Crowley concedes Queens borough president race
Queens lawmker introduces legislation to prohibit use of
psychoactive drugs to force zoo animals to procreate
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JULY 23-JULY 29, 2021 15
BY JULIA MORO
Jackson Heights Assemblywoman
Jessica González-
Rojas and Brooklyn state Sen.
Jabari Brisport recently introduced
Johari’s Law, a new
law that would make the use
of psychoactive drugs to force
animals to have sex illegal.
This bill was introduced in
response to a New York Times
article that outlines how zoos
use psychoactive drugs to
manage animals in captivity.
The article uncovered details
of a female gorilla named
Johari who would fight off the
male she was placed with to
procreate.
The zoo then dosed
her with Prozac until she
surrendered to the male.
The legislators wanted to
create a law that would protect
animals like Johari and
prevent facilitated sexual
violence with drugs meant to
treat mental health illnesses.
“What happened to Johari
is state-sanctioned sexual violence
on vulnerable animals
who are harmed because of
our capitalistic desire to entertain
people at the expense
of other species,” González-
Rojas said.
Brisport said animals
should be protected just as
humans are from forced sex
with the use of drugs. The bill
is also supported by animal
rights groups like the Voters
for Animal Rights, Last
Chance for Animals and Four
Paws.
“The fact that zoos are
drugging animals in order to
breed them demonstrates just
how abusive these archaic institutions
are both physically
and psychologically for nonhuman
animals,” said Matthew
Dominguez, a political
adviser for Voters for Animal
Rights.
The bill is currently in
committee before it gets voted
on by the state Senate and Assembly.
If the bill passes and
is signed into law by Governor
Andrew Cuomo, it will go into
effect immediately.
BY BILL PARRY
Elizabeth Crowley conceded
in the Democratic primary
race for Queens borough president
on Friday, July 16, nearly
four weeks after the June 22
election.
Incumbent Borough President
Donovan Richards previously
declared victory on
July 6, and the city’s Board of
Elections (BOE) certified the
election results.
“With the BOE opening and
counting the final ballots yesterday,
it has become clear that
the numbers are just not there
for us to win the democratic
nomination,” Crowley said.
“This is not the result we were
hoping for, but looking back,
I feel incredibly proud of the
campaign we ran.”
The former city councilwoman
ran against her former
colleague Richards in
last year’s special election to
replace Melinda Katz, who
vacated the office to take over
as Queens District Attorney.
Crowley lost to Richards by
12,000 votes but closed the gap
considerably in the primary.
“First, I owe a huge thank
you to all those that made this
campaign possible: my staff
who worked long hours and late
nights to put us in a position to
win, all of our volunteers who
braved the cold to gather petitions
in March and the het to
knock on door in June, and to
everyone who made a contribution
that allowed us to run
a true grassroots campaign,”
Crowley said.
On Tuesday, July 13, Crowley
spoke at a City Hall Park
celebration for 21 in ‘21, the
advocacy group she co-founded
in 2017 with a goal of getting
more women elected to
the City Council. According
to the unofficial results from
the city’s Board of Elections,
the City Council is now poised
to have as many as 30 women
elected to serve, 26 of whom
are women of color.
“This was a truly historic
election, held in the midst of a
pandemic and post pandemic
recovery,” Crowley said on
July 16. “Voters knew what
was at stake and voted in record
numbers with almost
200,000 Queens residents casting
a ballot in this race, more
than we have seen in generations,
and I am proud that we
received 49.7 percent of their
votes in the final round.”
After he declared victory,
Richards shocked many by
posting “We beat your racist
ass” on Twitter followed by
a cryptic reference to Black
Lives Matter.
The following day, Richards
was unapologetic in a
statement to QNS.
“Since our victory in the
June 2020 Democratic primary,
Ms. Crowley has repeatedly
insinuated that she would
have won if not for the death of
George Floyd and the ensuing
Black Lives Matter movement
across our country,” Richards
said.C
rowley said she was “extremely
disappointed by the
slanderous and untruthful remarks
made by” Richards.
On July 16, Crowley appeared
to make reference to
the episode.
“Politics is a tough business,
and it can bring out the
worst in some, but running
in this race showed me once
again how much we all have
in common,” Crowley said in
conclusion. “Although I am
conceding this race, I assure
you that I am optimistic about
the future of Queens, and I will
continue to work for a stronger
Queens for our families.”
Richards will now face
Republican Thomas Zmich
of Bayside, a Gulf War veteran
and retired construction
manager and union leader
who mounted a challenge to
Congresswoman Grace Meng.
Zmich previously ran a campaign
with an agenda that
included promoting constitutional
rights, support for law
enforcement, and implementing
a nationwide civics accountability
course for high
school students.
“We’ve worked hard
throughout these first months
in office to ensure that every
Queens resident is represented
at Borough Hall, and we will
continue to make sure that the
diversity of our borough is represented.
Now we must work
together to build a Queens that
works for everyone,” Richards
said.
Elizabeth Crowley conceded in the Democratic primary race for
Queens borough president on July 16. File photos
Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas
Photo by Kisha Bari
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNYnews PoliticsNY.com PoliticsNYnews
/QNS.COM
/PoliticsNY.com
