8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 2, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Justice reform, campaign money top DA debate in Jack. Hts.
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Candidates for Queens District
Attorney spoke on justice reform issues
which are coming to defi ne the race at a
forum in Jackson Heights on Monday night.
While some candidates claimed there was
no confl ict from contributions accepted
from PACs and the real estate industry,
all pledged to not cooperate with ICE in
deportation attempts and the eff ort to close
Rikers Island.
“Campaign fi nance reform is overdue,”
Democratic candidate Jose Nieves
said. “Candidates can self-impose campaign
fi nance reform … It doesn’t mean
just because the money is there we have to
take it.”
Councilman Rory Lancman argued that
he is fi ghting to end “the new Jim Crow”
aff ecting people of color and that corporate
contributions would not impact his
mission.
“I am not bringing a knife to this gunfi
ght,” Lancman said. “I accept funding
from all those who are legally allowed to
contribute and we are going to take our
message of reforming this criminal justice
system throughout the borough and win
this race.”
Borough President Melinda Katz’s claim
that her contributions from real estate
developers would pose no confl ict was
challenged by New Vision Democratic
Club moderators with a special question,
to which she claimed it had never been an
issue in her career.
“Any district attorney should be able to
show they are independent no matter where
they get their money,” Katz said. “My history
has cost developers hundreds of millions
of dollars. I’m not sure how many other
people can say that.”
Retired Judge Gregory Lasak said he
would take a stance against deportation by
hiring immigration attorney’s in the DA’s
offi ce and making an eff ort to Immigration
and Customs Enforcement agents away
from courthouses on account of the disruptions
they could cause.
“I don’t want them interfering with the
administration of justice in our county,”
Lasak said.
Tiff any Cabán criticized the close Rikers
plan as simply an excuse to build new
jails whereas she believes the only way to
de-carcerate is by ending detention altogether.
“You can and should close Rikers on a
much faster timeline than the 10-year proposal,”
Cabán said before clarifying her
stance. “In that minuscule number of cases
where somebody has to be removed from
their community for the safety of themselves
and others, we will do it.”
Betty Lugo said she plans to create a community
outreach unit and a network with
faith-based organizations to build programs
to act as alternatives to incarceration.
“I believe the people of the county are
the best to judge and to decide what’s the
best for how to deal with a situation,” Lugo
said. “It takes a village, once you involve the
community in what’s happening – the more
you’re involved – the more you respect the
criminal justice system.”
Th e plan to close Rikers by 2026 includes
proposal four borough-based jails, including
one which could stand up to 26 stories
at 1.2 million square feet in Kew Gardens.
While many, such as Lasak and Lugo, are
in favor of updating Rikers, others such as
Lancman, Katz and Nieves are in favor of
shuttering the complex and rebuilding in
the boroughs.
Not present at the forum was Mina Malik,
a former assistant district attorney and a lecturer
at Harvard’s Fair Punishment Project.
Th e Democratic primary for Queens district
attorney falls on June 25.
Betty Lugo speaks before a crowd at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights about her positions on issues in the race for Queens District Attorney.
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