Former City Council candidate Gerry Esposito may be the victim of campaign trickery, as his Williamsburg property on Conselya Street was vandalized in the early hours of October 30.
Esposito, Community Board 1 District Manager, woke up on the morning of October 30 to find several plant beds broken and garbage pails upended, leaving his front yard a mess.He quickly filed a police report with the 94th Precinct.
The former candidate, who finished behind Incumbent Councilmember and Democratic nominee Diana Reyna (D-34th) in the Democratic primary, endorsed a political rival, Maritza Davila (WFP), on October 22.In a rematch on Election Day, Reyna defeated Davila winning by over 4,000 votes, despite Esposito’s backing.
One week before the election, Esposito attached a Davila poster on his fence, but the poster was removed and torn to shreds.Interwoven with the refuse were scores of Diana Reyna flyers strewn about the front yard.
Esposito declined to comment on the incident.
Antonio Reynoso, a spokesperson with the Reyna campaign, remarked that he did not think that his volunteers were responsible for the vandalism and believes that the damage was an unfortunate coincidence.Reynoso said that the team that distributed flyers and conducted visibility in Williamsburg near P.S. 132 finished their assignments at 9 p.m. October 29 and then went back to train stations at 7 a.m. on October 30.
“We definitely don’t encourage things like that.We don’t tear down posters.We just put posters next to other posters.I don’t even think my people know who Gerry is,” said Reynoso, who added if Reyna volunteers were responsible he would personally apologize to Esposito.
Police from the 94th Precinct are continuing to investigate the matter.
