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Richards looks to hold off Republican challenger
Zmich in race for Queens borough president
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Bigwigs at the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey
announced plans to tap “outside
experts” to review the inlimbo
$2.1 billion AirTrain proposal
for LaGuardia Airport
after Governor Kathy Hochul
asked the agency to pause the
project last week.
“We will consult with outside
experts and stakeholders
as we carry out this review,”
Port Authority Executive
Director Rick Cotton told reporters
following the agency’s
monthly board meeting on Oct.
21. “Our plan is to carry out
this review as expeditiously as
possible, consistent with our
commitment to carry it out at
the absolutely highest level of
quality.”
The head of the bi-state
entity remained tightlipped
about any details of the review
— such as who the consultants
would be, a timeline for the
study, or whether the rail project
pushed by disgraced ex-
Governor Andrew Cuomo still
had any chance of survival.
“What we’re going to do
right now is do the study, and
we’re going to cross all future
bridges when we get to them,”
he said at the press conference.
“All elements of the review are
currently under development
and are part of the planning
process for the overall review.”
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.20 COM | OCT. 29 - NOV. 4, 2021
The Authority hit the
brakes on the rail project on
Oct. 12 at the request of Hochul,
who wants the agency to examine
alternative mass transit options
to the Queens airport.
Cotton said as recently as
Sept. 30 that the 2.3-mile elevated
AirTrain between LaGuardia
and the Mets-Willets Point
stations on the subway’s 7 line
and the Long Island Rail Road
was the best way forward.
But on Oct. 21, he struck a
different tone, refusing to say
whether he still believed in the
pricey plan. Cotton instead repeatedly
gave a variety of the
same prepared response when
pressed by reporters.
“The framework is what I
said at the beginning, and what
I said at the beginning of this
question and answer: Governor
Hochul asked the Port Authority
to carry out a careful
and thorough study of alternatives,”
he said. “That is what we
intend to do. We intend to do it
expeditiously and we intend to
do it rigorously.”
Opponents of the plan have
long criticized the train for not
offering a one-seat ride to Manhattan
and for taking passengers
headed to the island the
wrong way east before transferring
to mass transit.
Alternative proposals have
included extending the N/W
subway line, building out better
bus service or launching a
ferry.
BY JULIA MORO
Queens residents will be
deciding between Democratic
incumbent Donovan Richards
and former Oath Keepers
member Thomas Zmich
for Queens borough president
in the Nov. 2 general election.
Richards was the first
Black man elected to be
Queens borough president
last year after his predecessor,
Melinda Katz, took office
as the district attorney. He
also formerly served as a City
Council member for District
31, representing southeast
Queens.
After a tight Democratic
primary this past June, Richards
beat former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley
with razor-thin margin of
about 0.6%, garnering 92,222
votes to Crowley’s 91,153
votes.
When results came in,
Richards claimed Crowley,
the cousin of former Congressman
Joe Crowley — who
was defeated by Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez — was
racist.
Richards tweeted about
his opponent, saying,
“@ElizCrowleyNYC told me
she would win, because BLM
would die? What’s good now?”
“We beat your racist ass,”
Richards tweeted.
In the general election,
Richards is up against Republican
candidate Zmich, who
was recently reported to be
a former member of the Oath
Keepers, a far-right, anti-government
organization. Zmich
admitted he belonged to the
militia group before the New
York chapter dissolved.
However, when asked
to comment on his involvement,
he pointed a finger at
Richards for a trip he took to
Ukraine this month.
“It is already known that I
do not belong to that organization
anymore over three
years ago,” Zmich wrote in
an email to QNS. “You should
be investigating how and who
paid for the complimentary
Ukraine trip that Richards
took this month. What city
business was he doing over
there to justify the approval
for this free trip.”
Richards traveled to
Ukraine this month to commemorate
the 80th anniversary
of the Babi Yar Massacre
when Nazis killed nearly
100,000 people during World
War II. The trip was paid for
by the nonprofit Assembly of
Nationalities of Ukraine.
In addition to running on
the Republican party line,
Zmich is also running on the
Conservative party and Save
Our City party lines. He previously
ran for the U.S. House
of Representatives and lost to
Congresswoman Grace Meng.
Though Zmich said he is
no longer a member of the
far-right militia group, he apparently
had not completely
cut ties with the organization
since the Oath Keepers were
listed on the affiliations page
of his 2020 campaign website.
According to his former
congressional campaign site,
Zmich prioritizes national
security by “stopping illegal
immigrants from crossing
our borders,” the economy,
education and veterans.
Comparatively, Richards
prioritizes issues in line with
what Queens residents face
every day, like jobs, transportation
and healthcare access.
Early voting started Saturday,
Oct. 23, and will last
through Sunday, Oct. 31. Inperson
absentee ballot requests
can be made up until
Nov. 1. To find your poll site,
visit findmypollsite.vote.nyc.
Incumbent Donovan Richards (l.) is facing off with Thomas Zmich
(r.) for the Queens borough president seat in the Nov. 2 general
election. Photos courtesy of campaigns
Courtesy of the governor’s office
PA to consult ‘outside experts’ for LaGuardia
AirTrain as Cotton remains mum on review plan
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