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Nolan endorses Sunnyside attorney as successor
BY BILL PARRY
Former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley launched
her campaign for the state
Senate in an email message to
her supporters. The candidate
made it official after recently
filing to run for the newly
created 17th Senate District,
which encompasses large
parts of western Queens and
part of Brooklyn.
The Glendale resident said
she was running to ensure
that “New York comes back
stronger” from the pandemic.
“As a single mom who is
raising her children in the district
and one with the experience
and proven track record,
we need a fighter who will address
affordability and build
opportunity,” Crowley wrote.
During her two terms on
the City Council, Crowley
represented the 30th District
which is largely contained in
the newly drawn Senate seat.
“This district unites
Brooklyn and Queens,” she
wrote. “As senator of the
newly formed district, which
covers the neighborhoods
of Greenpoint, Long Island
City, Sunnyside, Ridgewood,
Woodside, Maspeth, Glendale,
Woodhaven and Richmond
Hill, I will focus on jobs, expanded
transit, housing and
improving our schools.”
Crowley told QNS that she
always championed policies
that benefit families and workers,
and that her record speaks
for itself.
“In the Council, I addressed
the challenge of being in the
most overcrowded school district
in the city by partnering
to build the most robust local
school capacity plan,” Crowley
said. “Together we created
over 6,000 new classroom seats
in nine years, which was the
first school built in Ridgewood
in 100 years.”
Among her other accomplishments
TIMESLEDGER | Q 16 NS.COM | MARCH 4 - MARCH 10, 2022
while on the Council,
Crowley points to two
significant victories in the
Ridgewood area.
“I secured a NYC Landmarks
designation of 1100
buildings in Ridgewood, creating
three contiguous historic
districts and the largest in
Queens,” Crowley said. “I partnered
with NYC Parks and
NYS Environmental Conservation
to restore and preserve
the Ridgewood Reservoir, now
a 50-plus-acre destination.”
Crowley lost her bid for
a third term when she went
against current Councilman
Robert Holden in 2017. She came
in second in the 2020 special
election to replace Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz
when she stepped down to become
Queens district attorney.
Current Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards won
that special election and then
held off Crowley last year to win
a full term at Borough Hall.
“This Senate seat is an opportunity
to bring much-needed
resources to a district that
unites Brooklyn and Queens,
and as senator, I will focus
on jobs, expanded transit,
housing and improving our
schools,” Crowley said.
Democratic Socialists of
America member Kristen
Gonzalez was the first to announce
a run for the newly
drawn Senate District 17.
The Democratic Primary is
scheduled for June 28, 2022.
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
BY BILL PARRY
Two weeks after announcing she will
retire after 38 years in office, Assemblywoman
Cathy Nolan has endorsed
attorney Johanna Carmona to succeed
her in the race to represent District 37 in
Albany.
The 32-year-old lawyer is a lifelong
resident of Sunnyside having grown up
across from Noonan Playground and
now lives on 41st Street in the same
neighborhood.
Carmona worked in the Kings County
district attorney’s office dealing with
special victims, including children before
she went to work for law firms that
have helped 9/11 first responders, workers
and survivors. She also further pursued
litigation against sexual predators.
“Johanna is someone who does the
hard work that makes a difference,”
Nolan said. “She will continue work
on issues like paid family leave, which
needs additional support in Albany. She
supports funding for transportation,
education and the labor movement. She
knows what needs to be done to help
our families and students, support our
neighborhoods and rebuild our city and
state. I am proud and happy to endorse
Johanna Carmona to be our new assemblywoman.”
If elected, the daughter of Colombian
immigrants would become the
first Latina to represent the district
that encompasses Sunnyside, Long Island
City, parts of Astoria, Maspeth and
Ridgewood. Carmona is a member of
Community Board 2 and volunteers as a
bilingual leader to improve police-community
relations with the 108th Precinct
Community Council.
“I love western Queens, and have volunteered
to give back to a community
that has done so much for me,” Carmona
said. Before attending Queens of Angels
School in Sunnyside, Carmona had to
overcome adversity as a child when her
mother suffered a life-altering stroke.
Carmona and her twin sister, Estefany,
were just 3 years old. It created a difficult
financial burden for the family, which
led to their father working multiple jobs,
including cleaning medical offices and
as an assistant machine operator at a
printing company. The local community
rallied around the Carmona family and
supported their efforts to ensure the two
girls had educational opportunities.
Now she firmly “believes in giving
back to the community that raised her,”
by fighting for housing, LGBTQIA, disability
and women’s rights as well as
environmental justice, especially at the
nearby Newtown Creek. She is knowledgeable
about the healthcare system,
understands its problems and knows “at
a deeply personal level” the community’s
healthcare system.
“Running for office will allow me to
do more for the people of our neighborhoods,”
Carmona said. “I am not a professional
politician, I am a person who
cares about what is happening in our
city and wants to make it better for everyone.
I pledge to serve with integrity
and deliver for our seniors, our veterans,
our children and our families.”
Carmona will likely face Maspeth
community leader Juan Ardila, Sunnyside
attorney James Magee and Long
Island City businessman Vlad Pavlyuk
in the Democratic primary on June 28.
JOHANNA CARMONA
ELIZABETH CROWLEY
Crowley announces state Senate bid in the
newly drawn 17th District in western Queens
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