14 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 18, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
City Council hopefuls talk food policy in D31
BY SOPHIA LEBOWITZ
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
City Council candidate Selvena Brooks-
Powers was out in her district when she
walked into a Key Foods across the street
from a NYCHA development. It wasn’t
her usual store, but she stopped in to get
a few things. While walking through the
produce aisle, she couldn’t fi nd the organic
fruit she usually buys. When Brooks-
Powers asked a worker where she could
fi nd it, the answer was eye-opening to her.
“Th ey told me they didn’t stock any
organic food in the store,” said Brooks-
Powers who narrowly fi nished fi rst in the
initial round of counting in last month’s special
election for City Council District 31.
Th e experience made her think about
how food choice aff ects health, she said.
“Our district has been hit pretty hard
by COVID. We are learning that a lot of it
has to do with underlying health issues,”
Brooks-Powers said.
According to the CDC, food-related
illnesses like diabetes, hypertension
and heart disease worsen symptoms of
COVID-19 and increase the chance of
death.
Th e District 31 special election is the
fi rst in the city to go into a ranked-choice
voting count, and whoever wins will be
in a position to change food policy in the
city. According to election night results
which tallied voters’ fi rst-ranked choices
on their ballots, Brooks-Powers is narrowly
winning with 38 percent of the vote,
while Pesach Osina trails just behind with
35 percent. Since no candidate won more
than 50 percent of the vote, the New York
City Board of Elections (BOE) will count
voters’ second-, third- and fourth-ranked
choices starting on March 16 to fi nd the
winner.
Whoever that might be, the new council
member will be facing a crisis around
food access in the district. Dr. Nick
Freudenberg, director of CUNY’s Urban
Food Policy Institute, said that people are
more likely to make unhealthy choices
during times of economic hardship.
“What we know, in the food system in
the United States and in New York City is
that unhealthy food is cheaper and more
accessible,” said Freudenberg.
Osina praised the Laurelton Farmers
Market for creating a solution during the
pandemic. Th e district is lacking stores for
residents, and on a commercial level, hospitality
businesses are having problems
getting food deliveries, he said. If elected,
his food policy would be focused on
connecting groups like Rose’s with other
resources so that emergency response can
go smoothly.
“Th e only way you’re going to ensure
that you have equity for everybody is if
you have the faith-based community, the
senior population and the communitybased
organizations all working together,”
said Osina.
Mayoral race: Adams, Yang hit the campaign trail in Queens
BY STEPHEN WITT
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
One candidate marched to the beat
of Sikh dhol drummer Jarnail Singh in
South Richmond Hill. Th e other candidate
was lauded as “a real mensch” in Kew
Gardens.
Mayoral candidate frontrunners
Andrew Yang and Eric Adams hit the
campaign trail trolling for votes in the
world’s borough of Queens on Tuesday,
March 16.
Adams’ visit in the parking lot of the
Baba Makhan Shah Lobana Sikh Center
came with an appearance and endorsement
from Assemblywoman Jenifer
Rajkumar, the fi rst South Asian woman
to be elected to State offi ce in New York
history.
Adams also came to push his healthcare
access equity plan, which would double
new vaccination sites — from 100 to
200 — with funds from the federal government’s
nationwide $32 billion vaccination
eff ort.
Adams and Rajkumar said this can be
done using part of the $6 billion the city
will receive from Washington, and then
make the sites permanent healthcare centers
in underserved communities to close
racial gaps in chronic illness rates and
access to basic care.
“Our city’s diversity is its strength, and I
will work with Assemblymember Rajkumar
to support our immigrants and communities
of color as their advocate at City
Hall, ensuring we recover the right way by
protecting their rights, delivering fi nancial
resources, and getting them the healthcare
resources they need to thrive,” said Adams.
Just minutes aft er Adams’ appearance,
Yang received the endorsement
from Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal
(D-Queens) at the corner of Main Street
and 75th Avenue in the heart of the modern
orthodox Jewish neighborhood of
Kew Gardens Hills.
Among the photos Yank took was with
students from the Jewish all-girls Shevach
High School, 7509 Main Street.
Aft er the photo op, Yang was asked
about the current controversial allegations
that some yeshivas are not giving proper
secular education.
“I’ve looked into it the issue, but I’m
for whatever is working for children and
families, and from what I’ve seen, a lot of
these schools are delivering great education
to kids every day,” said Yang.
Yang also said he is in favor of retaining
the Specialized High School Admissions
Test (SHSAT) to get into the city’s top academic
high schools, but also to supplement
it with other factors such as grades,
teacher recommendations and essays.
“I also think expanding some of these
school because a zero-sum game is not
necessary given that we have such a large
system and if there’s a lot of demand for it
we can create two new ones per borough
so kids can have other options that are
frankly closer to them because now a lot
of kids are commuting to them an hour
each way,” he said.
Photo via Witty Media
The Laurelton Farmers Market
Photo by Stephen Witt
LEFT: Mayoral Candidate Eric Adams receives the endorsement of Queens Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (in red) and discusses his plan to open more
local vaccination centers. RIGHT: Mayoral Candidate Andrew Yang with Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal and students from the all-girls Jewish Shevach
High School in Kew Gardens.
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