FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 13, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
Mayoral hopeful Garcia scores
big endorsement in Queens
BY GABRIELE
HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Mayoral hopeful Kathryn
Garcia got a signifi cant
endorsement in Queens
Th ursday, May 6, as local
Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic — who had initially
endorsed City Comptroller
Scott Stringer — shift ed her
support to the former sanitation
commissioner.
Rozic had rescinded her
support for Stringer aft er
a woman came forward
accusing him of sexual
harassment last week.
Standing under the iconic
Unisphere in Flushing
Meadows Corona Park,
Rozic said this mayoral election
was the most important
in her lifetime, and that it
was critical to have someone
in charge who has the
experience and knowledge
to cut through bureaucratic
red tape and get things
done.
“And that’s Kathryn
Garcia, without a doubt in
my mind,” Rozic said. “Our
city faces an uphill battle
in the recovery from
the pandemic, and we really
need experienced leadership
that won’t let anything
stand in their way of
getting the job done.”
Garcia, who was responsible
for an army of 10,000
sanitation workers as the
department’s commissioner,
also garnered an endorsement
earlier in the day from
Manhattan state Senator
Liz Krueger.
Garcia thanked Rozic, the
youngest woman ever elected
to the state Assembly, for
her support, praising her as
an outspoken advocate for
working and middle-class
New Yorkers.
Th e native Brooklynite
thanked Rozic for tackling
the rise in hate crimes
by promoting education
against hate crimes in New
York City communities and
said that it was important
to encourage and streamline
reporting of hate
crimes.
“I was standing with her
just this weekend at another
rally against Asian hate
crimes. We need to make
sure that they are reported,
that they are enforced
strongly, but that we also
are embedding in all of our
education the curriculum
that talks about what every
New Yorker, regardless of
their religion or their ethnicity,
what they have contributed
to building the
city,” Garcia said.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia receives the endorsement of Assemblywoman
Nily Rozic on May 6.
Who do they like?
Ung scores endorsement
from Koslowitz
Councilwoman Karen
Koslowitz (District 29), whose district
encompasses Rego Park, Forest
Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond
Hill, endorsed Sandra Ung for City
Council in District 20.
Ung’s campaign has focused on
prioritizing quality-of-life issues,
including expanding senior
aff ordable housing and restoring
the budget of the sanitation
department.
“With New York facing a series
of monumental challenges as it
recovers from the pandemic, we
need to elect bold and experienced
leaders to the City Council,”
Koslowitz said. “With her experience
both as a nonprofi t attorney
and in government, Sandra Ung
is the best candidate to represent
District 20. I am proud to endorse
Sandra knowing that she will be
a powerful advocate for her community
in City Hall.”
Miller endorses Kanu
for District 27 seat
District 27 City Council candidate
Al-Hassan Kanu received
the endorsement of term-limited
Councilman I. Daneek Miller,
who currently holds the southeast
Queens seat.
“More than ever, southeast
Queens needs dedicated, competent
community-oriented leaders,
and Al Kanu fi ts the bill for
Council District 27,” Miller said.
“I’ve seen Al’s work up close as my
district director, and also while
he worked for then-Councilman
Leroy Comrie. Al has been a tireless
community advocate for over
a decade, organizing eff orts to keep
homeowners in their houses, connect
families to aff ordable housing,
and mitigate fl ooding issues in our
residential community.”
Kanu said he is “proud” to
receive the endorsement from
Miller.
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia receives the endorsement of
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic on May 6.
Meng endorses Yang for mayor
BY ARIAMA C. LONG
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng
(D-Queens) on May 10 endorsed
Andrew Yang for mayor outside of
P.S. 20Q John Bowne Elementary
School in Flushing, close to where
Yang’s wife Evelyn grew up.
“Th is is a really serious decision,”
Meng said. “I’ve spent a lot of time
trying to talk to constituents on the
ground here throughout Queens,
trying to talk to everyday community
leaders who represent diff erent
constituencies. Diff erent leaders,
diff erent community members
like diff erent people in this race,
but of all of them I have heard the
most frequent and positive feedback
that they want Andrew to be
the next mayor of this city.”
Meng has been a powerhouse for
Asian American and Pacifi c Islander
rights, pushing legislation to protect
against hate crimes, attacks and the
sharp rise of anti-Asian sentiments
since last year with the COVID-19
Hate Crimes Act.
Her endorsement of Yang’s campaign
is a major move for the
Asian American community and,
she said, a chance to increase Asian
visibility and voter turnout while
also reaching out to other marginalized
communities.
“I endorse Andrew not just
because he will help strengthen the
presence of the Asian American
community, but even more importantly,
to strengthen and build
upon the coalitions that are so necessary
right now,” Meng said.
Meng said that she over identifi
es with being an “unconventional”
candidate in regards to her
race. She said people had wondered
if she would only be able
to “get Asian American votes” in
her run for Congress and how that
thinking is too narrow to make an
impact.
Meng said that mobilizing all
communities and communities of
color to solve the inequities witnessed
during the pandemic last
year will help the city recover.
Yang is also being endorsed
by U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres
(D-Bronx) and Martin Luther
King III.
“Th is is a very diverse coalition,”
said Yang about his supporters. “As
Grace described, we are drawing
voters from every part of the city,
every community, and I’m excited
to say every part of the political
spectrum. I think that New
Yorkers are not that ideological
when it comes down to it; they just
want our city to work better.”
Both Yang and Grace also
emphasized the importance of
focusing on the “outer boroughs.”
Yang said that he wants to be an
administration that bolsters every
neighborhood and community,
and not just “let’s say one borough
that starts with an ‘M.’”
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