WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 28, 2021 11
NYC’s #1 Source for Political & Election News
Richards looks to hold off Republican challenger
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Queens residents will be deciding
between Democratic incumbent
Donovan Richards and former
Oath Keepers member Thomas Zmich
for Queens borough president in the
Nov. 2 general election.
Richards was the fi rst Black man
elected to be Queens borough president
last year aft er his predecessor, Melinda
Katz, took offi ce as the district attorney.
He also formerly served as a City Council
member for District 31, representing
southeast Queens.
Aft er a tight Democratic primary
this past June, Richards beat former
Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley
with razor-thin margin of about 0.6%,
garnering 92,222 votes to Crowley’s
91,153 votes. When results came in,
Richards claimed Crowley, the cousin
of former Congressman Joe Crowley —
who was defeated by Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez — was racist.
Richards tweeted about his opponent,
saying, “@ElizCrowleyNYC told me she
would win, because BLM would die?
What’s good now?”
“We beat your racist ass,” Richards
tweeted.
Incumbent Donovan Richards (l.) is facing off with Thomas Zmich in the
race for Queens borough president in the Nov. 2 general election.
Photos courtesy of campaigns
In the general election, Richards
is up against Republican candidate
Zmich, who was recently reported to be
a former member of the Oath Keepers,
a far-right, anti-government organization.
Zmich admitted he belonged to
the militia group before the New York
chapter dissolved.
However, when asked to comment on
his involvement, he pointed a fi nger at
Richards for a trip he took to Ukraine
this month.
“It is already known that I do not
belong to that organization anymore
over three years ago,” Zmich wrote
in an email to QNS. “You should be
investigating how and who paid for
the complimentary Ukraine trip that
Richards took this month. What city
business was he doing over there to
justify the approval for this free trip.”
Richards traveled to Ukraine this
month to commemorate the 80th anniversary
of the Babi Yar Massacre
when Nazis killed nearly 100,000
people during World War II. The trip
was paid for by the nonprofi t Assembly
of Nationalities of Ukraine.
In addition to running on the Republican
party line, Zmich is also running
on the Conservative party and Save Our
City party lines. He previously ran for
the U.S. House of Representatives and
lost to Congresswoman Grace Meng.
Though Zmich said he is no longer a
member of the far-right militia group,
he apparently had not completely cut
ties with the organization since the
Oath Keepers were listed on the affi
liations page of his 2020 campaign
website. According to his former
congressional campaign site, Zmich
prioritizes national security by “stopping
illegal immigrants from crossing
our borders,” the economy, education
and veterans.
Comparatively, Richards prioritizes
issues in line with what Queens residents
face every day, like jobs, transportation
and healthcare access.
Early voting starts Saturday, Oct. 23
and will last through Sunday Oct. 31. Inperson
absentee ballot requests can be
made up until Nov. 1. To fi nd your poll
site, visit fi ndmypollsite.vote.nyc.
Port Authority to consult ‘outside experts’ for LaGuardia AirTrain
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Bigwigs at the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey announced plans to tap “outside
experts” to review the in-limbo $2.1 billion
AirTrain proposal for LaGuardia Airport Thursday
aft er Governor Kathy Hochul asked the agency to
pause the project last week.
“We will consult with outside experts and stakeholders
as we carry out this review,” Port Authority Executive
Director Rick Cotton told reporters following the
agency’s monthly board meeting on Oct. 21. “Our plan
is to carry out this review as expeditiously as possible,
consistent with our commitment to carry it out at the
absolutely highest level of quality.”
The head of the bi-state entity remained tightlipped
about any details of the review — such as who the consultants
would be, a timeline for the study, or whether
the rail project pushed by disgraced ex-Governor
Andrew Cuomo still had any chance of survival.
“What we’re going to do right now is do the study,
and we’re going to cross all future bridges when we get
to them,” he said at the press conference. “All elements
of the review are currently under development and
are part of the planning process for the overall review.”
The Authority hit the brakes on the rail project on
Oct. 12 at the request of Hochul, who wants the agency
to examine alternative mass transit options to the
Queens airport.
Cotton said as recently as Sept. 30 that the 2.3-mile
elevated AirTrain between LaGuardia and the Mets-
Willets Point stations on the subway’s 7 line and the
Long Island Rail Road was the best way forward.
But on Oct. 21, he struck a diff erent tone, refusing to
say whether he still believed in the pricey plan. Cotton
instead repeatedly gave a variety of the same prepared
response when pressed by reporters.
“The framework is what I said at the beginning,
and what I said at the beginning of this question and
answer: Governor Hochul asked the Port Authority to
carry out a careful and thorough study of alternatives,”
he said. “That is what we intend to do. We intend to
do it expeditiously and we intend to do it rigorously.”
The AirTrain was a pet project of Cuomo’s and got
the green light from President Joe Biden’s Federal
Aviation Administration in July, but progress stalled
Courtesy of the governor’s offi ce
aft er the former governor resigned due to sexual
harassment allegations.
Opponents of the plan have long criticized the train
for not off ering a one-seat ride to Manhattan and for
taking passengers headed to the island the wrong way
east before transferring to mass transit.
Alternative proposals have included extending the
N/W subway line, building out better bus service or
launching a ferry.
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