8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 28, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com s politics State Senator Jose Peralta State Senator Tony Avella Former Deputy Borough Councilmember Leroy Comrie President Barry Grodenchik Melinda Katz Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. BP candidates making the rounds BY ANTHONY O’REILLY Borough President candidates are blazing through the Queens, participating in forums and allowing the community to hear their positions. The six Democrats hoping to replace current Borough President Helen Marshall most recently gathered at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Fresh Meadows and attended the Ridgewood Democratic Club’s monthly meeting. State Senators Tony Avella and Jose Peralta joined City Councilmembers Peter Vallone Jr. and Leroy Comrie, former Assembly and Councilmember Melinda Katz and former Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik to speak to members of several Democratic clubs across Queens. In Fresh Meadows, discussion of mayoral control of the Board of Education (BOE) dominated the forum. Grodenchik said he has mixed feelings towards the issue, but he wants to “bring some measure of control back to the boroughs.” The controversy surrounding development of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was also heavily debated. Peralta said he in favor of the proposed Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium, but would ensure that the park space used not only has to be replaced, but improved. “It has to be better,” he said, calling soccer “the sport of the world.” Despite his support for the stadium, he is opposed to the proposed plans for a shopping mall and an expansion of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) center. Vallone said that he wanted to eliminate overexpansion in the park and bring it to areas in the borough that are “yearning for that kind of development.” Avella, however, said he is the only candidate that is steadfastly against all three proposals for development. All of the candidates will continue to campaign and participate in forums across Queens until election day on Tuesday, November 5. The next forum will be held at St. John’s University on Friday, April 12. Photo Courtesy of Paul Graziano Democrat Paul Graziano kicked off his City Council campaign at Flushing’s Bowne Park. District 19 Graziano in, Silverstein out BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] A Flushing urban planner offi - cially joined District 19’s City Council race while another candidate bowed out. Democrat Paul Graziano kicked off his campaign on March 25 at Bowne Park to unseat Republican incumbent Councilmember Dan Halloran. “My campaign is very simple. Protect your neighborhood. Do no harm,” said Graziano, a lifelong North Flushing resident. “It’s hard for me to think about theoretical and esoteric problems when we’ve got problems at hand in the community.” The 41-year-old community activist was surrounded by family, friends and dozens of civic leaders Sunday when he announced his plans to preserve the neighborhood from overdevelopment, protect city parkland and ensure a better education system citywide. Graziano also called for a “reconstituted” Board of Education with more borough subdivisions. He said the move would allow local school districts to operate independently and give communities a voice in the city’s decision-making process. “It’s really important to make sure that we have an agenda that focuses on the needs of this community as well as, really, things that are crossing the entire city in importance,” Graziano said. “When we’re in a situation where I think every neighborhood feels embattled by the kinds of things that are happening, we have to stand up and do something about it.” The Council hopeful faces a Democratic primary with former Assemblymember John Duane, Austin Shafran — the former vice president of public affairs for Empire State Development under Governor Andrew Cuomo — and attorney Paul Vallone, who is the son of former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. and brother of Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. Democratic State Committeeman Matthew Silverstein dropped out of the race Sunday, citing “one of the most diffi cult years” of his life after his mother passed away last December. “My mom was an amazing woman who wanted me to continue fi ghting for the issues I care about. However, after consulting with my friends and family, I have decided to suspend my campaign,” Silverstein said. “This campaign might be ending, but I am not going away. I will continue to advocate for the issues that are important to me.” Silverstein had long set his sights on the seat, registering his campaign committee last May. The Democratic primary winner will square off in November with Halloran, who was elected to the Council in 2009. Meeks briefs his district BY MAGGIE HAYES [email protected] Southeast community leaders and clergy members joined Congressmember Gregory Meeks at the fi rst meeting for the new 5th Congressional District. Having not met since before Sandy, Meeks and the crowd of over 100 area residents spoke about the devastation brought on by the storm, as well as the Congressmember’s work in Washington, D.C. since reclaiming his House seat after the November election. “The spirit of hope is among all folks,” he said. “People have come together like never before to say, ‘We are going to get back on our feet better than ever.’” Meeks noted the signifi cance of having a second Obama administration, explained the fi scal cliff, acknowledged the tragedy in Newtown, the looming sequester and federal aid for Sandy victims. “Sandy didn’t just hit Democrats, it didn’t just hit Republicans, it hit and hurt everybody. Politics had no need to be in this game,” he said. Getting the federal aid to disaster-stricken areas took an “unprecedented” three months, but now roughly $60 billion is allocated, hopefully coming sooner rather than later. Meeks mentioned a number of “coming battles” this spring, including raising the debt limit, immigration reform, keeping student loan interest rates low, gun control and avoiding the sequester. The sequester, a legislative tactic that proposes across-the-board cuts on federal spending, was initiated to get a bipartisan agreement on the House budget. The proposed cut, $85 billion annually, will last for 10 years if there is no agreement. Cuts in New York State will fall heaviest on the city, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, according to Meeks. This includes losing over $40 million in funding for education, nearly $13 million for pollution protection, $108 million for army services and more. It could also affect roughly 750,000 public sector jobs – many fi lled largely in part by southeast residents. “We have to make sacrifi ces on both sides to come to an agreement,” said Meeks. “We can’t balance the budget simply on the backs of the middle class and the poor. We have to look and prioritize our spending.”
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