Assemblymembers Inez Dickens and Al Taylor, who pulled in 25% and 15%, respectively, according to preliminary results from the New York City Board of Elections. The victory puts Salaam in line to win a two-year term in the heavily Democratic district, which is currently held by Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan, who also appeared on the ballot despite dropping out of the race.

Wrongfully convicted and imprisoned with four other Black and Latino teenagers for the rape of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989, the now-49-year-old Salaam made his struggle with the criminal justice system his defining campaign theme. Salaam faced what was thought to be an uphill battle against his opponents, two sitting lawmakers who consistently trumped him on campaign fundraising with longstanding roots in the community.

During his victory speech, Salaam made reference to Donald Trump's 1989 newspaper advertisement calling for New York to adopt the death penalty in the wake of the Central Park jogger case, though he never referenced the former president by name.

"This campaign has been about those who have been counted out, those who have been forgotten," Salaam said at his victory party at Harlem Tavern. "I am here because, Harlem, you believed in me."

Salaam's victory appeared to be a near certainty, based on preliminary results. The only question is whether he will have to go through a second round of counting in the city's ranked choice voting system, though his large margin of victory would be near mathematically impossible for Dickens or Taylor to overcome regardless.

A potential upset on the horizon

Voters cast their ballots on Tuesday in primary races for 21 of the 51 New York City Council districts, Democratic district attorney contests in the Bronx and Queens, and a number of judicial and party-level races. Staten Island was the only borough that had no primary elections to decide this year.

Incumbent Councilmember Charles Barron, a Brooklyn Democrat who has been in elected office for much of the last two decades, appears to be in danger of losing his seat, according to preliminary results.

With 99% of scanners reporting, challenger Chris Banks had a 51-43% edge over Barron, a lead of more than 400 votes, according to BOE data as of Tuesday night.

As of 11 p.m., the city Board of Elections' preliminary results showed:

• The 15 other Council incumbents actively running in primaries — including Democrats Carlina Rivera, Tiffany Cabán, Darlene Mealy and Christopher Marte — all poised to cruise to victory.
• The two sitting district attorneys facing a primary — Democrats Darcel Clark of the Bronx and Melinda Katz of Queens — also held significant leads.
• In the 43rd Council District, which includes the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst and part of Dyker Heights, Democrat Susan Zhuang declared victory in a three-way primary with nearly 59% of the vote as of 11:30 p.m. The Republican race between Ying Tan and Vito LaBella was too close to call.

There was no marquee citywide race on the ballot, and voter turnout appeared to be light — with roughly 149,000 people casting a ballot as of 6 p.m. and during early voting, according to the BOE. Another 15,000 absentee ballots have been tabulated so far, as well.

With ranked-choice voting in place for the second citywide election cycle, other competitive races won’t be decided by night’s end.

That includes the Democratic primary in the 19th Council District in Queens, where former Councilmember Tony Avella narrowly leads his closest challenger, Christopher S. Bae, by about 125 votes, according to preliminary results.

Under the city’s system, a candidate who wins 50% of the vote wins outright. If no candidate hits the mark, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their votes are distributed to the voters’ second choice. Subsequent rounds continue until a single candidate wins a majority of the votes.

But ranked-choice voting only applies to city-level elections — such as the City Council elections. It does not apply to the DA or judicial races, which are state-level positions, nor does it apply in races with only two candidates. The next round of counting will take place July 5.

'Harlem's back'

Salaam was joined at his victory party by Manhattan Democratic Chair Keith Wright, a former state assemblymember who helped recruit him to the race. Wright's son, Jordan, served as Salaam's campaign manager.

His supporters at his victory party on 116th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard erupted in applause as early results trickled in after polls closed showing Salaam with a significant lead that held through the night. After declaring victory, cheers of "Yes we can" turned into "Yes we did."

"I'm reminded of what Muhammad Ali said ... he said 'We're going to shock the world,'" Wright, the Manhattan Democratic Party leader, said to applause. "Harlem is back. Harlem's back."

Voters streaming in and out of P.S. 175 in Harlem Tuesday morning said they’re worried about issues like affordable housing, community safety, cleanliness and drug use, and feel ready for “new blood” in the city’s 9th District.

Adelaide Osafo, a change management consultant who has lived in Harlem for about three years, said she is chiefly concerned about safety and increased rents. She feels like someone new is the best person to tackle those issues.

“I think it’s time for some change, and some newness to come along,” she said, adding that she had not wanted to vote for Dickens after reading some bad press about the Assembly member and evictions.

The Council candidates who go on to win in November will serve two-year terms, thanks to the once-a-decade redistricting process. Four-year Council terms will return for the 2025 elections.

Prosecutors poised to win

In both district attorney primaries, Democratic incumbents ran in races that virtually guaranteed them re-election. No Republican candidates have filed to run in either the Bronx or Queens DA races.

In the Bronx, Clark faced a challenge from Tess Cohen, a former narcotics prosecutor who now works as a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. Clark garnered more than 72% of the vote as of Tuesday evening, according to preliminary results from the Board of Elections.

Clark campaigned on a “holistic” strategy to keep residents safe, combining a tough-on-crime stance — especially for gun violence — with programs to support people who are arrested. The two-term district attorney also led calls to revise a 2019 state law that imposed stricter requirements for prosecutors to turn over evidence to defense attorneys, while saying she supports the general idea of the legislation and other recent criminal justice reforms.

In Queens, Katz took in more than 70% of the vote in her three-way primary, preliminary results showed. It was a stark contrast to 2019, when she won her primary by just 60 votes, eking out a victory against now-Councilmember Tiffany Cabán. Katz promised to take a “community-based approach” with a focus on the main “drivers of crime,” including gun traffickers. The former assemblymember, councilmember and Queens borough president far outpaced her opponents in campaign donations, according to state records.

Katz faced two Democratic challengers — one on her right flank, and another on her left.

George Grasso, a former high-ranking NYPD official who later spent more than a decade on the bench, touted various programs he helped to launch as a judge to improve the court system and promised to focus more on quality-of-life crimes, such as shoplifting and car theft. Defense attorney Devian Daniels voiced her staunch support for the state’s criminal justice reforms and said she would create more diversion programs for teenagers and people accused of nonviolent crimes.

Additional reporting by Brittany Kriegstein.