26 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Primary 2018
Queens Assembly candidates discuss education issues in bilingual Facebook Live forum
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Th e three Democratic candidates running
for state assembly in New York’s 39th
District discussed the issue of school overcrowding
and quality of education in a
bilingual Facebook Live candidate forum
on Aug. 30.
Last Th ursday, Assemblywoman Ari
Espinal joined candidates Catalina Cruz
and Yonel Letellier Sosa in the 90 -minute
Facebook forum broadcast by QNS,
Th e Queens Courier and El Correo, which
took place in Schneps offi ce in Bayside.
All three candidates were on the same
page about the issues plaguing their district
including the quality of education for
students in Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and
Corona. Espinal, Cruz and Sosa agreed
that school overcrowding was one of the
root issues for the diminished education
equality within District 39.
Sosa used P.S. 19 on Roosevelt Avenue
and 99th Street in Corona as an example
of the overcrowding the district has been
facing for years. He shared that over 20
years ago the school was deemed overcrowded
but it took the district until now
to open up a new school to remedy the
issue.
“Basically it took 20 years to fi x that
problem and this is a problem throughout
our whole district. Th ere’s a lot of
bureaucracy and it takes so many years,”
Sosa said.
Th e candidate added that the school
overcrowding resulted in students attending
classes in trailers that did not have
proper heating or cooling mechanisms
and bathrooms located outside the trailers.
Espinal noted the funding she had
already secured since being elected in
April 2018. Th e assemblywoman ran
unopposed in the District 39 election,
replacing former Assemblyman Francisco
Moya.
“Bringing back $217,000 back to fund
schools in my district was really important
to me,” Espinal said. “Bringing back
money to P.S. 14, P.S. 89, P.S. 69, P.S.
110 was something that I was very vocal
about when I went to the Assembly.”
Th e assemblywoman added that it was
imperative for her to create relationships
with Democratic and Republican
Assembly members when discussing the
issue of education. Espinal recalled how
she and then-Assemblyman Moya invited
Republican representatives to the district
to witness the state of education in
the area schools.
“When they saw that we had kids learning
in trailers — when they had to leave
the trailers to use the bathroom or go to
lunch — it was unfair and they saw that
fi rsthand.”
As a product of New York’s public
school system, Cruz had experienced
classroom overcrowding as a student. But
the candidate also highlighted the unforeseen
issues that come with the current
education system, including a lack of confi
dence and self-esteem that some students
face.
“We’re putting too much emphasis on
testing, testing that is supposed to tell us
if the school is good or if the teacher is
good. But the one thing that it’s doing is
creating psychological problems with our
children,” Cruz said.
“Children no longer want to go to
school because they feel like they may not
be good enough — a child should never be
made to feel like they’re not good enough
— and we’re not putting enough emphasis
on making sure that they get arts programs,
they get health education, that they
get early sex education,” said the candidate,
who added that she wanted to implement
these initiatives for school children
in District 39.
Th e Democratic primary is on Th ursday,
Sept 13. Th e winner between Espinal, Cruz
and Sosa will go on to represent NY-39 in
the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Screenshot from the Facebook Live forum
Former NYC Comptroller John Liu challenges incumbent Senator Tony Avella in NY-11 race
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
This September, two experienced
Queens Democrats will face off for the
coveted seat in New York’s 11th State
Senate District.
Back in July, former New York City
Comptroller John Liu announced his
candidacy for NY-11 senator, a position
which serves a large portion of eastern
Queens including College Point,
Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Bayside, Little
Neck, Glen Oaks, Auburndale, Fresh
Meadows, Oakland Gardens and parts
of Flushing.
Liu is challenging the eight-year incumbent
and former Independent Democratic
Conference (IDC) member Senator Tony
Avella. Th is is not the fi rst time that the
candidates have campaigned against each
other — in 2014, QNS reported that Liu
ran for senator against Avella and lost by
a margin of fewer than 1,000 votes.
On Aug. 29, the candidates participated
in the Bay Terrace Community Alliance’s
(BTCA) “Meet the Candidates Night”
which featured 18 candidates running in
seven diff erent races. Avella and Liu were
the fi rst and last to speak, respectively.
Both candidates were asked about the
issue of airplane and helicopter noise
plaguing Bay Terrace and surrounding
areas. Avella touted his level of experience,
saying that he was “the fi rst” to hold
press conferences addressing the issue
fi ve years ago. He added that the areas
surrounding LaGuardia Airport did not
conduct an environmental impact study
or roundtable, which other cities situated
near airports have had for years.
“Th e roundtable is underway. Th e environmental
impact study is underway
and that’s a huge step forward,” Avella
said.
On the issue of helicopter noise, the
senator said that it originates from
Manhattan residents taking helicopter
rides to the Hamptons. In an eff ort to
quell the noise, Avella partnered with We
Love Whitestone, Congressional representatives
and the Helicopter Association
to introduce a bill that would give oversight
to the Port Authorities of New York
and New Jersey. In addition, they also
addressed a letter to the EDC and the
Hudson River Park Trust, who run the
helipads, to cap the fl ights at $2 million.
Moderators asked Liu if he would
support legal action against the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) for the
noise pollution, similarly to the legal
action taken in other places across the
country.
“I would support it, but I would also
be realistic,” Liu said. “Most of those
municipalities that have taken legal action
against the FAA have not succeeded.
Nonetheless, I certainly would support
any eff orts to curtail airplane and helicopter
noise.”
Liu shared that he also experienced the
excessive helicopter noise where he lives
in northern Flushing and neighboring
College Point.
“I’m not in favor of spending a lot of
time on things that look like it’s progress,
but at the end of the day, it’s just
going down a blind alley. I want to fi nd
real solutions.”
Th e candidates were also asked about
things that would benefi t state legislators,
including term limits and pay raises.
When asked about his stance on term
limits, Avella, who has been the NY-11
senator for the past eight years, said that
he was in favor of them.
“I was actually the fi rst member of the
state legislature, when I fi rst got there in
2011, to introduce a bill for term limits for
state Assembly members and state senators,”
he said.
He referenced his predecessor Frank
Padavan who was a state senator for 38
years. His bill would limit state senators’
terms to 12 years.
“Th e power of the incumbency is too
strong, and I think there’s always good
news when you add fresh blood and new
ideas.”
Liu said he was in support of pay raises
for state legislators and added that
New York state should look at what other
states are paying their legislators and pay
them comparable wages.
“Th ere hasn’t been a pay raise for 20
years and a lot of it is because of political
reasons,” Liu said. “I think a lot of
the problems that we have seen over the
last decade has been because too many
of these legislators have not been able
to pay their college kids’ tuitions or pay
other expenses that other people in similar
types of professions would be able
to pay.”
He clarifi ed that he was not “in this for
the money,” but as a “matter of public
policy,” the state should grant pay raises
to their legislators.
Th e Senate primary is on Th ursday,
Sept. 13, and the winner of the primary
will go on to challenge the Republican
Senate candidate in the Nov. 6 general
election.
QNS fi le photo/Wikimedia Commons
John Liu (right) will challenge incumbent candidate Tony Avella in District 11 this fall.
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