FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OCTOBER 23, 2016 • The Queens Courier 23 Former Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette dies at 86 Ivan Lafayette, a civic activist and war veteran who represented the Jackson Heights community in the Assembly for more than 30 years, died last Tuesday morning, Oct. 4, at the age of 86. Coming from the auto business with no political experience but a lot of drive, Lafayette was elected to the state Assembly in 1977. As assembly member, Lafayette served as leader of the Queens delegation, speaker pro tempore and deputy speaker. “Ivan was respected by his colleagues, and loved by his constituents. The 34th Assembly District and NYS is a better place for all he did,” said Lafayette’s longtime friend and associate, Maureen Allen. “His constituents were lucky to have him representing them for 32 years, which he did with dignity and honor. His number one priority was education, and we have many more schools because of his tenacity.” Lafayette was an early supporter of the Sexual Orientation Non- Discrimination Act and Hate Crimes Act, which prohibits anyone from discriminating or committing crimes against others’ sexual orientation, age, race, color, national origin, sex, disability or marital status. Queens Borough President Melinda Katz recalled Lafayette as a great leader: “He loved his job and fought for the funds and culture in Queens,” she said. “For 12 years, I had the honor of serving alongside him in the state Legislature and I witnessed first-hand how deeply he cared about the people he represented,” Congressman Joe Crowley, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement. “Through his more than three decades of public service, Ivan touched the lives of so many and I know he will be sorely missed.” Lafayette left behind a wife, three sons and nine grandchildren. BOARD 11 GIVES THUMBS-DOWN TO LITTLE NECK GROUP HOME BY DOMENI CK RAFTER editorial@qns.com/@QNS After listening to opposition from seven residents of one Little Neck block, members of Community Board 11 (CB 11) recommended denial on Oct. 5 of a proposed group home for mentally disabled adults. The vote came following a public hearing at M.S. 158 in Bayside on the proposed Community Options group home at 55-35 260th St. The nationwide organization that serves people with disabilities is looking to move four men with severe mental disabilities into the home. They are being forced out of their current living situation and must move by March 2017. But residents who live on the block said the home and the location — the easternmost street in New York City This one-story residence on 260th Street in Little Neck may soon become a group home for developmentally disabled adults, but Community Board 11 has voted against the plan. — is not the right one. Vincent Ng said the block, which runs between the Long Island Expressway and Nassau Boulevard at the border with Nassau County, is already home to two nursing homes — the Brandywine Senior Living and Little Neck Care facilities — and residents must regularly deal with constant ambulance visits and staff parking. “We cannot handle another one,” Ng said. “Parking is already at a premium.” Some residents decided to take aim at the organization itself, claiming that the group’s CEO takes home a six-figure salary. Others, like Razmik Nenejian, who lives next to the proposed group home site, said they didn’t have an issue with what the home would be used for, but felt the block was being “too commercialized.” “This is not a good location for them,” he said. Another resident accused Community Option of not doing their due diligence when researching the home. “I don’t think you fully considered finding something safe for the residents,” she said. Board members quarreled a bit on how they should, or could, vote. Zion Halili, co-chairman of the Group Home/ Community Facilities Committee, seem to tell board members they could only vote no if the surrounding neighborhood was too saturated with group homes or if they could suggest another location. When several board members took issue with his explanation, Photo via Google Maps CB 11 Chairwoman Christine Haider stood up and said Halili was wrong and the board could vote no if they wish, though it was merely an advisory vote. With only two yes votes and two members abstaining, the board overwhelmingly voted no, but their negative vote came with a message to the New York State Office of Mental Health — that their opposition is entirely due to the location, not the home’s services, and they should look for a better site. Suozzi leads martins in swing battleground district A recent Siena College poll has Democrat Thomas Suozzi trouncing Republican state Senator Jack Martins by 16 percentage points for a key battleground seat in Congress currently held by retiring “ Congressman Steve Israel. The poll found that Suozzi, a former Nassau County Executive and mayor of Glen Cove, has higher name recognition and more cross-party support, despite being out of office and out of the public eye for several years. Fifty percent of the likely voters polled said they would back Suozzi, while 34 percent chose Martins. The poll also found that Suozzi is leading Martins by 5 percent among independent voters, and is getting support from a whopping 25 percent Republicans — while Republican Jack Martins only enjoys the backing of 9 percent of Democratic voters. Martins is also widely unknown and disliked in the Queens portion of the district, where 73 percent of Queens voters said they never heard of him, but almost 20 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of him. The Queens section of the Third Congressional district includes Bay Terrace, Whitestone and Floral Park’s North Shore Towers. The 3rd District is one of only a handful of classic swing districts located across the country. In it can be found one of the largest swaths of registered independent and unaffiliated voters anywhere in the United States, with nearly one-third of voters not pledging allegiance to any major political party. This means, theoretically, it should be anybody’s game. But the poll, conducted even before Donald Trump’s now notoriously vulgar comments from 2005 about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women were unleashed on the public, paints a disturbing picture as the Grand Old Party finds itself having an identity crisis with less than 30 days before the election. Watching noted Republicans from Arizona Senator John McCain to Speaker Paul Ryan jump ship and disavow the party’s choice for the top office in the land is starting to give Democrats hope for banner year from president to local dog catcher. Another “October Surprise” not withstanding, local Democratic candidates like Suozzi might want to start deciding what kind of champagne to serve on Election Night. Queens Politics & More BY MIKE FRICCHIONE
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