Yeger Running for Retiring Assemblywoman Weinstein’s Seat

By Reuvain Borchardt

BROOKLYN — Longtime Brooklyn Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein will retire from the Legislature after this year, and Councilman Kalman Yeger is seeking her seat.

“After close to 44 years serving the residents of the 41st Assembly District and the people of New York, I have decided to retire at the end of this term,” Weinstein, 71, said in a statement Monday. First elected in 1980 to the seat formerly held by her father Murray Weinstein, Helene Weinstein went on to become the longest-serving woman in the history of the Assembly.

Weinstein’s statement was released hours after a report first appeared in Politico that Yeger is petitioning for the seat, which includes the Midwood, Madison, Flatlands and Sheepshead Bay neighborhoods.

Weinstein quickly announced her endorsement of Yeger.

“After my decision to retire, I immediately reached out to Kalman Yeger, encouraging him to run to serve my constituency,” she said in a statement to Hamodia. “I can’t think of a more fitting and experienced candidate than Kalman, who I’ve known for many years. He is a dedicated public servant and has my unwavering support in this endeavor.”

In a statement to Hamodia, Yeger said, “Public service is the honor of a lifetime, and I have devoted my life to serving our community, as a council member and community board member for 18 years before that. The 41st Assembly District is a special community, my lifelong home. With Senator Simcha Felder and Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein already leading the fight for our community in Albany, I look forward to the opportunity to join them and to make the case to my neighbors for the opportunity to represent all of us in Albany.”

Yeger, 49, currently represents the 44th City Council seat, which includes Boro Park and Midwood. A conservative Democrat who has also run on the Republican and Conservative lines, he is a frequent “No” vote on legislation in the liberal Council.

Former Councilman David Greenfield, Yeger’s predecessor and mentor, told Hamodia he believes Yeger would be a fine choice for the Assembly seat.

“Nobody understands New York City and New York State government like Kalman Yeger does,” Greenfield said. “He spent 25 years working first as a legislative aid, then as an attorney and now as a councilmember advocating for the community. The community would be lucky to have Kalman Yeger fighting for them in Albany.”

Yeger is term-limited from the Council when his current term ends in 2025.

The Assembly primary will be held June 25, 2024, and the general election November 5. If Yeger wins the seat, a special election would be held to finish out the final year of his Council seat.

Among the candidates considering a run for Yeger’s Council seat, per sources who spoke with Hamodia, are: State Sen. Simcha Felder; Yaakov “Jack” Kaplan of Community Board 12; Shloimy Rieger, an aide to Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein; Pinny Ringel, a district leader and former aide to Mayor Bill de Blasio; David Schwartz, former district leader; Barry Spitzer, District Manager of Community Board 12; and Heshy Tischler, a radio host. Tischler, who ran unsuccessfully for the 44th Council District seat in 2023 and 2017, for the 48th Council District seat in 2021, had already filed to run for the 44th in 2025.

Asked by Hamodia whether he is seeking the Council seat, Felder — who served in the Council from 2002 to 2010 and has been in the Senate since 2013 — replied, “A special election wouldn’t be held until February 2025. I intend to continue serving this community, and look forward to Moshiach coming way before then.”

Rieger told Hamodia, “While it’s an honor to be mentioned as a possible candidate down the road, my only focus right now is to continue serving our local constituents at Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein’s office. At this time, I will not engage in hypotheticals, rather continue serving the community.”

The other potential candidates did not respond to Hamodia’s requests for comment.

—

rborchardt@hamodia.com