Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz is catching heat after his campaign confirmed it took a $1,000 contribution in 2023 from Brad Karp, the longtime Paul Weiss lawyer whose name appears in newly unsealed Justice Department emails tied to Jeffrey Epstein. The campaign now says it has effectively washed its hands of the money by sending an equivalent $1,000 to the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center's Changing Futures program. That move has not quieted the critics, who are calling on Dinowitz to fully distance himself from the donation.
DOJ files and Karp's resignation
The Justice Department's recent document release included email exchanges between Karp and Epstein. One 2016 message shows Karp asking Epstein to help connect his son to filmmaker Woody Allen. Those disclosures triggered Karp's decision this month to step down as chair of Paul Weiss, according to The Guardian. Reporting on the release has emphasized that the documents show social and business contact and do not, on their face, allege criminal wrongdoing by Karp.
How the $1,000 wound up in Bronx politics
Dinowitz's campaign told The Riverdale Press that the $1,000 came in at a 2023 fundraiser and that no other donations from Karp were accepted. After Karp's name surfaced in the DOJ cache, the campaign says it donated an equivalent $1,000 to the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and directed it specifically to the Changing Futures program.
The community center confirmed receiving the money. Listings for Changing Futures describe it as a program that offers free, long-term mental health treatment for survivors of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and campus sexual assault, serving roughly 300 Bronx families each year, according to Lehman College.
Primary challenger pounces
Morgan Evers, who is challenging Dinowitz in the June primary, quickly seized on the disclosure. In a press release, Evers called on the assemblymember to return the money, arguing that known associates of Epstein should not be backing local leaders, according to Norwood News.
Dinowitz's campaign fired back, with a spokesperson dismissing the criticism as "silly mudslinging" and urging voters to focus instead on the assemblymember's record of delivering for the North Bronx, the outlet reported. In other words, the campaign's message is that this is a distraction, not a disqualifier.
Why this small check has big stakes
The Dinowitz controversy is part of a broader national wave of scrutiny that followed the DOJ's Epstein-file releases, which have already produced resignations and reputational damage for several people named in the documents. In that environment, even relatively small local donations have turned into political third rails.
Some observers say redirecting money to survivor services is only a partial fix that does not fully address the optics of taking the cash in the first place. Others counter that sending funds to programs like Changing Futures at least channels the money into immediate help for people directly affected by sexual violence. For a wider look at the fallout, see Business Insider.
Dinowitz's campaign told The Riverdale Press that the contribution had been made "within the last week" before the controversy came to light and that it had already redirected an equivalent $1,000 to the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center. Whether Bronx voters decide that is enough is likely to be a live question as the June primary draws closer.
