Exonerated member of ‘Central Park Five’ wins primary, nearly assuring seat on NYC Council

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A member of the “Central Park Five” has won a Democratic primary for a seat on the New York City Council representing Central Harlem. Winning Tuesday’s primary all but assures Yusef Salaam of eventual victory. The Associated Press refrained from calling the race on election night but additional votes released Wednesday showed him to be the clear winner. Salaam prevailed over two political veterans: state Assembly members Al Taylor and Inez Dickens. Salaam was 15 when he was wrongly arrested in the rape and beating of a white woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. Salaam and four other Black and Latino teenagers were wrongly convicted and spent years in prison before they were exonerated.