8 JANUARY 9, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens borough president forum showcases
candidates’ diff ering styles to similar stances
Five candidates for Queens Borough President attended a forum in Douglaston on Jan. 4 Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
One Queens Indivisible hosted the
fi rst Queens borough president
forum of 2020 on Jan. 4 at Zion
Episcopal Church in Douglaston.
It was also the first forum since
Councilman Donovan Richards
nabbed the endorsement of the
Queens County Democratic Party
and Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman
dropped out.
The forum began with near conformity
between the five on housing
affordability, went on to cover transportation
and community board diversity,
and closed with a lightning
round that ended up splitting the
candidates on hot-button city issues
that don’t necessarily fall under the
purview of the office.
Asked about what how to make
Queens affordable for working class
residents, all candidates agreed that
new residential development needs
to include more affordable housing
and higher levels of affordability.
“I won’t approve any ULURP
application that does not have deep
affordability and union work as part
of that application,” said Councilman
Costa Constantinides.
In her answer, former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley connected
Queens’ housing crisis with a lack
of transportation infrastructure.
She pointed to the phenomenon of
families doubling or tripling up in
households because they cannot afford
to have their own.
“Where are families doubling up
the most? Along the 7 train. They
are not close to opportunities and
jobs,” she said, alluding to her plan to
revive abandoned Long Island Rail
Road’s Lower Montauk branch into
a commuter line.
Throughout the forum, Richards
distinguished his answers by expounding
to his accomplishments
as a Council member in great detail.
On housing, he claimed that every
project that has come to his Far Rockaway
district after the devastation
of Hurricane Sandy was 100 percent
affordable.
Richards style of answer set a sharp
contrast from that of Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer, who tended to
use his answers to rail against various
state and municipal systems from
housing construction subsidies to the
state control of the MTA.
“Most people who hear about a new
de Blasio affordable housing plan
have no faith and confidence that
it will actually deliver affordable
housing to those who most need it,”
Van Bramer said.
On the other hand, Anthony
Miranda, the National Latino Offi cers
Association chairman, stood out as
the only candidate on the stage without
a tenure as a City Council member.
He used this bit of personal history
to profess his willingness to act as a
counterbalance on Council members
he sees as failing in their duties.
Asked about how to diversify community
boards, Miranda said that
he would be willing to push back
against Council members who have
not appointed new community board
members to reflect the demographics
of their council district. He also
claimed that Queens members of the
City Council have failed to create a
unified vision of transportation in
the borough.
At the tail end of the forum, the
candidates answered a series of lightning
round questions, which limited
them to a “yes” or “no” answer. This
style of question put some distance
between the candidates’ answers.
The first of these asked whether
they were in favor of getting rid of
cash bail — a question that is sure to
come up again after former Assistant
District Attorney James Quinn
entered the race with a platform
that raises this as a central plank.
All responded with “yes,” except for
Crowley, who said that it depends.
When asked about abolishing the
Specialized High School Admissions
Test, more interesting differences
arose. Van Bramer and Crowley
said “no.” Miranda said “yes.” Richards
said yes, “but with trepidation”
and Costa, said no but “also with
trepidation.”
On the decriminalization of sex
work, all said “yes” except Crowley.
And on legalizing e-bikes, all said
“yes” except for Miranda who said
“no,” and Crowley who tentatively
said she’s “open.”
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
