FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 18, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
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Queens borough president candidates discuss
protests, COVID-19 and more in virtual debate
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e fi ve candidates vying
for the Democratic nomination
for Queens borough president
gathered on a virtual stage
for a debate hosted by QNS on
Th ursday, June 11.
Councilmen Donovan
Richards and Costa
Constantinides, former
Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley, retired NYPD sergeant
Anthony Miranda and businessman
Dao Yin shared their views
on the recent protests over the
death of George Floyd, their
plans for the COVID-19 recovery
and the direction of development
across the borough.
Protests over the killing
of George Floyd
While Richards,
Constantinides, Crowley and
Miranda all expressed their
desire to change the way policing
is done in New York City,
Yin, who is running on a law
and order platform, took a different
view.
“I’m in favor of peaceful protests.
However, many of the protests
have provoked the police,”
Yin said. “Th e police have tremendous
self control.”
Crowley, who doesn’t support
defunding the police, advocated
for better training and the
recruitment of a more diverse
police force.
“Law enforcement in New
York City and across the country
has, for generations, institutional
racism,” Crowley said.
“It has plagued law enforcement
and we need to do better as a
society.”
Miranda, who spent his career
in law enforcement, said that
he would advocate for measures
to hold the police accountable,
including changes to the disciplinary
process.
“Th ere is an opportunity right
now, because we have such an
awakening of the people, to create
the changes we have been
long advocating for,” Miranda
said. “Police reform is necessary,
police accountability, absolutely.”
Richards, the only Black candidate
running for the seat,
recounted his fi rst negative
encounter with the police —
being stopped and frisked at the
age of 13 — and called for stronger
community policing measures,
citing the building of a
new precinct in his district that
will be equipped with a food
pantry and a community center.
“As we talk about merging the
relationship between a police
department and our communities,
one way to do that is to
ensure that we can coexist, learn
from one another and learn
about each other,” Richards said.
“We’re not here to condemn an
entire department, but we do
want to condemn the actions of
those who are costing the city
$237 million a year in settlement
claims.”
Constantinides expressed
views most similar to that of
the protesters. Th e councilman
spoke about removing the
NYPD from schools and from
monitoring the turnstiles of subway
stations.
“We’ve been using the police
as bandaids when instead we
should be de-escalating situations,”
Constantinides said. “We
need to reimagine not just policing
but how our city works.”
The coronavirus
recovery process
Candidates then began to discuss
the COVID-19 recovery
process.
Crowley, whose campaign has
been focused on getting Queens
its “fair share” prior to the coronavirus,
said that the borough’s
infrastructure is to blame for its
high number of cases and that
hospitals, housing transportation
must be addressed to prevent
other disastrous pandemics.
“We need to put a plan together
to attract more private hospitals
and to expand our public
hospitals, to look at our existing
hospitals and expand their bed
capacity,” Crowley said.
Miranda, who has touted his
non-politician status the entire
campaign, blamed current elected
offi cials in Queens for not
mobilizing a cohesive strategy to
deal with the pandemic before,
during and aft er.
He also expressed his disappointment
in the inequitable
distribution of resources to
Queens, and particularly to the
Hispanic and low-income communities
within the borough.
“We can’t aff ord to wait until
aft er something happens to
have real conversations about
the impact on our community,”
Miranda said. “We need to have
a borough president that has the
fi ght to represent us.”
Constantinides, who, along
with his wife, contracted
COVID-19, saw the impact of
the crisis up close.
“Th ere needs to be a longterm
plan for the healthcare of
Queens. It can’t be building temporary
structures,” the Astoria
councilman said. “We need to
be building long-term structures
that are going to be with us in
Queens for the long term to
serve all of our residents.”
Yin, the only Asian-American
in the race, decried the increase
in racist attacks against Asians
in Queens. He also leaned on
his political outsider status, and
blamed current elected offi -
cials for not fi ghting for Queens’
healthcare system prior to the
COVID-19 crisis.
“My opponents have been in
politics for years and we know
that they have received contributions
from all types of special
interests and that’s why our public
health infrastructure is falling
apart,” Yin said. “It’s time for
new leadership.”
Richards began by lamenting
the loss of Amazon’s HQ2. Had
the company come to Queens,
he said, more jobs would be
available for struggling Queens
residents.
He also mentioned his existing
relationships with Governor
Andrew Cuomo and the healthcare
union, 1199 SEIU – two
relationships crucial to improving
healthcare in Queens, he
said.
“We’re going to have to leverage
our opportunity to push
developers to also think about
healthcare,” Richards said.
Development in
the borough
With a handful of major development
projects in the works,
including the Long Island City
waterfront, Sunnyside Yards and
the LaGuardia AirTrain, the
candidates for Queens borough
president discussed their stance
on the direction of development
in the borough.
Yin focused on his solution
for fi xing the housing crisis —
eliminating tax credits for luxury
developments.
“Th ose tax credits should go
toward low- and middle-income
housing,” Yin said. Miranda
also came aft er luxury development
projects.
“We need to have a moratorium
on all luxury developments
right now,” Miranda said. “Th ere
are too many projects that have
been pushed forward with little
to no community input. So we
need to go back and make sure
the community is being heard.”
Crowley, who’s made a commitment
not to take campaign
contributions from for-profi t
real estate development, said the
focus needs to shift from luxury
development to aff ordable
housing.
She also touted her transit
plan, which would open up
access to Queens, she said.
“Part of my master plan for
Queens is not only developing in
the proper areas but also making
sure that we have a better transit
system,” Crowley said. “Th at
means keeping our express
buses in place, making our buses
free and taking our existing rail,
which is being underutilized,
and opening access to over 20
square miles of rail.”
Richards spoke about his success
in gathering community
support over a development in
Far Rockaway, something that
oft en is lacking in New York
City. Th is sort of community
engagement in development
projects, is something he hopes
to implement if elected Queens
borough president.
“When you look at downtown
Far Rockaway it’s just the template
for what you need to do
to accomplish successful development
around the borough,”
Richards said.
Constantinides, who did not
support the deal New York City
made with Amazon, closed
out the debate by advocating
for a renewed focus on creating
real opportunities for everyday
Queens residents and not
on opportunities for developers.
“We need to think about
the real residents of Queens,”
Constantinides said. “Th e 2.3
million residents of Queens who
are hard working, who want better
jobs.”
The election for the
Democratic primary for Queens
borough president will take
place on June 23.
Screenshot via YouTube/Schneps Media
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