Black Woman Ready to Roll in NYC Mayoral Race

• Mayoral Rival is on Island to Win Dominicans at Home

She came bearing vitamins, toys and good will from the borough of Manhattan, home to thousands of relatives of the people of this island nation. But the visit Friday by C. Virginia Fields, the Manhattan borough president, comes as she prepares a run for mayor and joins the jockeying already under way for support in a community that is considered more in play in this year's race for City Hall. Ms. Fields kept a whirlwind schedule here in the Dominican Republic, dispensing prenatal vitamin pills at health clinics and hospitals, meeting business and community leaders and attending a reception at the largest university here. Months ahead of the election, the candidates are making their interest in Dominicans clear. According to the Census Bureau, there are more than 530,000 people of Dominican ancestry in New York. Although many do not vote, they still represent one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the city. Ms. Fields's visit underscored the extent to which she could complicate the plans of Fernando Ferrer, a Puerto Rican and former Bronx borough president who is trying to become the city's first Latino mayor. In an interview, Ms. Fields acknowledged that she and Mr. Ferrer had met last week and, although no formal agreement was signed, she said with a laugh, they agreed that attacking each other could divide Democrats and could jeopardize the party's chances of retaking City Hall. [more]

• Ferrer Flip Flopping Already. Mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer told a police group yesterday the cop shooting of Amadou Diallo was a tragedy and not a crime — a far cry from 1999, when he joined other prominent New Yorkers outside Police Headquarters to protest the shooting. [more] and [more]
• DIALLO MOM RIPS FREDDY FLIP-FLOP  Kadiatou Diallo, Mr. Diallo's mother, said in a telephone interview from her home in Gaithersburg, Md., when told what Mr. Ferrer had said. "I am surprised to hear he said that because he was among the people in the community who stood with us and asked for justice for Amadou." [more] "I'm very surprised and hurt. What happened to my son was a crime that went unpunished," Kadiatou Diallo told The Post. [more]
• Pictured: Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields who has advocated against Police raids and established a hot line for victims of faulty Police no-knock raids in 2003. [more] and [more] and Saikou Diallo, father of slain Amadou Diallo, sits on the stairs on Monday January 29, 2001, near the Bronx, NY, apartment door, background left, where his son was shot 41 times by 4 New York City police officers in 1999.