Queens borough president candidates talk protests,
COVID-19 and more in virtual debate ahead of primary
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 19-25, 2020 5
BY JACOB KAYE
The five candidates vying
for the Democratic nomination
for Queens borough president
gathered on a virtual stage
for a debate hosted by QNS on
Thursday, June 11.
Councilmen Donovan Richards
and Costa Constantinides,
former Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley, retired NYPD
sergeant Anthony Miranda
and businessman Dao Yin
shared their views on the recent
protests over the death of
George Floyd, their plans for
the COVID-19 recovery and
the direction of development
across the borough.
Protests over the killing
of George Floyd
Moderated by Jacob Kaye,
the digital editor of QNS; Angélica
Acevedo, a QNS reporter;
and Karmina Fonseca, the
editor-in-chief of El Correo,
the debate began with a discussion
about the myriad protests
sparked by the police killing of
Floyd.
While Richards, Constantinides,
Crowley and Miranda
all expressed their desire
to change the way policing
is done in New York City,
Yin, who is running on a law
and order platform, took a
different view.
“I’m in favor of peaceful
protests. However, many of
the protests have provoked the
police,” Yin said. “The police
have tremendous self control.”
Crowley, who doesn’t support
defunding the police,
advocated for better training
and the recruitment of a more
diverse police force.
“Law enforcement in New
York City and across the country
has, for generations, institutional
racism,” Crowley
said. “It has plagued law enforcement
and we need to do
better as a society.”
Miranda, who spent his career
in law enforcement, said
that he would advocate for
measures to hold the police accountable,
including changes
to the disciplinary process.
“There is an opportunity
right now, because we have
such an awakening of the
people, to create the changes
we have been long advocating
for,” Miranda said. “Police
reform is necessary, police accountability,
absolutely.”
Richards, the only Black
candidate running for the
seat, recounted his first negative
encounter with the police
— being stopped and frisked at
the age of 13 — and called for
stronger community policing
measures, citing the building
of a new precinct in his
district that will be equipped
with a food pantry and a
community center.
“As we talk about merging
the relationship between
a police department and our
communities, one way to do
that is to ensure that we can
coexist, learn from one another
and learn about each
other,” Richards said. “We’re
not here to condemn an entire
department, but we do want to
condemn the actions of those
who are costing the city $237
million a year in settlement
claims.”
Constantinides expressed
views most similar to that of
the protesters. The councilman
spoke about removing the
NYPD from schools and from
monitoring the turnstiles of
subway stations.
“We’ve been using the police
as bandaids when instead
we should be de-escalating
situations,” Constantinides
said. “We need to reimagine
not just policing but how our
city works.”
The coronavirus
recovery process
Candidates then began to
discuss the COVID-19 recovery
process.
Crowley, whose campaign
has been focused on getting
Queens its “fair share” prior
to the coronavirus, said that
the borough’s infrastructure
is to blame for its high number
of cases and that hospitals,
housing transportation must
be addressed to prevent other
disastrous pandemics.
“We need to put a plan together
to attract more private
hospitals and to expand our
public hospitals, to look at our
existing hospitals and expand
their bed capacity,” Crowley
said.
Miranda, who has touted
his non-politician status the
entire campaign, blamed
current elected officials in
Queens for not mobilizing a
cohesive strategy to deal with
the pandemic before, during
and after.
He also expressed his
disappointment in the inequitable
distribution of resources
to Queens, and particularly
to the Hispanic and
low-income communities within the
borough.
“We can’t afford to wait until
after something happens to
have real conversations about
the impact on our community,”
Miranda said. “We need to
have a borough president that
has the fight to represent us.”
Constantinides, who, along
with his wife, contracted
COVID-19, saw the impact of
the crisis up close.
“There needs to be a longterm
plan for the healthcare
of Queens. It can’t be building
temporary structures,” the
Astoria councilman said. “We
need to be building long-term
structures that are going to be
with us in Queens for the long
term to serve all of our residents.”
Yin, the only Asian-American
in the race, decried the increase
in racist attacks against
Asians in Queens. He also
leaned on his political outsider
status, and blamed current
elected officials for not fighting
for Queens’ healthcare
system prior to the COVID-19
crisis.
“My opponents have been
in politics for years and we
know that they have received
contributions from all types
of special interests and that’s
why our public health infrastructure
is falling apart,” Yin
said. “It’s time for new leadership.”
Richards began by lamenting
the loss of Amazon’s HQ2.
Had the company come to
Queens, he said, more jobs
would be available for struggling
Queens residents.
He also mentioned his existing
relationships with Governor
Andrew Cuomo and the
healthcare union, 1199 SEIU
– two relationships crucial
to improving healthcare in
Queens, he said.
“We’re going to have to
leverage our opportunity to
push developers to also think
about healthcare,” Richards
said.
Development in
the borough
With a handful of major
development projects in the
works, including the Long Island
City waterfront, Sunnyside
Yards and the LaGuardia
AirTrain, the candidates for
Queens borough president discussed
their stance on the direction
of development in the
borough.
Yin focused on his solution
for fixing the housing crisis
— eliminating tax credits for
luxury developments.
“Those tax credits should
go toward low- and middle-income
housing,” Yin said.
Miranda also came after
luxury development projects.
“We need to have a moratorium
on all luxury developments
right now,” Miranda
said. “There are too many
projects that have been pushed
forward with little to no community
input. So we need to go
back and make sure the community
is being heard.”
Crowley, who’s made a commitment
not to take campaign
contributions from for-profit
real estate development, said
the focus needs to shift from
luxury development to affordable
housing. She also touted
her transit plan, which would
open up access to Queens, she
said.
“Part of my master plan
for Queens is not only developing
in the proper areas
but also making sure that we
have a better transit system,”
Crowley said. “That means
keeping our express buses in
place, making our buses free
and taking our existing rail,
which is being underutilized,
and opening access to over 20
square miles of rail.”
Richards spoke about his
success in gathering community
support over a development
in Far Rockaway, something
that often is lacking in
New York City. This sort of
community engagement in
development projects, is something
he hopes to implement
if elected Queens borough
president.
“When you look at downtown
Far Rockaway it’s just
the template for what you need
to do to accomplish successful
development around the borough,”
Richards said.
Constantinides, who did
not support the deal New
York City made with Amazon,
closed out the debate by advocating
for a renewed focus on
creating real opportunities
for everyday Queens residents
and not on opportunities for
developers.
“We need to think about the
real residents of Queens,” Constantinides
said. “The 2.3 million
residents of Queens who
are hard working, who want
better jobs.”
The election for the Democratic
primary for Queens borough
president will take place
on June 23.
/QNS.COM
