Since the Q took the Patterson camp to task for its cynical mailers, I think it's only fair that I call this one into question. Did you receive it? If not, it may well be that you were not an intended recipient. As we all know, or at least most of us know who've lived here for awhile, the largest contingent of Chabad Lubavitcher Hasidim in the world live just east of us, in a pocket that is becoming larger all the time. Centered around the bustling Main Street of Kingston south of Eastern Parkway, near 770 EP, the spiritual home of the movement, as it was where the deceased American leader of the movement Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (whom some have come to see as the Messiah btw) led his flock. It's a fascinating piece of Brooklyn life, the part that gets little coverage in the world of espresso and bistros and sky-high prices and high-rise development.
Menachem Raitport is running on the Republican line, and with the likely split vote among erstwhile Democrats - Shirley, Diana and Geoffrey - well, there you are. It's likely that SDorG will return to the Democratic fold next time around. The question I pose is whether it's unseemly to campaign so directly and explicitly for votes to a specific religious (and let's be honest, racial) community. Were a white gentrifier to campaign thusly, there's no question it would cause an uproar, and rightly so. In a diverse neighborhood, I wonder whether this doesn't cross the lines of decency.
All's fair in love and war?