Candidates step in line to sue the Board Of Elections

 

Queens Post 

 Several candidates running for City Council seats in Queens filed preemptive lawsuits last week against the NYC Board of Elections (BOE) and their opponents ahead of the Board’s blunder yesterday.

At least six Queens Council candidates and two Queens borough president candidates have filed the lawsuits over the past week in order to maintain their right to have the courts review the final election count in their respective races.

They filed the suits after the Primary Election Day, which was held June 22. State law requires candidates to file suit no later than 10 days after an election.

Multiple candidates in particularly close races filed the lawsuits in advance of the certified ranked choice vote results. The preemptive suits secure their opportunity to present evidence to the court for or against tallying certain votes.

Council District 26 candidate Amit Bagga — who is currently in second place in a tight race — filed such a suit on Thursday.

“We have filed a suit against the Board of Elections to preserve our opportunity for judicial review of the Board’s counting of votes and administration of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for the first time,” said Ali Najmi, Counsel to the Amit for Council campaign.

“Under State election law, there is a short 10-day statute of limitations to commence this proceeding, which means one must file in court before all of the results are known.”

The D-26 race frontrunner, Julie Won — who led Bagga by just 125 first-choice votes on election night — filed a similar suit Monday against the BOE to retain the right to review the vote count.

Won’s campaign manager Eugene Noh said the “bad guy” in the situation is not other candidates, but the BOE.

Noh also said the 10-day window to file a lawsuit made little sense in the context of this race. He said the official results may not be known for weeks.

 

Which way will JVB's voters break?

Well now, this is shaping up to be quite a nailbiter!

Elizabeth Crowley may be the comeback kid after the dust settles. But it all depends on which way Van Bramer's #2s are distributed.

Stay tuned.

Borough Hall address honors illegal lobbying practitioner

From the Forest Hills Post:

The entrance to Borough Hall has been adorned with a new address to greet visitors for years to come.

Queens Borough Hall has been given a new vanity address in honor of late Queens Borough President Claire Shulman.

The address of the Kew Gardens building, where Shulman served as the borough’s first female borough president for 16 years, was designated “One Claire Shulman Way.”

They forgot to mention this tidbit in Claire's bio. In related news, there is now a push to name the proposed Kew Gardens jail after Donald Manes, Claire's mentor. (J/K, but would it surprise you?)

We woke up today in the Richards administration

From yesterday's Queens Post:

Council Member Donovan Richards will assume the role of Queens Borough President Wednesday, taking the reins from Acting BP Sharon Lee.

Richards will vacate his seat on the City Council tomorrow and take over as Borough President. He can officially take office Wednesday since the NYC Board of Elections certified the November election results today — making his win official.

Richards will fill the seat held by Lee since Jan. 1. Lee was appointed by former Queens Borough President Melinda Katz when Katz left office to become Queens District Attorney.

There must be a big overdevelopment vote coming up because that's what DR is all about. This move also may shift the special election for his seat to be held sooner, which will favor the Machine pick.

Congrats, Queens, on picking another winner!

via GIPHY

 Update:

Oh, there's a big one coming alright. 

 

 

 Commercial Observer

A community battle is brewing in Flushing over a controversial plan to build 13 towers with 1,700 apartments, hotels, retail and office along an industrial stretch of waterfront in eastern Queens. The City Council is expected to vote on the plan in the next month and a half, but the project is buffeted by pushback from unions, local activists and politicians who want more affordable housing and union labor in the sprawling development.

Three Flushing-based developers—F&T Group, Young Nian Group and United Construction & Development Group—are working together on the megaproject, which stretches across 29 acres of waterfront along the heavily polluted Flushing Creek. The group’s proposal, dubbed the Special Flushing Waterfront District, calls for 1,725 apartments, 879 hotel rooms, 400,000 square feet of community facility and office space, 286,930 square feet of retail and 1,735 parking spaces. 

However, only 70 to 90 of those apartments will be income-restricted because the developers are rezoning just 10 percent of the project area. The city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program requires developers to set aside up to 30 percent of their units as affordable housing, but it can only be applied when a property’s zoning is changed. 

 Council approval for the Flushing development, however, hinges on negotiations with two major labor unions—service workers union 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel Trades Council—which wield a significant amount of political influence in the five boroughs. Southeast Queens Councilman Donovan Richards, who was just elected Queens borough president and sits on the zoning subcommittee, recently told The City that he planned to vote down the project if a labor agreement was not reached

 We shall see, Mr. President. 

 

Impunity City

Even though a few other “affordable” luxury towers have already been planted and another in it’s nascent skeletal phase, presumably the developers and the city are all champing at the bit to get this done because they are building these towers to provide equity to low income earning people in desperate need for housing even if that amount is menial. It's also to “revive” the neighborhood even though it’s one of the highest populated neighborhoods in Queens and arguably the busiest. Naturally this hyper-development that’s being steamrolled has been met with stiff resistance and frequent protests.

But it’s a lot busier on the low end these days in Flushing thanks to COVID19. With 20% of NYC citizens unemployed since the contagion claimed over 30,000 lives and suspended and destroyed small businesses since the first lockdown began in March, lines for a food pantry run by La Journada go on for blocks and blocks. And blocks. And blocks. These people might not have gas outages at their homes, but it’s clear they have to prioritize rent over food because of their existential economic stasis to keep themselves sheltered.

As for the non-sheltered, the homeless population in Flushing as well as most of Eastern Queens continues to amass. Although the city Department Of Homeless Services policy’s past reliance on hotels to shelter people has become a necessity because of the pandemic, many homeless people still prefer to sleep rough on the sidewalks or parks and in inclement weather than to stay in hotel shelters that aren’t safe from violence or infection. Which led to this horrific sight nearby a public housing building, when a citizen found a homeless man frozen dead in a fetal position inside a makeshift shelter made of cardboard boxes furnished with a pillow and blanket underneath him.

 

Housing and food insecurity and the existential fear of being penniless and dying on the street surely shouldn’t be happening in the wealthiest country in the world and with the Dow Jones at 30,000.

It surely shouldn’t be happening at all in the greatest city in the world with a Democrat majority with alleged progressive values that were elected and appointed to government offices. As this pandemic has exposed even more regarding housing in New York City, these officials inaction has enabled these neoliberal based civic policies prioritizing the needs of a fantasized populace than the one that already exists and all their superficial actions establishes them as the posers they are, and the ramifications from them are leaving devastation, depression and death in it’s wake. The difference now is that they no longer are capable of obscuring it.

Update:

Here's President Richards cabinet:

Queens Post 

The borough president-elect has chosen three co-chairs to lead his transition team — Jackson Heights Assembly Member Catalina Cruz; former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger and Queens Public Library President & CEO Dennis Walcott, who previously served as NYC Schools Chancellor and Deputy Mayor.

Rhonda Binda, Chair of the organization South Asian American Voice, will serve as the executive direction overseeing the transition.

In addition to Cruz, Richards has appointed two Queens council members and another state assembly member to his transition team which includes 14 committees.

Richard’s former opponent in the borough president race, Astoria Council Member Costa Constantinides, will serve as chair of the Planning Committee that oversees land use and development.

Southeast Queens Council Member I. Daneek Miller will serve as co-chair of the Transportation Committee alongside Juan Restrepo, the Queens organizer for Transportation Alternatives. Before taking office, Miller was president of a transit union.

Both Constantinides and Miller are term-limited and must vacate their City Council seats by the end of next year.

 

Queens BP candidates rolling in taxpayer funded dough

NY Daily News

Taxpayers are footing a huge bill to help experienced politicians bids to win a largely ceremonial office.

Three current and former City Council members raked in a whopping total of $1,897,914 in “public matching funds” for their campaigns, the New York York City Campaign Finance Board announced Thursday.

Former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley got $867,202; Councilman Costa Constantinides, $584,079; and Councilman Donovan Richards, $446,633. All are Dems running in the March 24 special election to succeed Melinda Katz, who resigned as borough president to become Queens district attorney.

They received $8 in taxpayer funding for every dollar they raised on their own. The candidates had to get at least 100 contributions from Queens residents and raise at least $44,614.

Use long weekend to watch the BP forum

It's a riot!

The Queen of Queens?

 

  

  NY Daily News

 Former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley is stepping up efforts in her Queens borough president run with a poll finding one in five voters would pick her over her leading rivals.

While Crowley has been quiet since losing a tough re-election fight in 2017, she touted the poll as proof she’s still a contender.

 "During my years in City Council, I fought for Queens values and against the status quo — I fought to protect public safety, to expand transportation, and to bring reform to the city's budgeting process,” she said in a Sunday statement. “Based on our polling, voters are aware of what I’ve accomplished and that my record is resonating with voters.”

A survey of 1,282 likely voters put Crowley against leading candidates Jimmy Van Bramer, Costa 
 

 Constantinides and Donovan Richards, all Queens Council members. A plurality of respondents — 44% — said they didn’t know who’d they vote for if the election were held now, but 21% supported Crowley; 16%, Van Bramer; 10%, Richards; and 8%, Constantinides.

Honan Strategy Group conducted the survey in October, but its CEO Bradley Honan said the results are still valid because not much has changed in the race since then; debates and TV ad campaigns won’t start until the coming weeks.

Crowley lost her Council seat to Bob Holden, who ran campaign on opposition to homeless shelters in the district, which includes Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven and Woodside.

  

QCA wants artists' housing, but Katz wants a soccer stadium

I went to the Queens Borough President’s office today to pitch affordable housing for artists. They’re building a soccer stadium.

— Kelly Olshan (@KellyOlshan) June 22, 2018

And there you have it.

Liz Crowley considers losing boroughwide

From the Queens Chronicle:

Former Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has been out of elective office for just seven months, but she’s already gearing up for what could be her next political endeavour.

In a Monday phone interview, Crowley exclusively told the Chronicle that she has formed an exploratory committee for a run for borough president in 2021 — something she is strongly considering.

“I’m from Queens. This is the borough I was born and raised in. I would bring a unique vision that extends beyond the previous boundaries of my Council district,” she said. “I’ve been out there the last few months talking to leaders throughout Queens and I’m getting a very good response. People are encouraging me.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I am humbled by the enthusiastic support.”

The former lawmaker said she formed her exploratory committee just two weeks ago, but she appears to already be in campaign mode — she attended six house parties in as many days across the borough, from Jackson Heights to Fresh Meadows and Breezy Point.

Just in recent weeks, Crowley said, she has raised approximately $100,000.

BP race gets another candidate

From Forest Hills Post:

Councilmember Costa Constantinides plans to run for higher office in 2021 and all indications are that it will be for Queens Borough President.

Constantinides held a fundraiser in Astoria last week and the highest donation sought was $3,850. That figure is the maximum allowed for the borough president race and well short of the $4,950 permitted for a citywide office such as mayor or public advocate.

The invitation to the fundraiser reads: “Costa Constantinides A Champion for Queens,” and adds, “I hope I can count on you as we expand upon our legacy and fight for higher office after my current term ends.”

Constantinides is in his final term as a council member and will be forced to vacate his office at the end of 2021. He represents the 22nd District that covers Astoria and parts of Woodside, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights.

Van Bramer running for Queens Borough President

From the Sunnyside Post:

Council member Jimmy Van Bramer has all but announced that he is running for Queens Borough President.

Van Bramer formed the “Van Bramer 2021” committee last week and said that he is limiting contributions up to $3,850. That figure is the maximum allowed for the borough president race and well short of the $4,950 permitted for a citywide office such as mayor or public advocate.

“I’m not declaring for any particular office at this time but I am gearing up and beginning to plan for the future,” Van Bramer said in an interview. “Obviously serving as Queens Borough President would be a great honor.”

Van Bramer said that he will be rolling over $200,000 from his council committee shortly into Van Bramer 2021 and will begin fundraising.

Gazette mistakenly publishes fact checked Melinda speech

Well these are some interesting notes printed on the Gazette's website.

When the web editor wakes up and removes the mistakes, fear not, as a copy of the entire webpage has been saved by yours truly.

Melinda Katz has an opponent - and this is who he is

TAKE BACK OUR BOROUGH!

Dear CIVIC, SERVICE, RELIGIOUS & COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS OF QUEENS,

My name is William K. Kregler and I am running for Queens Borough President on the Republican and Conservative lines. I retired from public service after 23 years as a N.Y.C. Housing Police Officer, Firefighter and Fire Marshal. I am the President of the N.Y.C. Fire Marshals Benevolent Association. I also served on Community Educational Council #24 where we built more schools than any other school board. City Hall has ignored our concerns by imposing their political agendas upon us. Millions on bike lanes, speed cameras, shelters, huge contracts to big donors. The playing of the race card has contributed to the assassinations of Police Officers as well as widening the divide among New Yorkers. I have stepped up to the challenge to reverse this trend and bring back the quality of life we once enjoyed. Please forward this information to everyone you know in Queens and tell them they have a choice this year in making a better future for their families. This is a truly a grassroots effort but recent events have shown that underdogs can win when the issues are so important to all. I’m counting on your support in this endeavor and look forward to celebrating with you on November 7th!

I am running to reform the uncheck over-development happening in Queens and to bring back control of our neighborhoods to our local school and community boards. The current administration has misled the community on issues of shelters and has ignored community board votes and decisions when they conflict with the Mayor’s agenda. Bring back the quality of life we once enjoyed by voting on November 7th for William Kregler.

Council candidate calls for investigation of Katz

From the Queens Chronicle:

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in her State of the Borough address Friday proposed the placement of a soccer and hockey arena at Willets Point, as well as a school, economic recreation center and a parking facility at the 62-acre site.

Katz, in her address, said, “… as we await the outcome of the lawsuit, let’s ponder additional options.”

“We should be unafraid we should think bigger, bolder and more comprehensively,” she later said. “We need to review positioning ourselves for success by thinking creatively about further options that address our changing borough’s needs — a new school, an eco-recreation center, more parking to accommodate simultaneous big events that we have there now, because all those big events that we have now are wreaking havoc on the soccer fields and grass in Flushing Meadows for parking.

“And to help pay for it, let's consider a soccer stadium, let's consider a hockey stadium” she said. “Just imagine if we, the World’s Borough, hosted the World Cup or the Stanley Cup.”

One opponent of the mall project quickly criticized the borough president’s proposal.

"Borough President Katz's push for yet another stadium in Willets Point on property that was essentially stolen from small businesses for the supposed use of creating a new affordable residential community — a plan that she herself negotiated in 2008 as the Land Use Chair on the City Council! — would be almost comical if it weren't so disturbing,” said Paul Graziano, an urban planning consultant, plaintiff in the lawsuit and City Council hopeful.

“Law enforcement officials should look very carefully at possible collusion between the Borough President's office and the developers in question, as this seems to be yet another attempt at grabbing our city's public property in order to further enrich a few very already wealthy individuals at our expense," Graziano, who is running as a primary opponent against Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) in September, continued.

Festivals still may come to Flushing Meadows

From the Times Ledger:

Borough President Melinda Katz has launched a pre-emptive strike against the city Parks Department and three entertainment giants that are seeking to use Flushing Meadows Corona Park for paid-admission music festivals this summer. Madison Square Garden, AEG Live and Founders Entertainment have all filed applications with the city to close off large portions of the park in order to stage events.

“Without a fair policy in place, I remain opposed to any applications from for-profit organizations to run paid-admission events in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” Katz said. “The absence of a revised policy, including a set selection criteria and process approved by the community, renders the process arbitrary and unfair. Cutting off public access to our treasured parks flies in the face of the very principle behind our parks, which is space designated for public access and equity.”

The same three companies attempted to stage music festivals in Flushing Meadows Corona Park last summer, but their applications were denied after fierce opposition from Katz and numerous civic associations. Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said he would explore new rule-making to create an appropriate framework for approving large-scale multi-day events in the park, including limits on the potential number, scale and nature of any such events so as not to have an unreasonable impact on the park and its users.

These new rules have not been established as the Parks Department reviews the applications. The city has until Dec. 19 to approve permits for the entertainment giants.

Katz & Sliwa send messages to de Blasio about proposed Maspeth shelter

Melinda, sensing a community victory, suddenly comes out of the woodwork!

Melinda Katz letter to de Blasio re: proposed Maspeth shelter

And Curtis Sliwa attended the Maspeth shelter protest last night:






Meanwhile, NY1 reports that the city is still negotiating with the hotel owner.

Interestingly, a manager at the hotel, believed to be a relative of his, briefly spoke with protesters and was asked to relay a message back to him.



This gets more interesting by the day.

Thank you to Juniper Park Civic Association for the videos and letter.

Curtis Sliwa to run against Katz for Queens BP

From the Queens Chronicle:

The decision has been made. Guardian Angels founder and popular radio show host Curtis Sliwa will run for Queens borough president in 2017.

"Absolutely," Sliwa exclusively told the Chronicle after speaking at the Juniper Park Civic Association's Thursday meeting. "No doubt about it."

After saying he was considering a possible BP bid in a speech to the Queens GOP last week, Sliwa authoritatively declared he will run as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Melinda Katz, his longtime ex-partner and the mother of his two youngest children.

He added that his wide-ranging, passionate speech to the crowd of over 100 incredibly enthusiastic supporters in Middle Village was his first "unofficial" campaign stop in his quest to knock the "corrupt" Queens Democratic Party down a peg.

"It's nothing against Melinda," Sliwa continued, "it's just all roads that give the Queens County Democratic machine a badly needed colonic lead through the borough presidency because that's where the patronage is."

In his speech, Sliwa hammered federal, state and city Democrats who represent Queens for being more corrupt than others, claiming the county is more crooked than any other in the nation.

Well, he'll get no argument here.

Katz declines comment on snow situation

John Schiumo on NY1 said tonight that he had invited Melinda Katz to give the “First Word” about the snow plow conditions in Queens.

But she declined.

This came up, because a caller complained about the poor snow plow conditions, and the caller complained that de Blasio had complained that people in Queens were responsible for the unplowed streets, because we were cleaning snow off our cars back into the streets. Then, the caller asked, “Where is the Queens Borough President ?” That’s when John Schiumo dropped the bomb about Melinda Katz.

Katz called out at her own speech

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

At Thursdays “State of the Borough” by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, a reader of my blog who was at the event, wrote a comment “When she (Katz) went on and on, some female voice in the audience cried out “When are you going to mention Jamaica”. Right away, I said, has to be friend and comrade-in-arms, Pamela Hazel, since I knew she was going to be in attendance.

My comrade-in-arms, Jamaica resident and community activist Pamela Hazel, is a force to reckon with when it comes to elected officials ignoring and not addressing Jamaica’s quality of life issues, I should know, I have worked with her on several issues over the years. Now Queens Borough President, Melinda Katz, felt that force on Thursday, January 21st at her bullshit “State of the Borough” address, where Ms. Hazel interrupted Katz’s bullshit and hollow speech on Queens, not once but two times on her ignoring Jamaica’s issues.

Considering that the audience was filled with Katz's lackeys and assorted asshole elected officials, here was a fresh dose of reality thrown at Katz and the audience. I am sure she had no idea what hit her since she was expecting accolades from many of the assholes in attendance.

And then there's this tidbit:

"See the guy in the blue jacket with the official Borough President notice to Pamela’s left? That’s Bruce Adler who also doubles as the photographer for the Queens Tribune, Nussbaum’s rag. Seems to me a conflict of interest here, no? Working for a politician and then reporting on them? Visual proof that one hand in Queens washes the other." - George the Atheist

I couldn't have said it better myself

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

So the rag Queens Tribune names Queens Borough President hack, Melinda Katz as 2015 person of the year because according to this rag, she is a true advocate and voice for the people in the borough.

Mind blogging how a Queens newspaper can name this hack in a long line of hack Queens Borough Presidents. I guess really not mind blogging considering that the majority of Queens papers are pretty much just puppets of the elected officials and really do not dig deep enough and expose the real truth of what is really going on in Queens and with the many useless and crooked elected leaders that are not held accountable. This list of accomplishments that this rag mentioned are really not accomplishments at all. She was forced to do something in regards to the bullshit at the Queens Library, something she knew had been going for some time. After The Daily News broke the story, she was backed into a corner to do something, otherwise nothing would have happened. A fresh coat of painting on the falling apart New York State Pavilion (that her predecessors allowed to deteriorate for decades) is NOT an accomplishment.

And as a resident of Jamaica and seeing the awful conditions of Jamaica on a daily basis and her office ignoring both my hundreds of complaints as well as community activist Pamela Hazel’s complaints, her bullshit comprehensive plan for the future of Jamaica is as worthless as the paper is was printed on, especially considering that in less than an hour before 2016 began, yet another person in Jamaica was shot and killed, this time a 16 year old from Rosedale, who was shot in the head at Merrick Blvd and 109th, a notorious area for crime. Let’s see how great this comprehensive plan is for Jamaica is in 2016, hell even 2017 for that matter. I have a feeling it is going to be the same old shit and IF, and that is a big IF, Jamaica does eventually turn around, it will have little to do with people like her, Leroy Comrie or any of the other useless fuck leaders in this community. Let’s face it, it is these same leaders, past and present who stood by and allowed a community to deteriorate for decades (probably in hopes that real estate developers would swoop in and buy property and land for dirt cheap at the expense of the people in the community). Same thing that happened after Katrina in New Orleans, same thing that happened in Detroit. Blatant destruction of cities under the watchful eyes of government, big banks, big real estate developers and crooked politicians.

The article ends with “In pushing for a change in state law allowing her to remove and reappoint trustees of the Queens Library, and by changing membership at several community boards, Katz has proven the borough president is anything but “useless.”

So by Katz having the power to appoint who she wants or to remove who she wants on boards proves that she is anything but “useless”…………………………..Yep, that proves she is not useless, but just another crooked politician to control the government process to do whatever the hell she wants as opposed to government of the people, by the people, for the people.

So fuck the whore rag Queens Tribune and their person of the year, another in a long line of hack whore politicians that talk a big talk, but in reality that do shit to help improve the quality of life for the people in the borough. Don’t believe it, just talk to your average Queens resident.

(And in other Queens BP hack news, Katz has appointed yet another lifer to oversee community boards.)