Manhattan, NY – Despite Scandal, Crowd Comes Out for Rangel Birthday Bash

Manhattan, NY – It was a dramatic but fitting start to an evening that brimmed with political defiance. About 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, as guests began strolling into the Plaza Hotel to celebrate Representative Charles B. Rangel’s 80th birthday, former Mayor David N. Dinkins turned to confront a heckler.

“You know you are attending a party for a crook,” the man yelled.

At that, Mr. Dinkins, a paragon of statesmanship and dignity, raised his middle finger at the man, displaying it for all to see, witnesses said.

In the past few weeks, Mr. Rangel’s birthday fund-raiser, billed by its organizers as a splashy tribute to a titan of New York politics, seemed to have become an embarrassing debacle.

Democratic lawmakers agonized about showing up. Republicans threatened to turn an R.S.V.P. into a campaign issue. And Mr. Rangel, whose actual birthday is June 11, all but pleaded with would-be guests to make an appearance.

But in the end, the party was a potent display of support and loyalty for the lawmaker, who faces numerous ethics charges, including accusations that he hoarded rent-stabilized apartments and dodged taxes on a Dominican villa.

The big names that mingled amid heaping plates of roast beef, goat cheese and onion rings vastly outnumbered those who bailed out. And a raucous, at times celebratory, mood prevailed as Dionne Warwick belted out her famous pop ballad “That’s What Friends Are For” and Harry Belafonte rubbed elbows with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Mr. Rangel seemed to capture the spirit of the event when he looked out at the packed Grand Ballroom and shouted, “This damn sure ain’t no funeral, is it?”

The timing of Mr. Rangel’s party could not have been worse for many Democrats across the state: they face a brutal campaign climate. Many complained that the timing of the party — a few weeks before the party’s primary — had forced them to choose between their allegiance to a venerable colleague and their own shot at re-election this fall.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, some chose re-election. A number of Mr. Rangel’s fellow New York lawmakers skipped the party, offering a range of explanations. (Representative John Hall said he needed to march in a local firefighters’ parade, and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney said she had to visit family in Virginia.)

But the intense speculation about an anemic turnout seemed to embolden rather than deflate Mr. Rangel, who appeared determined to prove the naysayers wrong. His staff recorded an automated phone message, which it delivered to dozens of invitees, pleading with them to attend. “Hi. This is Charlie Rangel,” the message said. “I’m sorry I missed you, but I’m calling to let you know that there’s a birthday party.”

Mr. Rangel personally lobbied a few high-profile guests, telling them he was counting on them to show up, according to people told of the conversations. It seemed to pay off. The state’s senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, and the state attorney general and Democratic nominee for governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, who had relentlessly dodged questions about their attendance, showed up and spoke warmly about Mr. Rangel, steering clear of the ethics charges against him.

“He has fought for New York through thick and thin,” Mr. Schumer said, as Mr. Rangel stood nearby on a stage. “We are so grateful and thankful for that.”

On Wednesday night, Mr. Rangel’s campaign issued a defiant and gloating message on Twitter, declaring that “despite what the media wants you to believe,” the party had sold out. A spokesman for Mr. Rangel said that he had sold 800 tickets and that about 600 people had attended.

The soiree doubled as a fund-raiser — tickets started at $200 — and a crucial test of Mr. Rangel’s appeal as a candidate. Traditionally a prodigious fund-raiser, he has struggled in the latest election cycle. He has spent far more than he has brought in, and has $517,000 left in his account, far more than his four opponents, but hardly a formidable war chest.

But it appeared that in their rush to corral guests, Mr. Rangel’s aides invited some people who gave no money at all. Miriam Berger and her husband, Meir, who live in Bergen County, N.J., said they were invited at the last minute by Mr. Rangel’s chief of staff, but were not asked to give a donation. “They really wanted people here,” Ms. Berger said.

Of course, hundreds of donors turned out, as well, many of them longtime Rangel loyalists who said they had tired of reading about Mr. Rangel’s troubles and felt compelled to be by his side. “It’s a show of support,” said Dorothy Watson, a retired foreign-service worker who said she had lived in his district for decades and had attended his birthday party every year.

Many guests, explaining their decision to go, said it was a matter of pride: Mr. Rangel’s and those of his constituents. “I am not going to be the guy who kicks him when he is down,” said John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of the Gristedes food chain in New York.

Mr. Rangel is a proud and pugnacious man, known for his testy exchanges with colleagues and reporters. But it is clear that the investigation and the growing calls for him to step down have left him rattled. On Tuesday, in an extraordinary display of vulnerability and emotion on the floor of the House, Mr. Rangel acknowledged the pain that the ethics investigations have inflicted on him and his party. “I don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed, awkward,” he said, at times staring at the floor.

Friends said he was deeply dismayed that some of his colleagues had skipped the party, especially those who had benefited from his generosity. Mr. Rangel singled them out during his speech in the House. “As much as I love you Democrats,” he said, “I’m the guy who was raising money in Republican districts to get you here.”

Midway through Mr. Rangel’s House speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi abruptly left the floor and huddled with her aides.

On Wednesday, however, in the gilded, two-story ballroom at the Plaza, signs of loyalty were everywhere. When Ms. Warwick turned to Mr. Rangel and began to sing “That’s What Friends Are For,” the entire crowd joined in with her.