FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 15, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens Democratic judge nominations a sure thing
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@qns.com
@QNS
Th e judicial delegation of the Queens
County Democratic Party convened at
Antun’s banquet hall in Queens Village
on Th ursday evening to nominate six
Supreme Court Justice positions without
any battle for the seats.
Aft er insurgent Lumarie Maldonado
Cruz recently beat out a party-backed
candidate in the fi rst contested Civil Court
primary in nearly 40 years, the events of
the Aug. 8 Supreme Court nomination
process represented a shift back to business
as usual.
Th e six nominations went to Donna
Golia, Wyatt Gibbons, Stephen Knopf,
Lourdes M. Ventura, Phillip Hom and
Maurice Muir. All except Gibbons, the
candidate who lost the Civil Court primary
in June, currently serve as Queens
judges.
If elected in the November general election,
each of them will earn a 14-year
term on the Supreme Court. For Knopf,
it would be his second such term on the
bench. With a large majority of Queens
voters affi liated with the Democratic
party, it fi gures that each of them will win
their races.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, who
chairs the Queens County Democratic
Party, said that the informal conversations
about the six nominations revolved
around picking a diverse cast of candidates
who have backgrounds in communities
that span the borough.
“We try to make sure that there’s diversity
to refl ect the borough. It was important
for me, as far as the recommendations
that I wanted to make, that I saw the borough
of Queens,” Meeks told QNS.
Th e informal pre-nomination process
means the County Party decided who the
nominees will be before they were formally
presented to over 200 judicial delegates
on Th ursday. As a result of the process, the
judicial delegates’ votes serve as a formal
ratifi cation of the party’s decision-making,
rather than a choice between candidates.
Sheryl Ann Fetik, a delegate for the 28th
Assembly District, said that this is customary.
“A lot of what happens in the party happens
in unoffi cial conversations — you
heard the diff erent candidates speak about
who they were connected with. So I know
conversations went on with those people.
Th en it goes on with county organization
in addition,” said Fetik.
During their respective acceptance
addresses, each of the six nominees
thanked numerous political clubs, local
representatives and legal colleagues who
advocated for them to secure the nominations.
For three of the nominees, the process
was rather emotional, as they became
so overwhelmed that they wept while
addressing the convention.
Four candidates currently serve as judges
at Queens County Civil Court, seats to
which they were elected without opposition.
Gibbons, the outsider in the group,
got his nomination aft er running a private
law practice that focused on criminal
defense law since 1995.
Th e other relative newcomer to the
judiciary is Ventura, a Civil Court judge
elected last year. Ventura, a self-described
Corona girl and Richmond Hill resident,
said adversity had prepared her for this
moment.
In describing her legal track leading up
to the moment she became a judge she
said, “I ended my career as the fi rst person
of color at a law fi rm that had about a hundred
members.”
Skeeter spraying tonight across central Queens
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Areas of northeast and central
Queens will undergo pesticide spraying
tonight (Th ursday) as the city’s Health
Department kicks up its battle against
disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Th e spraying will take place in
Auburndale, Corona, Flushing, Kew
Gardens Hills, Murray Hill, Pomonok
and Queensboro Hill beginning at about
8:30 p.m. on Aug. 15 and continuing
until about 6 a.m. the next morning.
Much of Flushing Meadows Corona Park
is also included.
Trucks will travel the streets in the
spray zone spreading Anvil 10+10 and/
or DeltaGard insecticide, both of which
aim to kill mosquitoes which may carry
the West Nile virus, a potentially deadly
infection. Low concentrations of the
pesticides will be used, but the Health
Department urges residents in the spray
zone to remain indoors with the windows
closed during the operation.
Th e spray zone is generally bounded
on the north by Roosevelt Avenue, the
Grand Central Parkway, the Long Island
Rail Road’s Port Washington Branch,
Delong Street, Sanford Avenue, Parsons
Boulevard, 46th Avenue, 162nd Street,
43rd Avenue and Northern Boulevard;
on the east by Utopia Parkway and 188th
Street; on the south by the Long Island
Expressway, Kissena Boulevard and
Jewel Avenue; and on the west by the
Grand Central Parkway, the Long Island
Expressway, 99th Street, 50th Avenue
and Junction Boulevard.
Risks of exposure to the pesticide are
low for both humans and pets, but may
trigger a rash or short-term eye or throat
irritation. Th oroughly wash your skin
and clothing if you’re exposed to the
spray.
Residents in the spray zone should
keep the windows closed and operate
air conditioners with the vents closed to
reduce exposure risks.
Additionally, anything left out during
the spraying — including toys, lawn
furniture and equipment — should be
washed before reuse.
In the event of inclement weather, the
spraying will be postponed until the following
week, until either Monday, Aug.
19, or Tuesday, Aug. 20.
For more information, call 311 or visit
nyc.gov/health/wnv.
Do your part to prevent the proliferation
of mosquitoes by removing any
standing water from your property. Keep
all pools or outdoor saunas and tubs
clean and chlorinated — and covered
when not in use. Roof gutters and storm
drains should also be kept clear of debris.
To prevent mosquito bites, use an
approved insect repellent containing
DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus
(not for children under 3), or products
that contain the active ingredient
IR3535 whenever outside. Homeowners
should also repair or replace screens with
tears or holes to keep the bugs from coming
inside.
Photo: Day Donaldson/Flickr
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Queens County Democratic delegates chose nominees last week for six Supreme Court seats on the ballot this November.
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