The Bronx Democratic County Committee’s holiday party was the place to be on Wednesday night, bringing together a crowd of hundreds to celebrate this year’s victories for the Democratic party.
The annual event, held this year at Vibra Restaurant & Lounge on East Tremont Ave., honored outgoing Bronx City Council Members Diana Ayala and Rafael Salamanca Jr. and saw special guests from outside the borough: Comptroller-Elect Mark Levine, and Manhattan Council Member Julie Menin, projected to become the next City Council Speaker.
The party also generated a massive pile of toy donations for the nonprofit Housing Solutions of New York, which was the evening’s only price of admission, according to organizers.
Spotted among the crowd were Assembly Members Landon Dais, John Zaccaro Jr. and Michael Benedetto; Council Members Eric Dinowitz and Amanda Farías; State Senators Nathalia Fernandez and Jamaal T. Bailey; former Bronx Assembly Members Kenny Burgos and Michael Blake and District Attorney Darcel Clark, who was sporting a Christmas sweater with light-up bulbs.
Numerous nonprofit and business leaders and community board members rounded out the group.
Ariana Collado, executive director of the Bronx Democrats, said the annual event is a welcome opportunity to reflect on the party’s progress.
“It’s nice to get together at the end of the year to celebrate our accomplishments,” she told the Bronx Times. “I wanna say that the Bronx has the best parties.”
Collado said the committee applauded outgoing Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. for his affordable housing production and Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala for her emphasis on care for the city’s most vulnerable.
One of the party’s biggest victories of the year, according to Collado, was flipping East Bronx Council District 13, where incumbent Republican Kristy Marmorato was defeated by labor-backed Democrat Shirley Aldebol.
In 2026, the Democrats plan to build on the momentum of a record-turnout citywide election and several major Democratic Party victories across the country, up and down the ballots, Collado said.
By electing Aldebol, “We are once again a true Democratic borough,” she added.
‘Barnstorming’ the Bronx
Salamanca Jr. leaves office this month after an unusually long City Council tenure —nearly 10 years— and an unsuccessful run for the borough presidency.
He told the Bronx Times he is not yet announcing his next career moves but won’t completely rule out running for another office in the future. While it’s not the focus now, “I would never say no to it,” he said.
Salamanca Jr. said he is particularly proud of having overseen the closure of two notorious detention centers in his South Bronx district, the Rikers “jail barge” and the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center. Seeing the barge float away from Hunts Point down to Louisiana to be turned into scrap metal, “was like a moment for me,” Salamanca Jr. said.
Throughout his tenure, he said he was proud of allocating millions to renovate his neighborhood’s schools and playgrounds, including ones he had frequented in childhood that hadn’t been upgraded since.
As Justin Sanchez prepares to step into District 17, Salamanca Jr. said he’s focusing on closing his own operations and helping his predecessor, who is new to political office, get off to a strong start. “His success is my success.”
Comptroller-Elect Mark Levine said he feels a strong affinity to the Bronx even though he’s transitioning out the Manhattan Borough Presidency. He lives just across the Harlem River on 187th Street and worked at a Bronx junior high school, he told the Bronx Times.
“Now I can finally say I’m representing this wonderful borough, and I can’t wait,” Levine said.
Throughout his comptroller campaign, Levine said he spent a lot of time “barnstorming” the Bronx, —canvassing all across the borough— talking with residents about their daily lives.
He said that he saw the borough is “really on the rise, thanks to what so many people in this room have fought for.” But also heard a lot of challenges.
Young people are struggling to land good first jobs, and public safety continues to be a complex problem, Levine added.
As comptroller, he said he plans to invest in deeply affordable housing. “I think we can do thousands of units in the Bronx alone, with pension fund investments,” he said.
Levine also vowed to be “very active” on economic development. “[There are] so many assets here —a great workforce, great infrastructure, great mass transit— and I’m gonna fight to get those jobs for people here in the Bronx,” he said.
Levine said although he sometimes spent weeks without leaving Manhattan as borough president, things will be different when he takes citywide office. “I’m gonna be an on-the-ground comptroller,” he said.
Senator Jamaal Bailey, the Bronx Democrats’ chair, was eager to set politics aside for the night in favor of “making sure that Bronxites and Bronx kids have a good Christmas.”
“It’s less about politics and way more about people tonight,” he said.
Bailey said “any and everybody” was invited to the party, as long as they brought a toy to donate, and that the Bronx Democrats aim to be inclusive. “We are a big-tent organization. We encourage different views,” he said.
Bailey said he looks forward to the incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani, —which the Bronx Democrats supported— as well as a strong emphasis on affordability in the city. “I want people to be able to live well,” not just scrape by, he said.
Overall, the evening seemed to achieve the goal of bringing together card-carrying Democrats, the Democratic-curious, and anyone looking to become more active in their community.
“Everybody in this room may not agree on everything, but they can agree tonight that they came in peace and with purpose, for the purposes of having a united Bronx,” Bailey said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
