34 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
primary guide
Councilwoman Crowley is seeking
to serve her district for a third term
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com
@A_GiudiceReport
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is
seeking her third term in offi ce as voters
will head to the polls on Tuesday, Sept.
12, to cast their vote in the Primary for
the City Council’s 30th District ahead of
November’s General Election.
Crowley will be going against political
newcomer Robert Holden, a fi erce community
activist who has been the president
of the Juniper Park Civic Association
(JPCA) for three decades.
Th e incumbent believes her record
over the last 8 ½ years speaks for itself,
as she has worked to create thousands
of new school seats throughout her district
— which covers Glendale, Maspeth,
Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodside
and Woodhaven — as well as saving several
fi re houses from shutting down as
the chair of the Committee on Fire and
Criminal Justice Services; adding more
police offi cers to the beat; and funding a
slew of parks and sewer projects across the
communities.
With much of her district labeled as a
“transportation desert,” Crowley
envisioned bringing a light rail
commuter service to the Long
Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Lower
Montauk line. Since introducing
her plan in 2015, a feasibility
study has been funded and is
currently underway to see if it
would be possible to bring commuter
service back to the line.
One major point of contention
for many of the city’s elected
offi cials is what to do with Rikers
Island. Mayor Bill de Blasio
wants to shut down the prison
over the next 10 years and create
smaller, safer jails in the fi ve
boroughs.
“I support the Lippmann
Commission’s plan to close
Rikers Island,” Crowley stated.
“Rikers Island is broken … if
you ask most New Yorkers, they
would agree with you.”
Crowley cites safety and cost
savings as two main reasons why
she supports shuttering Rikers and building
Photo caption: Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley wants the chance
to serve her constituents for a third consecutive term.
smaller jails near courthouses, not in
the middle of communities, she said.
Photo by Anthony Giudice/Ridgewood Times
Another hot topic for many of her constituents
is the subject of homeless shelters.
Crowley has introduced a bill to create an
Inspector General to clean up wasteful
spending and make sure there
is no fraud being committed in the
Department of Homeless Services
(DHS) and Human Resources
Administration (HRA).
“No other Council member has
been more forceful on the issue and
the number of bills that I think will
make the mayor more accountable,”
Crowley said. “But just like
Rikers Island, the mayor keeps
throwing money in the Department
of Homeless Services thinking he’s
going to get a better result and more
and more people are going homeless.”
To see where Crowley stands on
other important issues facing the
communities, visit her website at
elizabethcrowley.com.
“I deliver for the constituents and
I’m proud of my record, and I hope
that they’ll give me another shot for
one more term so I can face the challenges
that are still happening in our
district,” Crowley said. “Th ere is still some
work to be done. Th ere is always work to
be done.”
Lifelong community leader tries his hand at
politics and eyes 30th Council District seat
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com
@A_GiudiceReport
Robert Holden, a Middle Village
native, has been fi ghting for the betterment
of his community and the surrounding
neighborhoods for over three
decades. He is now taking that fi ght to
the political stage, looking to oust twoterm
incumbent Elizabeth Crowley in
the city’s 30th Council District.
Holden has been critical of Crowley’s
leadership over the last 8 ½ years, calling
into question her record on important
community topics such as the
homelessness crisis and housing individuals
inside hotels, specifi cally the
Holiday Inn Express on 55th Avenue in
Maspeth, her agreement on the plan to
shutter Rikers Island, and on more local,
everyday issues that constituents face.
During the months-long battle against
the plan put forth by Mayor Bill de
Blasio and the Department of Homeless
Services (DHS) to house homeless individuals
and families at the Holiday Inn
Express, Holden mobilized thousands to
denounce the shelter at nightly protests,
a march through the neighborhood,
and protests outside of DHS
Commissioner Steven Banks’
home.
Th at issue was, Holden said,
the driving force that convinced
him to fi nally make the
leap and run for public offi ce.
“Th e homeless shelters actually
showed me that I have to
go to the forefront now because
what this mayor is going to
throw at us is not only more
homeless shelters, and he’s
promised that over and over
again,” he said. “And Elizabeth
Crowley proved to me that she
can’t work to beat him.”
In order to fi ght the homelessness
crisis in the city, if
elected, Holden would look to
hire a large community advisory
board from people within
the community who know
it best — such as faith-based
organizations, real estate people,
community board and
Photo caption: Robert Holden wants to take a crack at politics after
more than 30 years of community service.
civic leaders — to “break the cycle of
homelessness” and adopt the homeless
of the community and fi nd out why
they are homeless and address those
Photo courtesy of Robert Holden
core issues.
When it comes to closing down Rikers
Island, Holden is completely opposed to
the idea of closing the jail and creating
smaller neighborhood jails, where
Crowley agrees with the plan to
close the island over the next 10
years.
“Th ere’s no reason in the world
to close Rikers,” Holden said.
“Th at’s where you want a prison,
on an island.”
Holden also claimed that he
“would be the best Councilperson
to fend off the mayor,” stating that
Crowley could not and would not
go against de Blasio.
Although Holden has butted
heads with Democratic leadership
as a civic leader, he is confi dent if
he is elected he can work with people
on both sides of the aisle to get
meaningful legislation passed for
the district’s constituents.
If Holden does not beat Crowley
in the Democratic primary on Sept.
12, he still has two chances to take
her down in the general election in
November as he will be running on
both the Conservative and Reform
Party lines.
To fi nd out more about Holden and
where he stands on important issues,
visit holdenforcitycouncil.com.