6 OCTOBER 1, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens residents’ rally to draft politician for
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Supporters of Councilman Robert
Holden hosted a rally on Sept.
22, to encourage him to run for
mayor — but were met with protesters
who called on him to resign his current
post, instead.
About 50 supporters of Holden,
who currently represents Council
District 30 (which encompasses the
Queens neighborhoods of Ridgewood,
Glendale, Maspeth, Middle
Village, Woodhaven and Woodside),
gathered in front of the Maspeth
Federal Savings Bank at 56-18 69th
St. on Tuesday evening.
They held signs that read “Holden
for Mayor,” “NYC Needs Real Leadership,”
“Let NYC be safe again,” among
others, urging the councilman to
consider a run.
Many supporters wore Trump
hats and waved “Trump 2020” flags.
Others waved large U.S. flags and a
banner that read, “We support the
NYPD.”
Some of the speakers included
longtime supporters Charles Vavruska,
former prosecutor and candidate
for Queens Borough President Jim
Quinn and Community Education
Council 24 President Phil Wong.
Several supporters cited Holden’s
stance on crime and his opposition
to the closing of Rikers Island as
a reason for him to run for higher
office.
“We need a mayor to stop NYC from
going in a spiral, stop the insanity,”
Wong, who volunteered in his
campaign for City Council, told QNS.
“People who live in Forest Hills and
Rego Park came and said they’ll have
their own rally, many residents and
parents shared their views. We need
someone to clean up the city, like Giuliani.
We have a spike in crime, filthy
streets, rats living in trash cans — I,
myself, on Queens Boulevard see
these trash cans overflowing, but
it’s everywhere. It’s sad: We’re still
in COVID-19, you’re brewing another
pandemic. We need a strong mayor,
and we think Holden’s ideal.”
Shortly after the rally began, a
group of about two dozen protesters
set up across the street, many of
whom were members of the Ridgewood
Tenants Union.
Bicyclists protected the protesters
on either side, while police officers
put up a barricade to prevent
them from entering the busy
intersection.
Protesters held signs that read
“Holden hurts our neighborhood,”
“Vote Bob out in 2020” and “We keep
us safe.”
Many of the protesters cited
Holden’s support for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
and his push to close the homeless
shelter in Glendale as a reason to
Photos by Dean Moses
oppose his run.
“We need Bob Holden to resign,”
RTU wrote on Twitter. “He is harmful
to our community and instead of
supporting the most vulnerable of
our neighbors, he makes them a target.
We can’t let this racist continue
to be in power.”
Juan Ardila, who is running for
Holden’s seat, joined the counterprotesters.
He said he lives nearby
and needed to show up to the counterprotest
when he heard of the rally to
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
