A Brooklyn teen is hoping to become the City Council’s youngest member ever – but the adults are fighting tooth and nail to keep him off the ballot.
Abraham Tischler, 18, is running for the Borough Park Council seat left vacant when Simcha Felder took a job with city Controller John Liu.
His platform is teen friendly – he wants to save free student MetroCards; but he also is vowing to fight to keep city firehouses open and crack down on bogus parking tickets.
The Touro College sophomore says his inexperience is actually a plus. So far, he has spent just $560 – for posters and flyers.
“I owe no one favors,” he said.
Still, at least one of the adults running against him in the 44th Council District worried enough to take him to court.
David Greenfield, 31, the executive vice president of the Sephardic Community Federation, is suing Tischler and says the teen’s petitions have forged and duplicated signatures.
Tischler insists there is nothing wrong with his petitions.
After all, his mom and dad helped him gather the 1,415 signatures he eventually submitted – nearly double the required 765. Anything that looked fishy, Tischler said, was tossed.
“They wouldn’t knock me off if they didn’t think I was a real challenge,” Tischler said. “Let the people decide who they want to be their councilman.”
Greenfield, a former chief of staff for Assemblyman Dov Hikind, has Mayor Bloomberg’s backing and is one of the frontrunners. So is longtime community board lead Joe Lazar, who has Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s backing. But it’s Greenfield, who has raised $131,000 for the race, who is pressing a lawsuit.
“We don’t know anything about the guy,” said his spokesman, Eric Kuo. The campaign is also concerned, he said, because Tischler isn’t participating in the city campaign financing system.
“He could drop half a million dollars of family money in the campaign tomorrow,” Kuo said.
Ridiculous, said the teen’s dad, who has capped spending for his son’s campaign at $1,000.
“David Greenfield, with all his money, with all his power, is trying to get an 18-year-old kid off the ballot because he’s scared,” said Harold Tischler, 46, a construction contractor.
“Give him a shot.”
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22 Responses
lol hillarious maybe it should be named Dovid and Goliath (Dovid being the kid not Greenfield)
Now David G. is like a real politician. Eliminate the competition in court not with ideas. I would vote for the kid on principal. Anyone can run. Be a real MAN David. Leave the kid alone.
Good for him. I wish him luck. If this is what he’s aiming for at 18 he’ll go far in life.(And it might not hurt us in the process!)
Go for it Abraham…it will be nice have someone in the running who owes no favors.
I say give the kid a chance he can’t do much worse then many of the bums we have running things now.
I think that the charges of irregularities in his petition signings should be checked out to make sure those charges are false and once that is verified there is no reason he shouldn’t be on the ballot.
I disagree with the idea of continuing free rides for college students because the rest of us have to pay ever increasing fares and some of us, and
college students will not drop out just because of a subway fare.
The kid has my vote
This is ridiculous. Greenfield has more than a hundred grand raised and he’s suing to get this kid off the ballot? Why? Greenfield and his team of supporters keep telling us how he has the best qualifications. Fine. That’s how you run. Don’t bully other people off the ballot. If you’re confident in your qualifications, the voters will pick you. Why do this? I don’t think this makes Greenfield look very good.
I like David Greenfield alot (I know him personally), but seriously! give the kid a chance! I doubt he is really that much of a threat. this is how the political system works and he has not broken any laws!
Sounds like Greenfield is a real democrat….
eliminate the competition.
Lets set the record straight. Leaders of the Bobov, Pupa, Munkatsch, Boyan, & Krasne sects have endorsed Greenfield. These hasidim comprise the majority of the hasidic sects in Boro Park. Moreover, virtually the entire leadership of the orthodox non hasidic community (litvish/yeshivish) has solidly endorsed Greenfield.
The reason is straight forward. Boro Park residents were shocked to learn of Lazar’s claim that he has brought programs into the community that generate “tens of millions of dollars per year”. As Lazar has worked in government for 40 years, thats 400 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!. WHERE’S THE MONEY? Despite repeated requests to the Lazar campaign, there’s been no explanation given as to who may have received the money. Many believe that any money received went to “organizations” affiliated with DOV HIKIND, whose leaeders then kick back the money to DOV HIKIND in the form of campaign contributtions.
The bottom line is that we have had it with the Dov Hikind machine. Greenfield has brought back money to the PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY.
The days of the CORRUPT HIKIND machine are numbered. POWER IS GOING BACK TO ANASH!
Final observation: both SIMCHA FELDER AND DAVID GREENFIELD served previuosly as CHIEFS of STAFF TO DOV HIKIND. Yet when they started to be INDEPENDENT, HIKIND turned on them.
In sum, Boro Park is united behind David Greenfield. Hikind wants to maintain his DICTATORSHIP over Boro park , and HAS PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS. However, his days are numbered.
This is another example of how this is becoming GWN- Greenfield World News. The article is really about DG trying to get ST off the ballot and YWN uses this headline?
Dear YWN:
y is my comment not going trhu?
Why does the article say ” but the adults are fighting tooth and nail to keep him off the ballot” when it is only David acting out? your writing implies a plurality of adults, and is (as usual when David is being discussed) misleading.
Some young entrees to any job are alot more enthusiastic than older and so called mature people. They are more quick, eager and try to prove and please.
Sorry, but maybe you will post this comment which you previously did not.
Isn’t this what happened to another candidate who was so called forced to pull out.
Who does Greenfield think he is?
To me it appears like he is a baby in the first stage only concerned with me and instant gratificiation. If he doesn’t get it he reacts. A baby cries he screams and does irrational things.
In short, he needs not to continue because automatically people will not vote for him.
As a homowner, we did not get much from anyone warming this seat, so we won’t vote.
This position is just pocket money,picture in the paper and some yenting on a local evening station.
When we got garbage tickets we were told to pay.
By the way people, this is still a free country and no one will dictate to me for whom or how we should vote.
This young man may be the candidate who may actually keep the seat cool as he will actually try to accomplish something!!
12.Why does the article say ” but the adults are fighting tooth and nail to keep him off the ballot” when it is only David acting out? your writing implies a plurality of adults, and is (as usual when David is being discussed) misleading.
The fact is this kid has NO CHANCE in winning, he is a joke however obviously Greenfield feels that the race is close enough that this kids votes can cost him enough to make big problems for him. This kid has no business running. He is 18. Finish college first!
Dear YWN: you don’t have to post my comment update your the boss here just let me know whats the reasen whats bad from my update???
Thanks in advance!!!
I’m finding great irony in the comments of people who see inexperience as an asset. How did they feel about an inexperienced Obama running for public office? How do they feel about Obama’s performance in office? Look back at the comments and insert Obama’s name in place of Abraham Tischler. Is inexperience really an asset? Good luck to the people of that district!
I would like someone to ‘splain to me how Greenfield could take this kid to court & not Bais Din????
I guess Halocha doesn’t apply to Democrats?!
FYI: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/49900/Breaking+News:+Board+of+Elections+Bounces+Tischler.html
go abraham go !!!!
When I was approached by an individual to sign a petition for Lazar to be on the ballot I signed it eagerly because I believe the more candidates we’ll have the more we get involved and the truth will come out of each candidate. On erev Shabbos two weeks ago I spoke with Lazar in front of Pomegranate on Coney Island Ave. and I told him this fact. Reading today news of him opposing this Tishler candidates make me sick to my stomach Mr. Lazar and Mr. Greenfield I wish for Eibishte not to allow any one of you to be my Councilman. Omen. Because this act along proves me that you don’t care for my community.