FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com november 10, 2016 • The Queens Courier 17 ELECTION 2016 Thomas Suozzi Anxiety felt across Queens Photo courtesy of Long Island Press Tom Suozzi victorious over Jack Martins in race to fill Steve Israel’s Congressional seat By The Queens Courier St aff [email protected]/@QNS BY RASHE D MIAN AN D CHRIS TOPHER TWARO WSKI, LON G IS LAN D PRES Former Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi defeated state Senator Jack Martins in the most closely watched Congressional race in Queens on Long Island Tuesday night, winning the seat being vacated by retiring Congressman Steve Israel. Suozzi, a two-term county exec and ex-Glen Cove city mayor, ran on a platform championing the middle class, gun control, job creation and clean energy, painting himself an environmentalist and ethics reformer who challenged the status quo in Albany with his so-called “Fix Albany” initiative. He will represent New York’s Third Congressional District, which spans northeastern Queens, the North Shore of Nassau County and northwestern Suffolk. Suozzi defeated Martins 48 to 44 percent, according to unofficial election results tallied by the New York State Board of Elections. The other four incumbent members of Congress that represent Long Island all won re-election. Martins, a three-term state senator, former Mineola village mayor and self-professed fiscal conservative, ran on a platform centered around repealing Obamacare, but he also pledged to fight for issues important to Long Islanders, such as protecting the region’s precious waterways. Israel had held his seat since 2001 and announced his decision to retire earlier this year in order to pursue a career as a novelist and author. Suozzi launched an ill-fated 2006 gubernatorial Democratic candidacy against then-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and lost re-election bids against currently embattled Republican Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano in a 2009 nail-biter and again in 2013. as borough native Donald Trump wins the presidency By The Queens Courier St aff [email protected]/@QNS President-elect Donald Trump‘s roots in Queens run deep, but the borough’s residents are anxious about what the future holds when he takes the oath of office in January. Trump lived at 85-15 Wareham Pl. in Jamaica Estates for the first few years of his life. The current owner of the Tudor home — Isaac Kestenberg — is currently looking to sell the house at auction. Kestenberg was not available to speak outside of the president elect’s former home, but his friend Ioan Serban said that Kestenberg is hoping Trump would come and visit his old home. “The house may be more historic,” Serban said. “Kestenberg is looking forward to having the president-elect come down to the house, and maybe even buy it himself.” When asked about having Trump as the next president, Serban believe the American people should give him a chance. “We have a duty to give Donald Trump, the new president-elect, a chance to deliver on his promises,” Serban added. “It could be a disaster … but assuming what will happen could be just as bad as thinking we knew who was going to be the next president.” That uncertainty was shared among local elected officials who spoke out on Wednesday. While many of them disagreed with Trump’s politics, they offered the new president their support in helping to move the country forward after one of the most divisive and ugly elections in modern times. “I am going to support the next president,” said Congressman-elect Tom Suozzi, who won the Third Congressional District seat on Tuesday night. “That is our duty as American citizens. The peaceful transition of power is fundamental piece of what makes this country great … I’m gonna work with anybody. I’m going to work with President Trump to try and address problems.” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, the majority leader of the City Council, said he is “stunned” and “saddened” by the results. “I have already heard from too many who are afraid, legitimately afraid, of what will be,” Van Bramer said. “But while I understand that there is much to be concerned about, I don’t want to focus on fear. Instead I ask all of us to dig deep at this difficult moment and feel hope and be in touch with our undying thirst for freedom. Women, African-Americans, Latinos, all immigrants — including the undocumented, my LGBT brothers and sisters, people of all faiths including Muslims, and the differently abled have come as far as we have because we know how to fight. We should take some time to feel this pain because it’s real. But we must quickly turn this around and organize and fight.” “Hillary Clinton and the tens of millions of Americans who supported her during a historic campaign have an awful lot to be proud of,” said Congressman Joe Crowley. “In the end, Donald Trump won. I congratulate Mr. Trump on a hard-fought victory and after a grueling campaign, it is now time for our country to heal and to work on moving our nation forward.” This story was filed by Anthony Giudice, Angela Matua, Suzanne Monteverdi and Robert Pozarycki. Photo: Anthony Giudice/QNS This Jamaica Estates home was the childhood residence of President-elect Donald Trump.
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