8 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 5, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
politics
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Queens borough president candidates promise
to increase diversity in community boards
BY MAX PARROTT
diverse enough to represent the borough.
of candidates that refl ect diversity in the
party. He said that in community board
mparrott@schnepsmedia.com
Th e six candidates who have so far fi led
borough.
appointments and the allocation of funding
@QNS
to run include former Councilwoman
Richards started by praising Katz for collaborating
in the borough, decisions need to be
Elizabeth Crowley, City Councilmen
with other elected offi cials in
made on conversations with the community
Th e six declared candidates for Queens
Donovan Richards, Jimmy Van Bramer and
order to make sure that her budget complemented
rather than political favors or relationships.
borough president may have very diff erent
Costa Constantinides, Assemblywoman
their projects. But he said that
objectives for the offi ce, but according to a
Alicia Hyndman and retired President of
the borough president needs to enact term
Miranda claimed that if the borough
recent candidates forum, they all have one
the Latino Offi cers Association Anthony
limits to ensure there’s more turnover in
president’s offi ce made an eff ort to be more
thing in common: they would deviate from
Miranda. Th e candidates are competing
community board positions, and increase
transparent and accountable, it would help
current Borough President Melinda Katz.
in a special election to take over the rest of
diversity.
diversify the community board appointments.
At the candidate forum on Saturday, Nov.
Katz’s term ending in at the close of 2021.
“I think she could have looked at those
23, hosted by the Queens Coordination
Th e role of borough president involves a
numbers to make sure that community
In addition to agreeing that the community
Council and Queens Community House
number of advisory functions on land use
boards have public housing members on
boards were not suffi ciently diverse,
in Forest Hills, the six candidates each took
and the municipal budget process in the
them,” said Richards.
Constantinides said that Katz had missed
the opportunity to explain how their vision
form of the disbursement of millions of
Crowley talked about being more bold
the opportunity to build a holistic 20-century
for the offi ce would go further than that of
dollars per year from the city’s annual discretionary
than Katz on transportation, using the
transportation system and build satellite
the district attorney-elect.
capital budget to organizations
question as an opportunity to plug her idea
offi ces in remote neighborhoods – two
When asked for one thing that Borough
and projects in the borough.
for resuscitating the QNS line, an 8.5-mile
pillars of his campaign platform.
President Katz has done that they agree
It also has an important role in the
stretch of railway which connects Jamaica
Hyndman used her time to frame herself
with, and one thing that they disagree
appointment of community board members.
Station to Court Street Station.
as an advocate of small businesses. She said
with, candidates did not hold back in their
At the beginning of the year, the
As the only elected offi cial who endorsed
that the borough president needs to play a
criticism.
offi ce encourages constituents to apply for
decarceral district attorney candidate
central role making sure that redevelopment
One consistent opinion in almost all the
open spots and then advises each council
Tiff any Cabán, Van Bramer emphasized
of LaGuardia and JFK includes benefi
answers was that Katz did not do enough
member in fi nalizing all appointments.
his antagonistic relationship to the political
ts to small and minority-woman-owned
to make sure that community boards are
Th ese eff orts are designed to create a pool
establishment in the Queens Democratic
businesses.
Six Queens Borough President candidates attended a forum in Forest Hills on Nov. 23.
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