Farewell To Adolfo Carrion

It was announced on Thursday that Adolfo Carrion, Jr. will be headed to Washington to lead the White House Office of Urban Affairs, which President Obama created to focus federal investment in urban areas, primarily job creation, infrastructure and housing.

One of Mr. Carrion's last acts as Borough President was to deliver his final, farewell State of the Borough address, above. The Bronx News Network (formerly West Bronx Blog) has nice coverage of the event. Full text.

Mr. Carrion's new job will mean another ally for New York City and urban areas in general at the White House. It also leaves a job opening in the Bronx, for which heated competition is expected. The Bronx Democratic political establishment is somewhat in disarray after a protracted battle for the position of party leader. This article from the Times provides good overview of the current political landsacpe.