Here’s a picture from Carl Heastie’s holiday party yesterday, the first he’s hosted since becoming the Bronx Democratic County Leader earlier this year.
Before the party, Heastie had lunch with two of the Democratic state senators who are refusing to support a fellow Democrat, Malcolm Smith, for Senate majority leader.
Ruben Diaz Sr. and Pedro Espada met Heastie at Jimmy’s Restaurant, on White Plains Road, which, Diaz pointed out to me, is in his district.
Diaz didn’t provide details of the conversation. And Heastie, via text message, only said, “I had lunch with 2 members of our senate delegation for the new year.”
Diaz said he attended the party that evening, and despite some high-profile criticism from some pro-Smith groups, he’s actually gotten encouragement to keep withholding his support of Smith. “Everybody was happy to see me. I’m part of the Democratic Party,” said Diaz.
A message left on Espada’s cell phone was not immediately returned.
