With just under a week to go before Tuesday’s Democratic primary for New York’s First Congressional District, The Messenger spoke with candidates Nancy Goroff (D-Stony Brook) and John Avlon (D-Gramercy Park), namely regarding our previous report on Avlon’s Manhattan ties.
In April, The Messenger obtained New York City tax records showing the bill of sale for Avlon’s 2015 purchase of 149 East 19 Street, Unit 6, in Gramercy Park. The property type is described as a “single residential co-op unit.”
The unit is part of a six-unit co-op that is run by the Chanler House Corp, spanning the addresses of 147-149 East 19 Street.
According to NYC Department of Finance Records, the Chanler House Corp.’s property tax bill has six units enrolled in the condo/co-op tax abatement program, which stipulates that properties are only eligible if tenants are primary residents.
The building’s tax block is listed #875 and its tax lot is listed as #38, cross-referenced by records from the NYC Department of Finance and the NYC Department of Buildings.
Skokiaan, LLC was filed in 2017 to the Manhattan address. Skokiaan was listed as the grantee for the 2017 purchase of a Sag Harbor home, 70 John Street, for nearly $1.5 million. Avlon has been registered to vote at the Sag Harbor address since 2020.
The Messenger submitted a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to the Suffolk County Board of Elections (BoE) for Avlon’s voter profile. The FOIL shows Avlon voted absentee from the Sag Harbor address in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 general elections. The 2022 midterms was the last time congressional races were on the ballot, including NY-01, the seat that Avlon is hoping to contest in November.
The Messenger also found a listing for 70 John Street, Sag Harbor, on apartments.com, a rental listing website. The rental was listed in 2018 with lease agreements for the summer months included.
Additionally, Avlon, a former CNN anchor, was recorded and photographed entering and leaving the Manhattan property on April 6 and April 7. (Top photo)
A spokesperson for Avlon said that Avlon was in Manhattan attending a wedding for people who also live in Sag Harbor. The spokesperson also said that the apartments.com rental listing has not been updated since 2018. Finally, the spokesperson said that Avlon took the Census in 2020 and lives in Sag Harbor.
The Messenger also heard from a spokesperson for Nancy Goroff, professor emerita of chemistry and former Chair of the Chemistry Department at Stony Brook University. Goroff ran for NY-01 in 2020 against then-Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), losing to him by about ten points. Goroff is vying against Avlon in Tuesday’s primary for the right to take on Congressman Nick LaLota (R) in November.
“Nancy Goroff has been in Suffolk County for years fighting for Long Islanders. She’s the only candidate in this race with a record of fighting for reproductive freedom, beating extremists, defending our public schools and kids, and working to build a better economy for everyone,” said the spokesperson. “While Nancy Goroff was on Long Island teaching at Stony Brook, fighting for reproductive rights, and beating right-wing extremists, John Avlon was in Manhattan, trying to elect a Republican president, working for a right-wing think tank, and founding a dark money group that attacks Democrats.”
The spokesperson for Ms. Goroff also told The Messenger that Goroff has rallied supporters since her 2020 congressional run, dispelling Avlon’s claims that her status as an underperformer makes her the weaker candidate on Tuesday’s ballot.
“Since last running for office, Nancy and a group of Long Island moms started a non-profit to fight against extremists who were attacking our public schools and kids,” said the spokesperson. “Through this group, Nancy has beaten more than two dozen extremists who are running for school board. Nancy is the only candidate in this race who has actually fought against extremists at the ballot box and won.”
The primary campaign has been a relatively nasty one, with Goroff calling Avlon a “Manhattan elitist” and Avlon calling Goroff a “progressive hero.”
Avlon helped found the No Labels movement, a political organization that seeks to promote centrism and bipartisanship through what it calls the “commonsense majority.” Several high-profile politicians, including Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), sparked rumors of a possible No Labels ticket for president, but the organization is not running a candidate this year.
As of June 5, Avlon has raised $622,433 to Goroff’s $125,799. Both candidates had almost $600,000 in cash on hand as the primary race entered the final stretch.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary will face Congressman LaLota in the fall.
New York’s First Congressional District encompasses the majority of Suffolk County. Large in total area, it contains the entire townships of East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, Southampton, and Southold. The district also contains the northern half of Brookhaven, spanning from Stony Brook to Wading River, and central and southern Brookhaven from Lake Ronkonkoma to Manorville and the Moriches. Finally, NY-01 includes most of Huntington Township, including all of its communities except Huntington hamlet, Huntington Station, Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, and the villages of Huntington Bay and Lloyd Harbor.
The district is viewed as Republican-leaning. The GOP has held the seat for the better part of a decade, commencing with Lee Zeldin’s ousting of Tim Bishop (D-Sag Harbor) in 2014. Zeldin narrowly won re-election over Manhattanite Perry Gershon (D) in 2018, and doubled his margin over Goroff in 2020. Zeldin forwent another term in Congress to run for governor of New York in 2022.
After the remedial congressional map was enacted in 2021, after a Democratic gerrymander was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals, the district became more competitive, taking in all of Huntington Town and none of southeastern Brookhaven. The slight shifts make the current iteration of NY-01 slightly more Republican-leaning than it was in 2022. The shift also exchanged the aforementioned parts of Huntington with neighboring NY-03, which might act as a boon to Congressman Tom Suozzi’s (D-Glen Cove) bid for a full term this year.
The district’s slightly red hue makes for something of an uphill battle for either Goroff or Avlon in November. Although Avlon has called NY-01 a “majority maker” in terms of balance of power in the House, the district has not flipped in nearly a decade, and most major pundits and forecasters predict the district is likely to stay in Republican hands.
