Five candidates for Queens Borough President attended a forum in Douglaston on Jan. 4 Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Queens borough president forum showcases
candidates’ differing styles to similar stances
BY MAX PARROTT
One Queens Indivisible
hosted the first Queens borough
president forum of
2020 on Jan. 4 at Zion Episcopal
Church in Douglaston.
It was also the first forum
since Councilman Donovan
Richards nabbed the endorsement
of the Queens County
Democratic Party and Assemblywoman
Alicia Hyndman
dropped out.
The forum began with near
conformity between five candidates
on housing affordability,
went on to cover transportation
and community board
diversity, and closed with a
lightning round that ended
up splitting the candidates
on hot-button city issues that
don’t necessarily fall under
the purview of the office.
Asked about what how to
make Queens affordable for
working class residents, all
candidates agreed that new
residential development needs
to include more affordable
housing and higher levels of
affordability.
“I won’t approve any
ULURP application that does
not have deep affordability
and union work as part of that
application,” said Councilman
Costa Constantinides.
In her answer, former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley
connected Queens’ housing
crisis with a lack of transportation
infrastructure. She
pointed to the phenomenon of
families doubling or tripling
up in households because they
cannot afford to have their
own.
“Where are families doubling
up the most? Along the 7
train. They are not close to opportunities
and jobs,” she said,
alluding to her plan to revive
abandoned Long Island Rail
Road’s Lower Montauk branch
into a commuter line.
Throughout the forum,
Richards distinguished his
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.18 COM | JAN. 10-JAN. 16, 2020
answers by expounding to his
accomplishments as a Council
member in great detail.
On housing, he claimed that
every project that has come
to his Far Rockaway district
after the devastation of Hurricane
Sandy was 100 percent
affordable.
Richards style of answer
set a sharp contrast from that
of Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer, who tended to use his
answers to rail against various
state and municipal systems
from housing construction
subsidies to the state control
of the MTA.
“Most people who hear
about a new de Blasio affordable
housing plan have no faith
and confidence that it will actually
deliver affordable housing
to those who most need it,”
Van Bramer said.
On the other hand, Anthony
Miranda, the National
Latino Officers Association
chairman, stood out as the
only candidate on the stage
without a tenure as a City
Council member. He used this
bit of personal history to profess
his willingness to act as
a counterbalance on Council
members he sees as failing in
their duties.
Asked about how to diversify
community boards,
Miranda said that he would be
willing to push back against
Council members who have
not appointed new community
board members to reflect the
demographics of their council
district. He also claimed that
Queens members of the City
Council have failed to create
a unified vision of transportation
in the borough.
At the tail end of the forum,
the candidates answered a series
of lightning round questions,
which limited them to
a “yes” or “no” answer. This
style of question put some distance
between the candidates’
answers.
The first of these asked
whether they were in favor
of getting rid of cash bail — a
question that is sure to come
up again after former Assistant
District Attorney James
Quinn entered the race with
a platform that raises this as
a central plank. All responded
with “yes,” except for Crowley,
who said that it depends.
When asked about abolishing
the Specialized High
School Admissions Test, more
interesting differences arose.
Van Bramer and Crowley
said “no.” Miranda said “yes.”
Richards said yes, “but with
trepidation” and Costa, said
no but “also with trepidation.”
On the decriminalization of
sex work, all said “yes” except
Crowley. And on legalizing ebikes,
all said “yes” except for
Miranda who said “no,” and
Crowley who tentatively said
she’s “open.”
Reach reporter Max Parrott
by e-mail at mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260-2507.
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