4 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Cabán announces bid for NW Queens Council seat
BY JACOB KAYE
jkaye@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Tiff any Cabán, the progressive public
defender who ran for Queens district
attorney in 2019, offi cially announced
her bid for the New York City Council on
Th ursday, Sept. 10.
Cabán, who ran on the hopes of
reforming the criminal justice system
in the borough, aims to represent City
Council District 22, which covers parts of
Astoria, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights,
Woodside and Rikers Island, the home
of the city’s most notorious jail. Th e
council seat is currently held by Costa
Constantinides, who will be term-limited
out of offi ce in November 2021.
“Th is is where the work is. Th is is where
we are going to change lives,” Cabán said.
“When the systems failed to protect us,
we witnessed was was possible when
we decided to protect each other. When
leadership failed us, we witnessed what
was possible when we became our own
leaders. Who we elect to serve in our City
Council is a matter of life and death.”
Cabán, who made her campaign
announcement at Katch Astoria on
Th ursday, was joined by many of the
same lawmakers and activists who supported
her run for DA — a race she lost
by a slim margin and only aft er a contentious
recount. She conceded the DA’s race
at the same restaurant around a year ago.
State Senators Jessica Ramos
and Michael Gianaris, as well as city
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, all
showed up to again show support to the
progressive candidate.
“We need policies that refl ect the
needs of working class people in Astoria,
Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and
beyond,” Ramos said on Th ursday. “It
is deeply important for me to see my
hometown well represented in the City
Council, which is why I’m here to support
Tiff any Cabán in her candidacy.”
Also at the announcement were a handful
of activists and current candidates for
public offi ce whose runs were partially
inspired by Cabán’s grassroots campaign
in 2019, including Democratic nominee
for State Assembly Jessica González-
Rojas and recently elected District Leader
Shawna Morlock.
“I had the pleasure of volunteering for
Tiff any from almost the very beginning,”
Morlock said. “I know deep in my heart
that Tiff any Cabán represents my values.
She’s fi ghting for working class people,
she’s fi ghting for families, she’s fi ghting
for everyone in this borough that needs
representation that has been ignored for
way too long.”
Cabán said she sees support her for and
her electoral runs as support for a broader
coalition and movement.
“Our coalition has gone on to organize
and they helped really dope people
get elected,” she said. “I just see that we
are building and building. I think about
my work very simply, it’s locating myself
in the moment and saying how can I best
be of service.”
Th e Queens chapter of the Democratic
Socialists of America threw their support
behind Cabán in 2019, endorsing
her and powering much of her volunteer
eff ort during the campaign. Cabán
has applied for an endorsement from
the group — whose endorsements will
be announced in November — in her
bid for City Council, according to a person
with knowledge of DSA’s endorsement
process.
Th e City Council district has become
one of the more progressive districts in
the city. DSA-backed Zohran Mamdani
recently was elected as the Democratic
nominee for the district’s Assembly seat
and a portion of the district is represented
in Congress by Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, arguably the face of the progressive
left movement in the United States.
As a candidate for DA, Cabán, 33, won
around 74 percent of the vote in the district.
No where else in Queens did she
receive such a high percentage of the
vote.
In the Democratic primary for the City
Council seat, Cabán will face off against
Constantinides’ Chief of StaffNick
Roloson, who has received an endorsement
from the incumbent. Jesse Cerrotti,
a progressive activist, had previously
announced his bid for the seat, only to
suspend his campaign on Th ursday and
announce his support for Cabán.
Cabán’s DA campaign focused on
reforming the criminal justice system
she worked in as a public defender for
most of her professional career. Running
as a decarceral DA, Cabán advocated for
decriminalizing sex work, ending cash
bail and closing Rikers Island. While
her platform will extend beyond criminal
Courtesy of Caban’s campaign
justice reform during her bid for City
Council, many of those themes are likely
to remain a centerpiece of her campaign
in the coming year.
“We cannot thrive if our families are
being criminalized for being poor, if
our queer or trans family can’t walk the
streets without fear of incarceration, if
our neighbors — in district, the way
— on Rikers Island go abandoned and
ignored,” Cabán said.
Born in Richmond Hill, Cabán is a second
generation Queens resident — her
parents grew up in the Woodside Houses.
She attended P.S. 62 in Richmond
Hill, J.H.S. 210 Elizabeth Blackwell in
Woodhaven and St. Francis Preparatory
High School in Fresh Meadows.
Aft er graduating high school, Cabán
completed her undergraduate degree
from Pennsylvania State University and
earned her Juris Doctorate from New
York Law School.
Cabán has spent the past year working
as a national organizer for the Working
Families Party.
Additional reporting by Angélica Acevedo.
With the purchase of glasses, 16 years or younger
contact lens e l.
2 Boxes of Lenses Frames & Lenses
DESIGNER FRAMES
PLUS FREE 2ND PAIR
* $200 minimum purchase on first pair of designer
frames. Second pair frame from select group with
Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this
location only. Not valid with any other offers, sales,
vision plans or packages.
Offer ends 9/30/20
offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present
prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only.
Offer ends: 9/30/20
Encore Premium brand clear sphericalLenses/*Contact
lens fitting additional. Not valid for Toric lenses. Not valid with
any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must
present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only.
Some restrictions apply, see store for details.
Offer ends: 9/30/20
Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lensas
vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase.
Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply,
see store for details
Offer ends: 9/30/20
SCHOOL SALES
8 8 8 BACK TO SCHOOL
2 PAIR OF
EYEGLASSES
Includes: POLYCARBONATE
LENSES
9/30/20
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
