22 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 27, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Maloney, Richards announce cross-endorsement
BY GABRIELE HOLTERMANN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
With the Astoria Ferry Landing and
NYCHA Astoria Houses serving as a
backdrop, Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards and Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney endorsed each other
for reelection on Friday, May 21. Th ey
also laid out a plan for the future of the
“World’s Borough.”
Richards, who is seeking reelection for
Queens Borough President aft er winning
the seat vacated by now Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz, pointed to the
Astoria Houses behind him and underlined
how the COVID-19 exacerbated
the issues ailing underserved communities.
He said that it was time to not only
rebuild the borough, but to reimagine a
better Queens.
“You see the Astoria Houses, a development
that has sorely needed investment,
a development made up of some
of the greatest and best people in this
city, but who live in squalor, who live in
conditions unworthy of who they are,”
Richards said.
He noted that a ZIP code should not
determine the level of education nor
access to health care, public transportation
and quality housing.
Referring to longtime Congresswoman
Maloney, Richards, who’s facing fi ve challengers
for the borough president seat
in the June 22 primary, stressed that it
was imperative to have strong, experienced
partners in Congress who fi ght for
their constituents and ensure their districts
receive a fair share from the Biden
administration’s infrastructure package.
“Th ere’s a real opportunity to bring $80
billion down to the local level in this next
infrastructure package and we need to
be at the forefront of this conversation. It
needs to be looked at through an equity
lens, and I am happy to have a fi rm partner
and ensuring in this part of Queens
that we’re going to deliver for the people
who need it the most,” Richards said.
Maloney said that she was Richards’
federal partner and has worked with him
on issues such as a skilled trades pilot
program, which is meant to decentralize
the work order for NYCHA developments
like Astoria Houses, Ravenswood
Houses and Queensbridge Houses, making
repairs timelier and more effi cient.
Maloney said she’s endorsing Richards
based on “his record of getting things
done” and for making “people his top priority.”
“What can I say? Not only does he get
the job done, he’s just a very, very nice
person,” Maloney said. “I would say that
a vote for Donovan is a vote for yourself.
It’s a vote to Queens!”
Adams makes mayoral case before Schneps Media’s editorial board
BY ARIEL PACHECO
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
As the issue of crime continues
to rise in the city, leading mayoral
candidate Eric Adams today
pushed back on the idea that
only mental health professionals
should answer calls where there
is a mental health crisis, without
the assistance of a police offi cer.
Adams’ comments came as he sat
down with the Schneps Media’s
Editorial Board, where the
current Brooklyn borough
president
touched on several
topics ranging from aff ordable housing to
crime to rezoning.
“Th at sending only mental health professionals
is reckless and that is irresponsible,”
Adams said. “Every call
of a mental health person is not
merely that someone is feeling
depressed.”
Adams pointed to instances
where incidents did turn violent
and says there needs to be
a combination of the two.
“If the call for service is
dealing with a person
that is
not violent,
no
immin
e n t
threat or danger, have a mental health
professional go,” Adams said. “We should
also have that police offi cer on backup just
in case.”
Additionally, Adams looks to fi x the
aff ordable housing crisis through various
methods like basement apartments, apartment
sharing and shared living spaces that
are used in parts of Europe. Th is is also part
of his plan to help with homelessness, as
Adams says he wants to retrofi t hotels and
move away from shelters.
A real-time system will be built to analyze
the pool of apartments that are currently
built, but where the area median income
(AMI) is too high.
“We need to think not outside the box,
but we have to destroy the box,” Adams said.
Adams is in support of the SoHo/NoHo
rezoning plan. Th e plan would add aff ordable
housing to two of the more affl uent
neighborhoods in the city.
“We’ve had an improper approach
to aff ordable housing in this city. We’ve
upzoned poorer communities, ignored
affl uent areas. I say let’s upzone those areas
as well as 42nd Street to 14th Street, from
Ninth Avenue to Park Avenue.”
He says this would solve multiple problems
like diversifying schools that are segregated.
“We can get a better return on our investment
by upzoning these areas.”
Adams believes the Brooklyn-Queens
Expressway (BQE) fi x should come from
state funding, but if it does fall in the hands
of the city, jobs can be created to “reimagine”
the BQE. Th is would include putting it
on the ground level, submerging it in some
areas and creating a park over the structure.
“Th is is an excellent opportunity to
rethink how we’re gonna use that BQE.”
Adams placed a focus on creating a
new position, deputy mayor of effi ciency,
to ensure that city agencies are on the
same page and communicating. He says this
would allow for everyone to be in the same
room when solving problems.
“We’re going to start bringing together
the agencies that impact a particular
area and have him or her in charge of that,”
Adams said.
File photo by Jessica Parks
Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney cross-endorse
each other on May 21.
/WWW.QNS.COM
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