16 MARCH 14, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Congressman Gregory Meeks
was elected chairman of the
Queens County Democratic
Party Monday, replacing former
Congressman Joe Crowley, who
stepped down last month.
“Humbled, honored and fi red
up to be elected,” Meeks said
on Twitter. “Ready to move
our Borough, City, and State
forward.”
The vote was
unanimous
among the
nearly 70
Democratic
d i s t r i c t
leaders who
c o n v e n e d
at party
headquarters
in Forest
Hills.
“It’s a very exciting time for
our party,” Queens County
spokesman Michael Reich said.
“It was very calm and every
single member of the executive
committee voted unanimously
for Gregory Meeks and the only
ones missing were senators who
needed to be in Albany, but I
spoke with them myself last night
and they assured me they were in
full support.”
Now serving in his 11th term
in the House of Representatives,
Meeks was first elected to
represent southern Queens in
1998. Crowley had been re-elected
as party boss in September, a
post he had held since 2006, but
resigned last month aft er taking
a job with Squire Patton Boggs,
one of the largest lobbying fi rms
in D.C.
“I supported Greg’s candidacy
to replace me as County Leader,”
Crowley said. “I think he will
do a great job of building on all
our accomplishments in electing
competent, ethical elected
offi cials that are refl ective of the
diversity of our great borough of
Queens.”
Crowley represented western
Queens for 20 years in the House
of Representatives until he was
upset by now-Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the
Democratic primary last June.
Meeks was seen as Crowley’s
likely successor.
Ryan takes over for Brown as acting DA
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
When it came time to select his
own replacement, Queens
District Attorney Richard
Brown turned his offi ce of nearly 30
years to “a great colleague and, more
important, a close and trusted friend.”
John M. Ryan, who served as Chief
Executive Assistant for the last 22
years, was designated on March 7
to succeed him on an interim basis
until the next district attorney is
elected in November.
Brown announced he was
stepping down early due to health
complications related to his years-long
fi ght with Parkinson’s Disease. He had
announced in January that he would
not seek an eighth term in the offi ce he
has held since 1991.
Ryan began his career at the Queens
District Attorney’s offi ce in 1972 as an
intern and became an assistant district
attorney in 1974 aft er graduating from
St. John’s University School of Law.
Early on, he handled the investigation
of the 1975 bombing at LaGuardia
Airport that killed eleven people.
Additionally, Ryan prosecuted
William Morales, a suspected member
of the Puerto Rican separatist group
FALN, who was convicted in connection
with an explosion at a Jackson Heights
bomb factory.
In October 1979, he resigned to serve
as an Assistant Attorney General in
the New York State Department of
Law where, as a special prosecutor,
he brought the Tawana Brawley
investigation to a just conclusion.
In 1991, shortly aft er Brown was
appointed Queens County District
Attorney by then-Governor Mario
Cuomo, Ryan returned to the Queens
DA’s offi ce as Chief of Investigations
and, in 1997, was promoted to Chief
Assistant District Attorney, a position
he held until last Thursday.
In 2016, Brown honored Ryan for
his “innumerable contributions”
during his long tenure at the Queens
DA’s offi ce.
“As Chief Assistant, Jack’s
contributions to this office cannot
be measured by individual criminal
cases, although his input and infl uence
can be found on many, if not all, of the
major cases prosecuted in Queens
County over the last twenty-five
years,” Brown said. “His work has
broader ramifi cations, signifi cantly
improving the quality of life of the
families residing in many Queens
communities and eff ectively making
these neighborhoods safer places in
which to live by adapting the offi ce
to the crime-fighting needs of the
diverse communities of the county and
seeing that the guilty are punished for
their crimes.”
A spokeswoman for the Queens
DA’s offi ce said, “At this time Chief
Executive Assistant District Attorney
John Ryan’s only statement is that this
day belongs to the District Attorney
Richard A. Brown.”
Ryan will now fi nish the remaining
nine months of Brown’s term until
he is replaced by a newly elected
district attorney in January. There are
currently seven candidates competing
in the June 25 Democratic primary,
including Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz, City Councilman Rory
Lancman, former state Supreme Court
Justice Greg Lasak, public defender
Tiffany Caban, former Queens
prosecutor Mina Malik, former state
Attorney General’s Offi ce prosecutor
Jose Nieves and attorney Betty Lugo.
William and Patricia Trace are
celebrating 70 years of marriage!
Patricia Elizabeth (nee McLaughlin)
Trace and William Trace were
married March 26, 1949, in the
rectory of St. Martin of Tours Catholic
Church, Bushwick. Pat and Bill’s lives
are centered around their undying
love for each other, their family and
their faith in God. They are longtime
residents of Sacred Heart Parish,
Glendale, where they raised their 4
children, spoiled 6 grandchildren &
were active in their community as
well as their church. Pat & Bill live
everyday with gratitude for life’s
blessings.
John Ryan (left) receives an award from Queens District Attorney Richard
A. Brown in 2016. Photo courtesy of Queens District Attorney’s offi ce
Meeks named
new leader of
Queens Dems
Milestone anniversary for Midville couple
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