Simcha Felder Financed By Gowanus Canal Dumper, Records Show

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — State Senator Simcha Felder has taken thousands of dollars from campaign donors who dumped waste into the Gowanus Canal and faced criminal charges for the theft of $500,000 in oil from a Brooklyn terminal, state records show.

Felder, the Democrat state senator facing off Thursday in a primary against Blake Morris for District 17, has raised $510,910 thanks in part to large donations from local business owners whose checkered pasts have made headlines in Brooklyn.

The wife of Jacob Marmurstein — the owner of the bus company MCIZ Corporation who was fined $482,750 for dumping motor oil and waste into Gowanus Canal — donated $1,800 to the state senator's campaign, records show.

Rita Marmurstein, who co-chairs The Yacov and Rita Marmurstein Charitable Foundation Trust with her husband, was also named in a Forward report about allegations the Marmursteins had been segregating passengers by gender and making women sit at the back of their buses.

Alfred Schonberger —the owner of senior living centers DNAinfo reported that were forced to pay $200,000 for a wrongful death suit over a choking and $75,000 in unpaid wages to employees in The Bronx — donated $5,500 to Felder's campaign, records show.

Felder's campaign also received $2,500 from Peter D’Arco, the owner of SJ Fuel in Staten Island who was charged with stealing $500,000 worth of heating oil from a Brooklyn terminal in 2016.

Felder's office and campaign contributors did not immediately respond to Patch's requests for comment.

About 16 real estate limited liability companies have donated more than $62,000 to Felder's campaign and the department store Century 21 donated $10,000, records show.

In contrast, Felder's progressive challenger Blake Morris has only managed to raise about $91,560 with his largest contribution of $9,109 coming from himself and $5,050 coming from his wife Ann, state records show.

Morris' other major donors are author James Gleick, who donated $1,000, Bernie Sanders' former roommate Stephen Slavin, who donated $8,000, and the property service union 32BJ SEIU which donated $5,000.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that an insurance company representing Schonberger's senior center facilities, and not he personally, was the subject of a wrongful death suit.

Photo courtesy of the New York State Senate