The Community First Republican Club held its monthly meeting on Feb. 19 at 2101 East 16th St., welcoming a slate of candidates and issuing its first political endorsements of the election season. The event was led by the club’s president—also chief adviser to State Senator Steve Chan—and featured remarks from Ari Kagan, a former New York City Council member (2022–2023). Among the candidates in attendance was Karuna Beritaeva, running for the New York State Assembly in the 47th District, along with New York State Assemblyman Misha Novakhov. The program also included presentations by David Ben Hooren, publisher and founder of The Jewish Voice.
At a meeting of the Community First Republican Club, Ari Kagan took the floor to introduce Saritha Komatireddy, describing her as a candidate preparing to run for New York State Attorney General and, as he put it, to challenge Letitia James. Kagan said he was increasingly impressed as he learned more about her background and urged that her message reach broad audiences, including Russian-language media, Jewish media, and the general public.
Komatireddy opened by introducing herself and sharing biographical details. She said she was born in Brooklyn, and that her parents moved there in the 1980s and lived in Coney Island. She then outlined her professional résumé, stating that she served for more than a decade as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn in the Eastern District of New York. She said she pursued that path after the September 11 attacks and described her work as focused on public safety, including cases she characterized as involving leaders of al-Qaeda and ISIS, as well as efforts targeting Mexican drug cartels. She also said she previously served as chief of staff at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and noted that President Donald Trump nominated her to be a federal judge.
The core of her remarks centered on law enforcement and public safety in New York. Komatireddy argued that “basic” enforcement is not being carried out at the state and local levels, saying repeat offenders are remaining on the streets and that officials are not enforcing the law or supporting law enforcement. She claimed that New Yorkers increasingly feel unsafe and asserted that crime has risen during Letitia James’s tenure, citing what she described as figures on the state’s own website. Komatireddy said her campaign’s focus would be prosecuting crime, addressing homelessness and mental health through care rather than leaving people on the streets, and pursuing corruption and fraud.
She closed by asking attendees to support her campaign financially, emphasizing that the number of donors matters for qualifying for state matching funds, and that even small contributions can help. After her remarks, the discussion in the room continued along similar lines, with participants criticizing current priorities and returning to the meeting’s central theme: that the attorney general’s office should focus on public safety and consistent enforcement of the law.
At the February gathering of the Community First Republican Club in Brooklyn, Ari Kagan introduced Ruslan Shamal, who announced he is running for the New York State Senate. Kagan told attendees that Shamal is challenging State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton of Staten Island, whom he characterized as aligned with the Democratic Party’s agenda. Kagan described Shamal as a political newcomer who lives on Staten Island, noting that Shamal previously drew roughly 20% as an independent candidate and said he is now moving closer to support from the Republican and Conservative parties. Kagan added that he knows Shamal as a professional journalist with a strong sense of humor. Taking the microphone, Shamal introduced himself as a state senate candidate and shared personal background. He said he was born in Brooklyn and came to the United States decades ago, starting his life in Brooklyn before relocating to Staten Island after having children because he viewed it as a safer place to raise a family. He told the room he has two children, ages 11 and 7. Shamal emphasized that he is not a career politician and framed his candidacy as rooted in day-to-day experience. As an example, he said he recently purchased a business on Staten Island’s North Shore—a doggy daycare—but has been unable to open it for several months due to regulatory requirements and delayed paperwork, despite continuing to pay rent. He used the story to argue that running a small business in New York is difficult under Democratic governance. In the political portion of his remarks, Shamal said he does not believe in the concept of “good Democrats,” arguing that the party’s moderates ultimately vote with leadership to keep their seats. He urged supporters to compete aggressively across races, in the same way Democrats field candidates and organize for elections. During the discussion, Shamal was asked to describe the district. He said it spans a large area on both sides of the bridge, referencing Staten Island’s North Shore near the ferry and, on the Brooklyn side, neighborhoods including Sea Gate, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. He noted that covering such a geographically split district would require extensive travel between Staten Island and Brooklyn. He closed by asking for help from the audience, describing this as his first run with an organized volunteer effort and appealing for support to build out the campaign.
New York election 2026
Community First Republican Club Spotlights Judicial Race, Backs Etan Harris for Civil Court
At the February meeting of the Community First Republican Club in Brooklyn, Ari Kagan introduced Etan Harris, a candidate for Civil Court Judge in Southern Brooklyn. Kagan framed the race as unusually significant because, as he put it, many people assume judges in Brooklyn can only be elected as Democrats. Drawing on his own experience as a former Democratic district leader who helped elect civil court judges in the same area, Kagan argued that this particular district is “very Republican,” but that Republicans historically failed to field a candidate—leaving voters with only Democrats on the general-election ballot. He told the room that this year, for the first time, there is a real opportunity to elect a Republican/Conservative candidate for judge in the Second Municipal District, and urged attendees to remember the name “Harris.”
Harris thanked the club and noted that he is endorsed by the Republican Party and the Conservative Party, while emphasizing that judicial candidates are not supposed to act as political figures. He described his campaign as being about giving voters a real choice for Civil Court Judge in a district he said runs from Sea Gate through Coney Island and Brighton Beach to Manhattan Beach, Mill Basin, Midwood, Gravesend, and parts of Flatbush—an area where he said he grew up and still lives nearby.
In outlining his background, Harris said he grew up in Gravesend, lives in the Sheepshead Bay area, and attended Syracuse Law School. He described early legal experience clerking and gaining exposure to judicial decision-making, followed by work with legal aid assisting low-income clients. He then cited 16 years of litigation practice in New York City, including landlord–tenant matters, personal injury, and broader civil litigation and trial work. Harris said he is running because he values the law and conflict resolution, and he described the civil court system as a way for people—citizens and non-citizens—to resolve disputes through legal process rather than through confrontation or improper means.
A major theme of Harris’s remarks was court efficiency. He argued that delayed justice can create hardship for litigants and said he would work, within the limits of the role, to make proceedings and orders move more quickly. He repeatedly returned to the point that the election should offer a genuine choice for judge, contrasting it with past ballots where voters effectively selected from a pre-filled list.
The session then shifted into a Q&A with attendees. Harris fielded questions about whether he would be dealing with violence-related cases, explaining that he is running for civil court, focused on monetary matters, but that some incidents involving violence can become civil lawsuits if they are within the court’s jurisdiction (he referenced matters below a dollar threshold). He was pressed on public-safety concerns and issues like theft and bail reform; Harris responded that as a judicial candidate he cannot offer advisory opinions or political views, and that he would follow and apply the law based on the facts and evidence in each case. He also answered questions about the size of his caseload over 16 years, saying he has handled hundreds of cases, and clarified that judicial campaigns do not operate like typical political campaigns—stating he cannot solicit donations and does not have a matching-funds structure like other races.
Heshy Tischler Speaks at Community First Republican Club
At the February 19, 2026 meeting of the Community First Republican Club in Brooklyn, Ari Kagan introduced community activist Heshy Tischler, describing him as a relentless “fighter” who acts on conviction and keeps pushing for what he believes is right. Kagan told the room that, whatever people think of Tischler, they can agree on one point: he stands up for his community and doesn’t back down—qualities Kagan said are needed right now.
Tischler opened by identifying himself as “a Brooklyn boy” and launched into a personal story rooted in his family history. He spoke about his father, a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to the United States legally after the war, having lost most of his family. Tischler recounted a lesson his father shared with him as a teenager—an anecdote about betrayal and survival during the Holocaust, and a later moment in Brooklyn when a survivor encountered someone from the camps in a synagogue, leading to the revelation that a child had been saved. Tischler said his father framed the story as a moral charge: to do something in life so meaningful that “the angels will dance.”
From there, Tischler connected the story to his own identity and activism. He said he has spent decades helping people in the community and described himself as someone who steps in when others won’t. He cited his role during the COVID-era restrictions, claiming he helped reopen parks and defied lockdown measures that he believed were unjust, saying he faced repeated threats of arrest. He portrayed courage not as the absence of fear, but as standing up to what he called “tyrants,” and said he has consistently supported soldiers, police, and individuals in crisis—including people coming out of jail who have nowhere to go.
Tischler then pivoted to current local politics and quality-of-life issues. He criticized city policies affecting homeowners and landlords, argued that mismanagement by city government harms ordinary New Yorkers, and described himself as deeply familiar with housing conditions through years of hands-on work in apartments. He also said he was actively helping Etan Harris (the civil court judge candidate presented earlier) with petitioning, promising to deliver significant signature support to secure ballot access.
In a more explicitly political segment, Tischler addressed internal Republican dynamics, saying he had wanted to run for state senate and describing tensions around endorsements and competing candidacies within party structures. He argued that the district is winnable for Republicans and said he has learned how to run campaigns through experience. He presented himself as willing to do the hard, ground-level work—signatures, fundraising, and media—offering to bring candidates onto his platform and to mobilize whenever called upon.
He closed by stressing loyalty to the community and to his allies, saying he would support candidates who stand with him and that he remains ready to help with the practical mechanics of campaigning—petitions, fundraising, and turning out volunteers—so long as the party and candidates are prepared to fight for the district.
