The race card has been played over and over during SEAS Dean Peña-Mora’s battle to keep his position, but New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguiez just initiated a game of 52 Pickup.
Rodriguez, a Dominican-American who represents Inwood, Washington Heights, and Marble Hill (all predominantly Dominican neighborhoods), has led the charge in rallying his residents to steadfastly defend Peña-Mora, who happens to be…you guessed it, a Dominican-American.
However, this sudden rally by Rodriguez is similar to the kind of opportunistic Sharpton-esque behavior that others have used to blackmail communities in defending individuals who merely happen to share a genetic trait. The three-year City Council member recently went as far as as saying, “the community is on alert” for any attempt to remove Peña-Mora. What is this, a hockey team ready to scrap if their star player gets checked into the boards too hard? Have the two even met?
