FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 22, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 31
Constantinides picks Ramos over incumbent Peralta in state Senate primary
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
@AngelaMatua
Astoria Councilman Costa
Constantinides will offi cially endorse this
morning Jessica Ramos, a candidate running
against state Senator Jose Peralta’s
seat in New York’s 13th Senate District.
Ramos, a Jackson Heights resident,
announced her candidacy on Jan. 25, exactly
one year aft er incumbent Jose Peralta
joined the Independent Democratic
Conference (IDC). Constantinides previously
endorsed Peralta in the last state
Senate election in 2016.
“We need a real Democrat representing
Queens in Albany and Jessica Ramos
is the candidate for the job,” he said in a
statement. “We need someone who rides
the trains, who sends their kids to public
schools, and who understands the challenges
of renting in New York City. I
know Jessica has the passion, the knowledge,
and the commitment to fi ght for
our community in Albany. I am proud
to endorse Jessica — a candidate who
refl ects our Democratic values — rather
than someone who supports the party
of Trump.”
Peralta is a Democrat, but his affi liation
with the IDC — which enabled the
Republican party to maintain control of
the state Senate — drew the ire of some
of his constituents. Th ey held a town hall
titled “Where is Peralta?” aft er the senator
declined to hold an additional meeting
explaining his move. Approximately
200 people showed up to learn about the
eight-member coalition last June.
In January, Ramos said as part of her
campaign she would seek to educate constituents
about what the IDC is and “that
it’s not as progressive as they claim it to
be.”
Democrats make up the majority of the
state Senate — they have 32 members,
while Republicans have 31. But while it
would seem that Democrats outnumber
the GOP, the Senate is complicated by
another factor: the IDC.
Th e IDC, founded in 2011, is a group
of Democratic state senators
who form a majority coalition with
Republicans. Subtracting those eight
members and state Senator Simcha
Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who caucuses
with Republicans, puts the number
of mainline Democrats in the state
Senate at 23.
With two recent Democratic senator
departures, the number of mainline
Democrats is now at 21. Governor
Andrew Cuomo called for special elections
on April 24, which is expected to
shift the balance back to 23 mainline
Democrats in the coming months.
Peralta defended his move in an interview
with QNS and said that a reunifi -
cation plan presented by Gov. Andrew
Cuomo to reunify the IDC and mainline
Democrats was “very likely.”
Th e plan would make
both IDC leader Jeff
Klein and Democratic
Conference Leader
Andrea Stuart-
Cousins co-leaders
and each would
have a chance to
decide the agenda and bring legislation to
the fl oor. In return, Democrats would not
actively seek to run primary challengers
against the IDC members.
Despite the plan, almost every IDC
member has at least one primary challenger
or more.
“I’m honored to be endorsed by City
Council member Constantinides, a dedicated
public servant, fellow Queens native,
and tireless advocate for working families,”
Ramos said. “I’m running for state Senate
to fi ght for stronger schools, more aff ordable
housing, and a subway system that
actually works. Right now, this district’s
state Senator supports a Republican majority
in Albany — blocking the DREAM Act,
the Reproductive Health Act, and more.
It’s time to vote him out. I’m proud to
count on the support of my good friend
Council member Costa Constantinides
and look forward to campaigning alongside
him as we fi ght for a true Democratic
majority in Albany this year.”
Ramos left her job as the director of
Latino media at the mayor’s offi ce in
December 2017 and said her decision to
run stems partly from realizing the limited
power that the city has over big issues
such as transportation, education and
housing laws.
“It was a very personal decision for me,”
she told QNS. “Working in City Hall, I
understood the limitations that the city
has over many of the things we depend
on every day.”
Constantinides will offi cially announce
his endorsement at 11 a.m. in front of
31-04 Ditmars Blvd.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Ramos
Councilman Costa
Constantinides offi -
cially endorsed Jessica
Ramos, a candidate
running against state
Senator Jose
Peralta.
Pol seeks probe of Kushner apts. in Astoria
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com
@AngelaMatua
Jared Kushner’s real estate company
repeatedly falsifi ed city paperwork to
mask the number of rent-regulated apartments
in three Astoria apartment buildings
purchased in 2015, an Associated
Press report found.
Aft er buying the properties in 2015,
Kushner Companies was reportedly able
to sell the three buildings for $60 million
in 2017, almost double what it paid.
Th e company fi led paperwork with the
city claiming that it had no rent-regulated
tenants in 34 buildings that it owned
throughout the city.
Kushner stepped down as CEO of the
company last year before becoming an
advisory to President Donald Trump.
But he retained stakes in Westminster
Management, a subsidiary that oversees
Kushner Companies residential properties,
including the buildings in Astoria,
AP reported.
In Astoria, according to the AP report,
the company checked a box for construction
permits in 2015 indicating that
there were no rent-regulated tenants in
the buildings. Th e buildings were located
at 23-15 30th Ave., 23-05 30th Ave. and
21-80 38th St., according to documents
provided to QNS by the Housing Rights
Initiative, which compiled the work permit
application documents and shared
them with AP.
By falsifying these documents, the
company escaped stricter city regulations
when they began construction in
the buildings.
Th e city will conduct unannounced
“sweeps” to make sure landlords are not
using the construction as a way to force
certain tenants out to make way for those
who would pay market-rate rent. But
according to AP, tax records show that
there were as many as 94 rent-regulated
units from the previous
owner.
AP spoke to current
and former tenants
in Astoria who
said they experienced
banging, drilling, dust
and leaking water that
they believe was used to
force them out.
“It was noisy, there
were complaints, I got
mice,” tenant Rudolph
Romano told AP. “Th ey
cleaned the place out.
I watched the whole
building leave.”
Romano also told
the wire that Kushner
Companies increased his
rent by 60 percent. Th e company told AP
the previous landlord initiated the rent hike.
Aft er examining tax records, AP found
that of the 94 rent-regulated units in the
three Astoria buildings, only 25 remained
rent-regulated by 2016.
Romano hired a lawyer to fi ght back
against the rent hike and was able to restore
it to $2,350 from $3,750. He still lives in the
apartment with his wife and four kids.
A spokesperson for the Department
of Buildings told AP that a contractor
who fi led false documents in two of the
Queens buildings was disciplined and
that the agency was hiring 72 new inspectors
to crack down on harassment.
Th ose who submit false documents
to the Department of Buildings can be
charged with a misdemeanor and can be
slapped with fi nes of up to $25,000.
“It’s bare-faced greed,” Aaron Carr,
founder of Housing Rights Initiative,
told the publication. “Th e fact that the
company was falsifying all these applications
with the government shows a sordid
attempt to avert accountability and get a
rapid return on its investment.”
A spokesperson for the Kushner
Companies told AP that it outsources the
completion of these documents to third
parties and that “Kushner would never
deny any tenant their due-process rights.”
Councilman Costa Constantinides,
who represents Astoria, called the move
“despicable.”
“Kushner Companies’ blatant disregard
for our regulations simply to make a profit
demonstrates disrespect of our community
and our residents who have called
this neighborhood home for years,” he
said. “Our offi ce will research the possibility
of strengthening these regulations by
increasing penalties and opening up possible
additional legal remedies for tenants.
I will work with Council Oversight and
Investigations Committee Chair Ritchie
Torres as he examines this fl agrant violation
of our law.”
Photo via Google Maps/Inset courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
An AP report found that real estate company owned by Jared Kushner
(inset) lied about how many rent-regulated apartments it owned in
Astoria.
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