4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 30, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
QBP candidates clash at Flushing forum
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
Eight candidates vying for the
offi ce of Queens borough president
participated in a discussion
forum on Tuesday, Jan. 21,
with Flushing community residents
on how they would tackle
critical issues in the Asian-Pacifi c
American community.
Th e forum, held at Glow
Community Center at One
Flushing at 133-29 41st Ave., was
sponsored by Asian Americans
for Equality (AAFE) and APA
VOICE, a coalition of 20 nonprofi
t groups dedicated to voter
education and engagement.
Th e Asian Pacifi c American
community is the fastest growing
group in New York City, now
making up more than 26 percent
of the population in the
borough of Queens, according
to AAFE. Asian Americans and
Pacifi c Islanders are increasingly
moving into neighborhoods
across Queens, and are now the
majority group in multiple communities.
“We hope this forum will help
voters make their decision ahead
of the upcoming special election
which is scheduled to take
place on March 24,” said John
Park, executive director of the
MinKwon Center of Community
Action.
Th e candidates in attendance
included Councilmen Costa
Constantinides and Donovan
Richards, former Councilwoman
Elizabeth Crowley, Daniel Maio,
Anthony Miranda, Everly Brown,
former Assistant District Attorney
James Quinn and Dao Yin.
Th e event, moderated by New
York City investigative reporter
Ti-Hua Chang, covered
issues such as aff ordable housing,
transportation, the controversial
SHSAT debate and public
safety, job creation and small
business development and immigrant
rights.
All of the candidates agreed
that new residential development
needs to include more aff ordable
housing and higher levels of
aff ordability, not just in Flushing,
but across Queens.
“Shutting down luxury apartments
or a new building is not
going to do anything, we have
to bring the costs down,” said
Quinn.
In her response, Crowley said
she believes transit drives opportunity
and aff ordable housing.
She also vowed to work with
AAFE and other nonprofi t organizations
to build more aff ordable
housing units in Queens.
“We’re in a very rich transit
area, and in Flushing although
we have the 7 train here, probably
the busiest station in all of NYC,
we still don’t have enough trains
and options,” Crowley said. “In
and around Queens we can fi nd
more space and aff ordable housing.
We don’t get our fair share
of transit, education, and we certainly
don’t receive our fair share
of aff ordable housing.”
Richards chimed in on his
accomplishments as a city council
member bringing infrastructure
developments and 100 percent
aff ordable housing to the
Rockaways and future plans on
tackling the issue.
“Th e big issue we’ve had is with
supply and demand — there’s
been a lot of demand for more
Eight candidates in the running for offi ce of Queens borough president speak at the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE)
Forum.
housing as Queens grows and
New York City … I’m proposing
to create a zoning task force for
us to look at communities and
work together collectively with
communities to identify opportunities
that we can grow in,”
Richards said.
When asked about transportation
in Queens and the No. 7
train in particular, the candidates
disagreed with the new MTA
transit plan that failed to include
community input in transit-desert
neighborhoods in Queens.
“Th e new transit plan they’re
now initiating does not involve
community voices. Th ey’re eliminating
entire routes without a
conversation with the community
that it’s impacting,” Miranda said.
“Th ey have a plan that they have
not fi nalized, and will be coming
back to Queens for input and
information, which was extremely
important at the hearings.”
Constantinides touched on
appointing a member to the
MTA Board representing Queens
families to invest in the mass
transit system in Queens.
“We should be the ones developing
our own transit plans,”
Constantinides said. “Look at all
of our streets, see how we can do
busways, how we can do things
more innovatively and hold our
elected offi cials, the MTA, the
Department of Transportation,
Albany and City Hall. But we
should be the ones coming up
with these ideas.”
The discussion shifted to
Mayor de Blasio’s elimination of
the SHSAT and the District 28
school diversity plan. Most of the
candidates supported the standardized
testing of students seeking
admission into specialized
high schools.
“We should keep the SHSAT
and we can fi nd a solution by
creating more specialized high
schools. For example, there can
be a Stuyvestant in Queens, in the
Bronx and Brooklyn,” Yin said.
“We need to have a specialized
high school for artifi cial intelligence
and for physical science.”
Meanwhile, Richards, Maio
and Constantinides voted in
favor of reforming the measure.
Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
“Not only do we need to keep
the SHSAT as it is, we need to
expand on it,” Maio said. “We
need to have more schools, more
opportunities, more charter
schools, and the children cannot
wait for failing the system. Th e
SHSAT is a good system and is
working. In the case of School
District 28, the diversity program
is another way of watering down
the system that moves some of
the kids from lower performing
schools just to improve the scores,
it’s wrong and am going against it.”
During the lightning round,
the candidates reassured the public
that their campaign outreach
is working on translating materials
in various languages spoken
in New York City.
In closing, Jennifer Sun, of
AAFE, encouraged attendees to
go out and vote on March 24.
“I think it’s clear that there is
a shared love for Queens and
a commitment by our candidates
for making the borough
better,” Sun said. “Asian voices
do matter and Asian voices
do count.”
Richmond Hill’s 32nd Annual Phagwah Parade scheduled for March
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
Th e biggest street festival in
Queens is returning to the borough
in March.
While Phagwah, or Holi, will
be observed on March 9, the
Richmond Hill community will
celebrate the holiday with a
parade later in the month. Th e
32nd Annual Phagwah Parade
in Richmond Hill will return
Sunday, March 22, at noon when
parade fl oats will leave 133rd
Street and Liberty Avenue and
then proceed to Phil Rizzuto
Park (formerly Smokey Oval
Park), where there will be a cultural
program.
The Phagwah Parade in
Richmond Hill was initiated by
Hindu immigrants from Guyana,
India, Trinidad, Surinam and the
Caribbean. It truly refl ects the
cultural diversity of the country
and promotes the concept
of unity in the face of adversity,
according to Phagwah Parade of
New York Inc.
Phagwah is an ancient Hindu
festival that celebrates the triumph
of good over evil. It also
ushers the arrival of the spring
season.
Over the last 31 years, the
parade has attracted large
crowds from the New York tristate
communities and beyond.
Known as the biggest street festival
in Queens, it has acquired
a unique identity and is regarded
as an important event in the
city’s cultural calendar.
Th is year’s parade is planned
by the Arya Spiritual Center
and the Federation of Hindu
Mandirs. Multiple sponsorship
levels are available to accommodate
any size budget and provide
a variety of benefi ts, including
sponsor recognition on the event
website, print advertisements,
collateral, event signage, social
media and parade announcements.
Additionally, a VIP access
opportunity is another benefi t of
sponsorship.
‘We are looking forward to
great weather, and an even
greater turnout, than in previous
years,” the committee said
in a statement. “Th e Phagwah
Parade of New York Inc. is working
diligently to plan a smooth
and orderly parade and looks
forward to your presence on
Sunday, March 22.”
“The committee would
like to thank the thousands
of faithful supporters, our
Mandirs, and the business
community, that have turned
out to this event for more than
30 years,” the statement continued.
“Their exuberance and
support for our culture are the
essence of what makes this
parade so special. We would
also like to thank our donors,
the media, the 106 and 102
precincts and other members
of the NYPD, NYC Parks
Dept., NYC Sanitation Dept.,
and Community Boards 9 and
10 for their support.”
Photo by Josef Pinlac
The 32nd Annual Phagwah Parade will take place on Sunday, March 22 in
Richmond Hill followed by a cultural performance at Phil Rizzuto Park.
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