Jimmy Van Bramer announces bid
for Queens borough president
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
Long Island City Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer has
thrown his hat in the ring for
Queens borough president
once again.
The longtime City Council
member announced his bid
for the office on Jan. 19, with
a campaign video and a few
endorsements.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to reimagine
a city where working New
Yorkers get ahead. Families
across Queens are struggling
to pay rent and put food on
the table, now more than ever,
we need leadership willing
to challenge the status quo,”
Van Bramer said. “I’ve spent
my life taking on power, and
I know we can transform our
politics together. It’s time to
finally put small businesses
ahead of big corporations
that put profits before people.
Prioritize affordable housing
over big real estate. Reimagine
public safety and pour our
resources into a new economy,
rather than bailouts for
billionaires. That’s why I’m
running for Queens borough
president, and with your help,
we can make the world a more
just and fair place for us all.”
Van Bramer, who is termlimited
in his current position
as councilman of District
26, ran for Queens borough
president in last year’s special
election, which was held after
former Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz assumed
the role of district attorney.
He ended his campaign before
the primary, however, citing
personal reasons.
Donovan Richards, former
councilman for District 31,
went on to win the primary
and general election, and assumed
the role of Queens borough
president in December
2020.
Queens residents will head
back to the polls to vote on
their borough president again
in the Democratic primary on
June 22 and general election
on Nov. 2. There are currently
five candidates, including
Van Bramer, running for the
office this year: Richards, Diana
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. File photo by Angélica Acevedo/QNS
Sanchez, Stan Morse and
Danniel Maio.
Van Bramer, who was
born and raised in Astoria,
positions himself as the “only
candidate for Queens borough
president to reject real estate
donations, oppose the city’s
mega-jails plan to replace Rikers
Island and lead the fight
against Amazon’s plan for a
taxpayer subsidized HQ2.”
He’s a vocal advocate of
reducing the NYPD’s budget
by at least $1 billion and reallocating
those funds to incarceration
alternatives, placing
a moratorium on luxury development
and creating more
affordable housing, building a
network of protected bike lane
across Queens, creating more
public hospitals and building
a new, community-driven land
use process.
State Senator Jessica
Ramos and Assembly member
Ron Kim have endorsed
Van Bramer’s candidacy for
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | JAN. 22-JAN. 28, 2021
Queens borough president.
“After years of disinvestment
in our communities,
Queens was rocked by this
pandemic. Thousands lost
their lives, and even more are
grieving their loved ones while
struggling to make ends meet.
We need a leader who will put
Queens first —standing up for
small businesses, workers and
tenants, not the status quo,”
Ramos said. “We need a borough
president who will use
his power to curb luxury development
and prioritize housing
for all. Someone willing
to fight for the future we deserve,
rather than cozying up
to power. Jimmy Van Bramer
is that leader: He’s spent his
career fighting for working
families, immigrants and
women. That’s why I’m proud
to endorse Jimmy for Queens
borough president.”
Ron Kim echoed Ramos’
comments, positioning Van
Bramer as someone who’s
spent his career “fighting
against special interests.”
“Jimmy Van Bramer is the
fighter Queens families need
now, because he knows first
hand what it means to overcome
poverty and take on power,”
Kim said. “We need someone
who will seize the moment
to truly reimagine a Queens
that’s pro-small business, prohousing
and pro-people. Someone
who knows that it’s time
to finally make billionaires
and millionaires pay their fair
share. And someone who won’t
sell out our communities to the
highest bidder.”
Van Bramer was again endorsed
by Cynthia Nixon, star
of “Sex in the City” and former
candidate for New York state
governor, and her partner
Christine Marinoni, a political
activist, as well as Zephyr
Teachout, a nationally recognized
professor at Fordham
University who previously ran
for political office.
Van Bramer was first elected
to New York City Council
in 2009, and is a founding
member of the Council’s
progressive caucus.
He credits his upbringing
and parents, both union
workers, as the reason why
he works tirelessly to fight for
working people, equality for
all and quality-of-life improvements
in Queens. He began
politically organizing while at
St. John’s University in 1993,
where he led a queer group
of students who fought to be
recognized by the Catholic
university.
He worked for the Queens
Public Library for 11 years,
and continued organizing
with LGBTQ groups and others
seeking to take “big money
out of politics.” He then ran
for office against the Queens
County Democratic Party
once before winning the 2009
election for City Council
District 26.
TIMESLEDGER is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY.11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2021. All rights reserved. The newspaper will not be
liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the TimesLedger C/O News Queens
CNG LLC. 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361.
/NS.COM
