14 NOVEMBER 2, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
ELECTION 2017
Mayoral candidates bash de Blasio in M.V. ahead of election
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
With a little more than a week
to go until November’s
general election, a pair of
mayoral candidates visited Middle
Village to discuss why they would
be the best person to oust Mayor Bill
de Blasio from Gracie Mansion and
become the city’s new leader.
Independent candidate Bo Dietl and
Republican Assemblywoman Nicole
Malliotakis dropped by the Juniper
Park Civic Association (JPCA) meeting
on Thursday, Oct. 26, to lay out what
makes them the best choice for mayor.
Dietl — a Queens native and former
NYPD detective — took the fl oor fi rst
and immediately called for de Blasio
to be put in jail, referencing a New
York Post report where a former de
Blasio campaign donor, Jona Rechnitz,
testifi ed in federal court that he
donated to the de Blasio campaign in
2013 in exchange for political favors.
Gothamist reported that Rechnitz is “a
cooperating witness in several federal
corruption cases involving New York
City law enforcement offi cials” and
de Blasio’s campaign fundraising; the
mayor has previously denied having a
relationship with Rechnitz.
One major issue during this year’s
mayoral race is the city’s homelessness
crisis — an issue that hits close to
home for residents of Middle Village
and Maspeth.
“I don’t want homeless shelters in my
backyard,” Dietl said. “But there are
ideas that I have.”
One of the ideas he pitched to the
members of JPCA included building
40-story homeless centers on Randall’s
Island where the city can provide the
homeless with the services they need
whether that is drug rehab, mental
health assistance or job training.
Dietl also criticized the mayor’s
current handling of the homelessness
crisis and his 10-year plan.
“All of a sudden now with the homeless
situation, this is de Blasio’s
theory: ‘Let’s spend tens of millions of
dollars on hotel rooms,’” Dietl said. “I
am not for hotel rooms. I’m for shelters
that are not going to aff ect the people
of the communities, where we can get
people into places where we can help
them.”
In fact, the “Turning the Tide on
Homelessness” plan that de Blasio
announced back in February aims
to move the city away from using
hotels as emergency shelters for the
homeless. The plan calls for open 90
“high-quality shelters” across the fi ve
boroughs over the next several years.
During his speech on Thursday,
Dietl also touched on topics including
education, the transit system and
taxes. He promised that he would create
deputy mayors for each borough
that can work with communities and
report back to him with issues that
people are facing each and every
day. Currently, that task is assigned
to the Mayor’s Community Aff airs
Unit; each borough also has its own
president.
Malliotakis then took the mic to
explain her plan for tax reform in the
city, how to update the aging transit
system, and the education system.
“I am running for one simple reason:
because this is the city that I
love,” she explained. “I grew up here.
My parents were immigrants from
Greece and Cuba and they came here
to achieve the ‘American Dream,’ and
it’s becoming increasingly diffi cult to
make it in the city.”
If elected, Malliotakis plans on
creating a commission of City Council
members, Assembly members,
tax experts and government groups
to formulate a proposal that would
be brought before the state government
to tackle rising property taxes,
including capping the property tax
levy aft er de Blasio increased it in
past years.
When it comes to the city’s transit
system, the Staten Island lawmaker
wants to look at strategies from other
countries and turn to a communications
based signal system.
“This is what London, Paris, Copenhagen,
San Francisco, Vancouver have.
It is time to bring New York City into
the 21st century,” she said. “And that
means we’ve got to move towards a
new system, because our signals are
pre-World World II, they are decades
beyond their lifespan, and it’s leading
to 70,000 delays a month.”
The Assemblywoman also lobbied
for smart traffic light technology,
which allows traffi c lights to sense
where pedestrians and vehicles are
on the roadway and dictate when and
how long to change the lights, allowing
for the optimal fl ow of traffi c and
pedestrians.
Voters will head to the polls on
Tuesday, Nov. 7, to cast their vote in a
number of political races.
Crowley-Holden showdown is hottest race on local Election Day ballot
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
While most of the electoral
drama in the 2017 citywide
election ended with September’s
Democratic primary, the
Nov. 7 general election still has a few
contentious City Council races that
should spark Queens voters’ interest.
This year, Queens voters are asked to
form their next city government, with all
citywide offi ces on the ballot. There are
also several judicial seats on the line along
with three statewide ballot referendums.
Perhaps the most fiery contest in
Queens is the 30th City Council District
race between Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley and Juniper Park Civic
Association President Robert Holden. It’s
a rematch of the September primary in
which Crowley soundly defeated Holden,
who vowed to continue on as the candidate
of the Conservative and Reform parties.
Since then, Holden also secured the
Republican Party nomination aft er the
party’s previous choice, Joseph Kasper,
dropped out to pursue a judgeship.
With the 30th District including some
of the few Queens areas that went for
Donald Trump in last year’s presidential
election, the GOP line could prove valuable
in Holden’s quest to unseat Crowley,
a two-term incumbent with whom Holden
has clashed on myriad civic issues.
The 30th District includes Glendale,
Maspeth and Middle Village, as well as
parts of Ridgewood, Woodhaven and
Woodside.
BALLOT REFERENDUMS
Be sure to fl ip the ballot on Election
Day and vote yes or no on three statewide
ballot referendums.
The fi rst referendum is also the
most contentious of the three; Proposal
Number 1 asks voters whether
to approve a convention to revise and
amend the State Constitution. Supporters
say the constitutional convention
would bring about various reforms
in state government generated by the
people, while detractors charge that
a convention would open the door to
special interest meddling that could
result in laws that harm New Yorkers.
The other two ballot questions are
less controversial. Proposal Number
2 asks voters whether to allow an
amendment to the State Constitution
that would allow a court to revoke a
public offi cial’s pension if he or she is
convicted of a felony. Proposal Number
3 asks voters if they want the state
to create a “land account” of up to 250
acres of forest preserve for specifi c
purposes to benefi t public health and
safety.
The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
on Nov. 7. For more information, call
212-VOTE-NYC or visit vote.nyc.ny.us.
