Debra Schwartzben, Republican Candidate in CD4 Race, No Longer Actively Campaigning

In the East Side City Council District 4 race, Republican candidate Debra Schwartzben has suspended her campaign, the East Side Observer can exclusively report.

Schwartzben is “no longer running an active campaign,” according to the Manhattan Republican Party. Her name, however, remains on the ballot.

The political newcomer graduated from the University of Maryland in Aug. 2022. While there, she formed a student chapter of Turning Point USA, according to her Linkedin.com profile. We reached out to her but had not heard back. She lists her job as marketing coordinator at Fox and worked as a freelance worker on Republican Rob Astorino’s campaign for governor vs Andrew Cuomo in 2022.

The race for the seat held by term-limited Keith Powers now is seen as a contest between Democratic nominee Virginia Maloney and Kyle Athayde, an independent running on the Revive the East Side line. Maloney prevailed in a hotly contested six-candidate Democratic primary in June in the heavily Democratic district, which stretches from Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village zigs west to Times Square and then up the UES as far north as a single block on East 93rd Street.

Athayde has served on the East Side’s Community Board 6 for 10 years and was elected three times as one of the youngest community board chairs in NYC history from 2020 until term-limited from the role in 2024.

Athadye is backed by the Forward Party, a centrist political action committee founded by Andrew Yang.

Maloney, daughter of longtime Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, was born and raised on the East Side. She has been active in the Lexington Democratic Club and works for Meta.

At a campaign rally in Stuyvesant Town last week, several of the candidates Maloney defeated in June appeared with her including first runner-up Vanessa Aronson and Ben Wetzler, as well as Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who is on the Democratic line for citywide comptroller in November.

Earlier this month Sutton Area Community (SAC), which is located in CD4, held a candidate forum, moderated by SAC’s vice president, Pam Zonsius. Athayde and Maloney were there. Schwartzben was not. The forum, held at Sunrise56, a lush senior living residence, was standing room only. Athayde’s family was there. His mom, Joyce Caeiro-Athayde, is director of Integrated Care and Social Care Networks in the Bronx. His dad, Olav Athayde, a fundraiser, is retired. Kyle’s fiancée and his brother were also there. The Athaydes emigrated to New York in the 1980s and settled on the East Side where Kyle was born, raised, and educated.

Both candidates touted their commitment to the community. Before the casino proposed for the East Side was voted down, both candidates vigorously opposed it. Both said they favored more affordable housing and affordability in general.

SAC prides itself in what it does in and for the community, including:

Creating Green Spaces by planting and caring for the rose bush gardens along the curbside medians on First Avenue from 52nd to 59th Street.

Litter, by hiring dedicated individuals to clean up litter on that same stretch of First Avenue.

Graffiti Removal from the SAC neighborhood—buildings, gates, mailboxes, and lightboxes.

Safety Liaison—by working with the 17th Precinct and the FDNY.

SAC also sponsors candidate forums and collaborates with NYC agencies on various neighborhood issues and sponsors community events for the neighborhood including the Christmas Tree Lighting and more. In 2020, SAC’s president, Charles Coutinho, was the recipient of an OTTY award.