4 SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Low turnout,
no surprises
in primaries
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Tuesday’s Democratic
primary in Queens developed
as many pundits had
predicted: Most voters stayed
home, and almost all of the key
races were lopsided in favor of
the incumbents.
Queens voters in nine City
Council districts also had to
choose their party’s nominee for
the November general election.
Across the board, the turnout was
absolutely anemic.
Not a single candidate in any
Queens City Council primary
race secured more than 8,000
votes. Just one district had slightly
more than 10,000 total votes, and
less than 5,000 total votes were
cast in another district.
The closest City Council contest
turned out to be the three-way
primary race in the 28th District
covering much of southeast
Queens. Community Board 12
Chairperson Adrienne Adams
narrowly defeated community activist
Richard David and attorney
Hettie Powell. Adams secured
3,341 votes (38.8 percent); David
had 2,763 (32 percent); and Powell
garnered 2,483 (28.9 percent).
With 21 write-ins, the total vote
count was 8,608.
Here are the results for two
other key City Council races in
the Ridgewood Times and Times
Newsweekly coverage areas:
21st District (Central Queens):
Assemblyman Francisco Moya
was victorious in his bid to
succeed the outgoing City Councilwoman
Julissa Ferreras-Copeland.
Moya secured 3,480 votes
(55.2%) over his competitor, disgraced
former state Senator Hiram
Monserrate, who garnered
2,782 votes (44.1%). There were 46
write-in votes, bringing the total
vote count to 6,308.
32nd District (Southwest
Queens and the Rockaways): Mike
Scala won the right to challenge
incumbent Republican City Councilman
Eric Ulrich in November.
Scala secured 43.7 percent of the
vote (2,115) over two rivals: public
school teacher Helal Sheikh (1,481,
or 30.6 percent) and housing advocate
William Ruiz (1,174, or 24.3
percent). Including 67 votes, the
total vote count was 4,837.
Crowley wins primary, but war isn't over
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
In what may have been the most
bitter primary race in Queens this
year, incumbent Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley secured her party’s
nomination for the 30th Council
District by beating Middle Village
civic leader Robert Holden in the
Democratic primary.
Though Crowley won the battle, the
contest won’t end until the November
general election because Holden
vowed to continue his campaign on
the Conservative and Reform party
lines.
Crowley was able to amass 63.8
percent of the votes (3,496 votes) to
Holden’s 36.2 percent (1,986 votes) with
99.1 percent of precincts reporting in
by 8:52 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13,
according to WNYC.
Supporters, family, friends and fellow
Democratic elected offi cials fi lled
the Woodhaven House restaurant to
watch the results roll in and celebrate
Crowley’s victory.
Joining Crowley was Assemblyman
Mike Miller, state Senator Joseph
Addabbo, Council members Jimmy
Van Bramer and Karen Koslowitz,
and Congressman Joseph Crowley —
Elizabeth’s cousin and chair of Queens
County Democratic Party.
“What a big friggin’ win,” Crowley
exclaimed in support of his cousin. “It’s
a big victory tonight for Elizabeth. Overall,
I think Queens County Dems sent a
strong message that what we’re about is
integrity, and honor, and dignity.”
In her victory speech Crowley mentioned
the contentious nature of this
primary campaign, and thanked her supporters
and staff for standing by her side.
“Too many lies were spread … and
you guys were out there,” Crowley said.
“You guys spoke the truth.”
Although this was a big win for Crowley,
she knows she still has a lot of work
ahead of her since her Democratic opponent
will be facing off against her in
November’s general election on both the
Conservative and Reform party lines.
“The victory is ours to share,” Crowley
told those in attendance. “It’s not
over yet, unfortunately. We gotta to
make sure we win again in November.”
That’s when Holden expects
to make his biggest challenge to
Crowley. On Tuesday night, the Juniper
Park Civic Association (JPCA)
president said that this Democratic
primary was “a free foul shot,” and
that he is certainly still “alive and
well” in the race.
Holden said that he knew going into
the primary that he would not be able
to access his base of voters, since many
are not registered Democrats.
“A lot of my base came up to me and
said they couldn’t vote,” Holden said
from his campaign headquarters —
which is in the garage of his Middle
Village home. “They were either
blanks, or Republicans, or Independents
… I was up against the machine
… I think my strength will be all the
voters of the district.”
Holden vowed to use this primary
as experience in moving forward toward
the general election. He said he
now knows where he did not perform
well and will make changes to visit
the people of Woodside and Ridgewood
who may not know him, as well
as the people of Middle Village and
Maspeth.
“If she rests on this, she may be
shocked in the fall when people actually
come out, and more people come out
and actually vote,” Holden said. “And
not just one segment — party labels —
all the parties can vote in November,
and that’s my strength.”
Photos by Anthony Giudice
Ridgewood Times
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley
celebrated her Democratic primary
win on Tuesday night.
Crowley & Holden spit fi re during Ridgewood debate
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Before constituents of the 30th
Council District went to the
polls on Sept. 12 to cast their
vote in the Democratic primary, the
Ridgewood Property Owners and
Civic Association (RPOCA) had both
candidates on stage for an important
Q&A session on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley
and civic leader Robert Holden were
asked a series of questions on issues
that directly aff ect the residents of
Ridgewood. Crowley won the Sept.
12 primary against her rival, but
Holden said he would continue on
to Election Day in November on the
Conservative and Reform party lines.
Things got a little heated between
the candidates on Sept. 7 when the
subjects of downzoning and historic
preservation were raised.
When asked if they would support a
downzoning initiative for the greater
Ridgewood area (including Glendale,
Maspeth and Middle Village) to further
protect the existing housing stock,
both answered that they would.
Crowley went on to mention that
she helped rezone Maspeth, Middle
Village and Glendale as one of the
fi rst things she did when she took
offi ce in 2009. Holden claimed, however,
that Crowley came into offi ce at
the tail end of a decades-long battle
to get the area downzoned where he
and other civic leaders spearheaded
the initiative to get the zoning change.
“Eventually when Elizabeth
Crowley came in, two months later
it was, again, downzoned,” Holden
said. “We’re at a point where she is
taking credit for that, but we did all
the labor, we did all the heavy lift ing.”
Crowley shot back that she was
able to get the downzoning done in
a short time because she prioritized
the issue as soon as she got in offi ce,
while Holden was working on the
issue for decades.
“The truth of the matter is, we were
able to achieve a goal that he tried
with other elected offi cials to achieve
for generations if it was over 45 years,
and we were able to accomplish that in
the City Council,” she said.
Although both Crowley and Holden
support plans to downzone and
landmark areas in the communities,
they disagree on major topics important
to constituents.
When it comes to transportation,
both candidates have unique ideas
on how to keep the people of the
“World’s Borough” moving.
Holden wants to see a luxury condo
tax and a commuter tax be implemented
in order to help pay for repairs to the
city’s failing infrastructure, claiming
that high-rise condos are responsible
for bringing more people to the community,
which leads to an overtaxing of
the city’s transportation systems.
Crowley, on the other hand, does
not want to see more taxes for the
middle class; instead, she wants to invest
more in the infrastructure that
will benefi t her constituents, such as
her plan to reopen the Long Island
Rail Road’s (LIRR) Lower Montauk
Line to commuter service.
