Rep. Mondaire Jones’ new Brooklyn neighbors fumed Monday about the “carpetbagger” broadcasting that he will barnstorm the country if he wins his Democratic primary— a planned multi-state “mission” he revealed even before moving to the area he is seeking to represent.
Jones, whose current seat covers most of Rockland County and part of Westchester, relocated to Brooklyn in early June after deciding to take his chances running for the newly reconfigured 10th Congressional District, which now runs from Lower Manhattan to Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and other parts of brownstone Brooklyn.
But before hiring movers or renting a truck, the former White Plains resident revealed on a podcast he will leave town to spread word about the Democratic agenda after the Aug. 23 contest.
“If you’re going to be involved, you need to stay there and be present,” Carroll Gardens Jones neighbor Joaquin Soto, 47, told The Post. “If you really want to help a community, you cannot do that remotely. That is just appalling.”
Soto, who has lived on Union Street for 12 years, stressed that it’s imperative for representatives to spend time among those they’re tasked with representing — and a failure to do so would show the politician is “looking after their own agenda.”
“If you want to contribute to the community, you have to be present. It makes no sense,” said Soto, a former tech worker. “That is irresponsible, that is someone looking after their own agenda.”
“They don’t think about us — the regular people,” said Nelson Martinez, the owner of a store on Court Street near Carroll Park, upon hearing about Jones’ past and planned whereabouts.
Martinez, 63, said that legislators establishing and maintaining presence in the area is “the only way they will care about the neighborhood.”
The Post reported Sunday that, before even moving to the Big Apple, Jones had the Peach State on his mind. On May 31 — a week before the date his rep reportedly said he moved to Brooklyn — the freshman lawmaker proclaimed in an interview that he will use his self-appointed role as a “leader in American politics” to try and boost Democratic candidates in Georgia, Arizona and elsewhere after the primary.
“I view my job between now and November as, after my primary is over, going to states where voter suppression laws have been enacted, and educating people about how to navigate those new laws,” he told Preet Bharara in a podcast episode released June 2.
The interview was recorded seven days before June 6, when he moved to Brooklyn, according to a New York Times story that cited his rep.
The interview indicated that Jones was preparing to traverse the country before schlepping his belongings to a Carroll Gardens apartment building — where city Board of Elections records show he on June 13 registered to vote and The Post spotted him Monday.
Jones — a 35-year-old first-term House member who in May announced the swap from the suburbs to the five boroughs— explained to the former federal prosecutor that helping fellow Democrats in other states is a key component of his “project as a leader in American politics.”
“It’s not just to legislate, that’s not the way I view my job,” he said.
Defending the post-primary traveling, a campaign rep previously told The Post, “As Rep. Jones has shown by crisscrossing the district and all of New York City, he is on a mission to deliver progressive results for New Yorkers any way he can, and yes that includes helping protect the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.”
But Brooklynites weren’t buying it.
“I’m not crazy about it,” said Charles Cole, a 65-year-old Park Slope resident.
“[Bill] de Blasio for all his faults — I’m not a big de Blasio fan — but I know he knows Park Slope,” he said of the ex-mayor, who represented the neighborhood in the City Council in the aughts. “He’s lived here forever.”
The 61-year-old de Blasio — who returned last month to Park Slope after staying at a hotel while his home underwent renovations — is one of more than a dozen candidates seeking to represent the lower Manhattan-Brooklyn House seat. Along with Jones and de Blasio, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera are competing for the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 23 primary election.
Cole, a stockbroker, told The Post that Jones “is not really on my radar” while he mulls over whom to vote for later this summer.
“He’s not someone I would be voting for anyway,” he said. “I’m not crazy for the idea of someone moving to an area for a position.”
“I need to go through the list of 15 or whatever candidates, but he isn’t even on my top five,” Cole added. “It should be someone who knows the area.”
A 5th Avenue resident in his thirties who declined to be named said living in the area for two months isn’t enough to be elected to represent it in the House of Representatives and cast doubt on Jones’ intentions.
“I feel like he should be in the community,” he said. “He didn’t move to Brooklyn to live in Brooklyn. He moved to Brooklyn to run.”
“I wouldn’t vote for him knowing that,” the Park Slope resident added. “That seems very illogical and opportunistic.”
His partner, who also declined to be identified by name, lamented, “It sounds like he’s using New York [City] for the notoriety [and for] his career.”
“It doesn’t look good,” she added. “I wouldn’t vote for him.”
A 38-year-old woman enjoying her July 4 holiday in a small park explained, “New Yorkers should be the ones doing this job. They know what locals want.”
The 19-year Brooklyn resident who currently lives in Park Slope predicted that her politically plugged-in neighbors would not be inclined to back Jones next month.
“Park Slopers, the level of education here is like some college,” she quipped. “They are going to do their research.”
“Believe me, Park Slopers are quiet, but they will do their research.”
Some New Yorkers in Lower Manhattan were similarly skeptical.
Arnie Segarra, a political consultant who lives in West Village, expressed unequivocal opposition to Jones’ candidacy.
“He’s a carpetbagger. He’s smart but he won’t win. I think it’s unfortunate that he moved into a district where there are some highly, highly-qualified candidates,” he told The Post while sitting on a bench in Father Demo Square.
Segarra, who served as special assistant to Mayor David Dinkins, noted that he holds no negative feelings about the Nyack native who represents the Big Apple’s suburbs — but questioned the wisdom of competing in a race miles away from his current constituency.
“I like him. He’s a smart individual, and from what I understand, has a decent voting record,” said the 80-year-old. “To move from one district … to another where there are some highly-qualified candidates … that’s my issue here.”
