Not ironic at all

NY Daily News  

Hiram Monserrate, an ex-con and perennial New York politician expelled from the state Senate for assaulting his girlfriend, is gearing up to launch a campaign for a Queens Assembly seat this year, he confirmed to the Daily News on Wednesday.

Monserrate, who was previously close with Mayor Adams, said he’s in the midst of collecting signatures to mount a Democratic primary challenge against Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry.

Aubry, whose district includes East Elmhurst, needs to be unseated because of his continued support for the state Legislature’s 2020 bail reforms, said Monserrate.

“Out of the many reasons there are to challenge the current incumbent, the most important is his stubborn stance in refusing to repeal and amend the current bail reform laws,” Monserrate said.

Monserrate’s distaste for the bail reforms is shared by Adams, who has tied them to an uptick in crime during the pandemic and urged state legislators earlier this year to rescind them.

However, most Democratic lawmakers in Albany have countered that the reforms — which limited the use of cash bail for nonviolent crimes — are unrelated to recent crime spikes, sparking tension between Adams and the Legislature.

Aubry, who has represented his district since 1992, said Monserrate appears to be trying to hitch his campaign wagon to “the issue of the moment” by zeroing in on bail reform.

“You will remember that the mayor and Mr. Monserrate were in the Police Department together and in the Senate together,” Aubry said. “I don’t know whether he’s mimicking the mayor, and I support the mayor, but every time something happens in the city, he says it’s bail reform that’s at fault even though bail reform had nothing to do with it.”

A spokesman for Adams did not return a request for comment.

Boosters for Monserrate campaign suing city to get matching funds

 Queens Eagle

A team of Hiram Monserrate campaign contributors are going to bat for the ex-Queens councilmember as he attempts to claw his way onto the June primary ballot.

Queens Democratic District Leader Sonya Harvey and three other Monserrate allies are suing the New York City Campaign Finance Board in Manhattan federal court after the agency denied matching funds to their candidate in his bid for Corona’s Council District 21. 

Monserrate was blocked from appearing on the ballot Wednesday based on a new city law that prohibits former elected officials with public corruption records from holding municipal office. Monserrate was convicted in 2012 of steering council money into a nonprofit and using the cash to fund his successful bid for state senate. He was also convicted of an unrelated domestic violence-related misdemeanor. 

In their lawsuit, filed April 8, the Monserrate allies contend that the new measure, “did not bar Monserrate (or any theoretical candidate who the law might also apply to) from having his contributors’ donations matched from running for office, or from appearing on the ballot.”

Monserrate opted to participate in the city’s eight-to-one matching funds program and raised $18,070 from 282 contributors as of March 11, according to his most recent financial disclosure report. He received nearly all of the contributions before the new law was enacted Feb. 25, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs also challenge the constitutionality of the measure intended to keep Monserrate off the ballot.

“Even if the law did address the candidate’s right to appear on the ballot in the first instance (it does not), for perhaps obvious reasons, it is unlikely that there exists ‘any legislation that has been found constitutionally sound when enacted during an election cycle that disqualifies previously qualifying candidates from appearing on a ballot,” the complaint continues, citing case law.

Two other Democrats vying to unseat incumbent Councilmember Francisco Moya have received city matching funds. Ingrid Gomez has so far taken in $117,405, while Talea Wufka has received $43,616.

Harvey and the co-plaintiffs, Malikah Shabazz, Rosa Sanchez and Frank Taylor, are represented by election lawyer J. Remy Green — no fan of Monserrate.

“I would never vote for the guy, but this is not how we do things,” Green told the Eagle. “This is not democratic. This is not constitutional and, ultimately, it’s tragic that the New York Democrats seem to be providing a blueprint for national Republicans to override the will of the people.”

Monserrate keeps on pushing to get on the ballot

  

 

Queens Eagle

A new law was supposed to keep Hiram Monserrate from running for a Queens council seat. He’s trying to do it anyway. 

Monserrate, a former councilmember convicted of misusing public funds, filed petition signatures with the New York City Board of Elections on March 22, less than a month after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation to prohibit ex-lawmakers with corruption records from holding elected office. Monserrate had hoped to unseat incumbent District 21 Councilmember Francisco Moya, who defeated him in 2017. 

The new law will almost certainly get Monserrate “bounced from the ballot,” said election attorney Howard Graubard.

“I suspect if someone brings a specific challenge against that, he’ll be taken off the ballot,” Graubard said.

Former Assemblymember Ari Espinal, a close ally of Moya, filed an objection to knock Monserrate off the ballot Thursday. She has until March 31 to file a specification, like simply citing the new law.

Graubard said that objection would spare the Board of Elections from removing Monserrate from the ballot on its own. The BOE did not provide a response for this story.

Monserrate was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2012 after he steered council money to a local nonprofit and used the cash to fund his successful state senate campaign. He was ordered to pay nearly $80,000 in restitution and completed the payments during his failed bid for the Assembly last year.

Here comes Hiram again

Queens Post 

The twice convicted and disgraced politician Hiram Monserrate is once again trying to make a comeback to public office.

The former State Senator and Council Member — who was convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2009 and for the misuse of taxpayer money in 2012 — has filed to challenge Council Member Francisco Moya for the 21st Council district seat, which covers East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona.

Monserrate’s filing with the NYC Campaign Finance Board was first reported by the Queens Eagle.

In 2010, Monserrate was expelled from the State Senate after he was found guilty of misdemeanor assault. According to the charges, on Dec. 19, 2008 he slashed his girlfriend’s face with broken glass  before dragging her through the lobby his Jackson Heights apartment building.

Two years later, Monserrate pleaded guilty for misusing more than $100,000 in taxpayer money while he was a city council member in 2006 and 2007. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay back the money.

The Democrat has repeatedly tried to get back into public off office despite his convictions.

 

Heeerrrrrrrrrrre's Hiram!

Gothamist


Hiram Monserrate, the Queens Democrat who was expelled from the State Senate for assaulting his girlfriend and later jailed for stealing public funds, is plotting another comeback.
Monserrate, now a Democratic district leader, filed on Tuesday to run against Queens 
 Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry, a fellow Democrat and one of the highest-ranking lawmakers in the chamber. A source close to Monserrate said the politician has not made a final decision on whether to run but is strongly considering the possibility.

“Hiram is considering a run. He hasn’t made a decision yet,” said the source. “He opened the committee, he’s trying to raise money and see what happens.”

Two years ago, Monserrate ran unsuccessfully for City Council against Francisco Moya, a former assemblymember. Though Moya had the strong support of the Democratic establishment and the city’s major labor unions, Monserrate still managed to garner 44 percent of the vote. Monserrate had held the City Council seat, based in East Elmhurst and Corona, in the early 2000s before he was elected to the State Senate in 2008.

In 2010, Monserrate’s colleagues voted overwhelmingly to expel him the chamber after he was charged with beating and slashing his then-girlfriend, Karla Giraldo. Security camera footage showed Monserrate dragging her by her hair through the lobby of their building, and doctors later said Giraldo needed 40 stitches.

In 2012, Monserrate was sentenced to two years in prison after he plead guilty to misappropriating $109,000 in city grants when he was a member of the City Council.
Were he to run, Monserrate would be competitive. He is a district leader in Aubry’s district, which overlaps with Moya’s Council seat, and maintains a base of support there. Aubry did not immediately return a request for comment.

Crowley re-elected party boss

From Sunnyside Post:

Outgoing Congressman Joseph Crowley has retained the chairmanship of the Queens Democratic Party–despite losing his primary to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in June.

The Queens Democratic Party voted 60 to four to reelect Crowley during a meeting at the Georgia Diner this morning, reported the New York Post.

Crowley, who has been the party’s chair since 2006, has been long known as a Queens “kingmaker” with powerful influence on party endorsements and appointments.

Although he lost by a wide margin to Ocasio-Cortez in June, his victory this morning suggests that he has managed to hold on to sway within the party, analysts said.

Among the four dissenting voters was Hiram Monserrate, who was elected a Democratic district leader for the 35th district last week, reported the New York Post.

Hiram's base has lost its polling site

From the Daily News:

Allies of Hiram Monserrate have lost a last-minute bid to have a polling site reestablished for the Democratic primary in LeFrak City in Queens, where the convicted felon enjoys broad support.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Andrea Masley ruled earlier this week that it was too late for her to move a polling site back to LeFrak, where New Yorkers had cast their votes for 50 years.

But she criticized the Board of Elections for moving the voting site from LeFrak to two other locations outside of the housing complex, writing that "moving poll sites is no joke" and that the timing of the change had not yet been properly explained.

"This court is confounded by the BOE's decision to move 6,071 voters to two new voting sites," Masley wrote.

In May, the Board of Elections announced new sites three-quarters of a mile and one-third of a mile away from the LeFrak complex, saying the original site did not meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards.

Video voter guide: City Council District 21

Part 1 of Queens Tribune's city council debate

Featuring: Hiram Monseratte, Rory Lancman, Peter Koo, Alison Tan, Paul Vallone, Paul Graziano, Elizabeth Crowley and Robert Holden

Dueling Willets Point press conferences are revealing

Hiram: “But he does call for the alienation of parkland. So what I’m doing is, I’m helping connect the dots. Trojan horse. This is the Trojan horse plan. He comes out here, he talks about affordable housing, he talks about a new plan, 100 percent affordable – well, 100 percent affordable of what? Is it 100 units? Is it 200 units? I’m saying 5,500 units, right? Point blank. Secondly, he’s already on the record supporting the building of a soccer stadium. In fact, if I recall correctly, I believe he was supportive of the Jets building another football stadium in this park. That’s even a few more years back. Probably around 2008, 2007. The fact of the matter is, that he is very stadium-friendly, and he is very developer-friendly. He is the candidate of political insiders and the rich corporate developers. That’s who he is. That’s not me saying it. I think that if we bother to look even at his campaign filings, both with the State and the City, we’ll see the trail of money that indicates clearly who’s pulling the strings on his back.”

Moya: [On campaign’s prior press release pledging to work with colleagues in Albany to alienate parkland as plan requires] “I’m not in support of any mall being built here. The parkland alienation will always have to go to the State. So we are following what the court has ruled, but I’ve never been in support of a mall. I’m on record for that. So what we have right now is what a court has ruled, saying that we will now have to vote for it in the State, for any type of parkland alienation which is the law.” [After follow-up question concerning campaign’s prior press release, pledging to support, as councilman, alienation legislation by State legislature:] “The alienation will have to go through Albany. We need to make sure that – What we are doing now is proposing a plan that is a plan that is about making sure that we are not bringing in retail here; that is a plan about making sure we’re building affordable housing; that we are building plan that is talking about public and open space; that we’re building a plan that has to do with the remediation and decontamination of this area. That’s what we’re talking about here.”

Moya completely misstated who's paying for remediation of Willets Point land. Speaking about his (Moya's) Willets Plan, he says: "This plan will continue the proposed remediation efforts for Willets Point at the original plan, which included $40 million put forward by the developers to remediate and decontaminate this area." However, the $40 million is merely included in the City's capital grant of $99+ million to Queens Development Group – In other words, QDG would only be "putting forward" taxpayer money given to them and earmarked for this purpose. There is no private $40 million from the developer, contrary to Moya's misleading statement.

The person who spoke at Moya's presser for Make The Road NY was Marta Gualotuna. Googling her name, one finds an article published by Make the Road, which begins: "After learning the Supreme Court deadlocked on an immigration plan that would protect her from being deported, Marta Gualotuna could barely speak through her tears." The implication from Make the Road's own article is that Marta Gualotuna is an illegal alien subject to potential deportation. And of all people, SHE is the sole "community" voice who speaks at Moya's press conference, advocating that everyone support Moya in the election? She cannot even vote! Gualotuna is standing on the left in blue MTR shirt in the photo of the Moya presser.

Queens politics. Just when you thought it couldn't get any dumber, it does.

3rd candidate joins Hiram's primary race

From the Times Ledger:

One of the borough’s foremost street safety advocates decided over the weekend to join state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) and former state Sen. Hiram Monserate for the seat held by City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst), who won’t seek re-election for a third term.

Jackson Heights resident Cristina Furlong, the co-founder of Make Queens Safer, will file the paperwork and start on petitions this week for the Democratic primary,

“After the presidential election in November showed how quickly a change of leadership could change our quality of life in the neighborhoods of the 21st District, suddenly everyone had to identify a certain way and the world suddenly got a lot angrier,” Furlong said. “District 21 is unique, even to New York City. We need smart growth of our small economies and honest and independent oversight of the major projects like Willets Point, Flushing Meadows Corona Park and LaGuardia Airport.”

Ferreras not running for third term

From the Times Ledger:

State Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) announced Thursday that he will run for the City Council in the 21st District after City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst) decided against running for re-election this fall.

Ferreras-Copeland first won her seat on the City Council in 2009, becoming the borough’s first Latina elected official and she went on to make history in 2014 when she became the first woman and first person of color to be named the head of the Council’s powerful Finance Committee.

“After a great deal of thought and prayer, I have decided not to run for re-election,” Ferreras-Copeland said in a statement to Politico. “I have had the privilege of representing the 21st District in Queens for eight years, where I’ve fought for the education of our children, the rights of women and families, and the protection of our immigrants.”

Ferreras-Copeland married Aaron Copeland in a 2015 wedding officiated by Mayor Bill de Blasio, but Copeland works as an aerospace engineer in Maryland.

“As a mother and a wife, it has become increasingly difficult to have my family divided in two locations,” she said. “Although this is not an easy decision, this is what makes sense for my son, for my family, and for me.”

(In other words, Hiram has a lot of dirt on her.)

Monserrate to challenge Ferreras

From NY1:

In the public mind, the enduring image of Hiram Monserrate was him dragging his girlfriend through a vestibule in an episode that led to Monserrate taken away in handcuffs, charged with slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass.

"I have made my mistakes," Monserrate said in 2008.

That could be regarded as an understatement. Though ultimately convicted of a lesser misdemeanor charge, Monserrate later spent almost two years in federal prison after misusing public funds in his City Council days.

But Monserrate has never strayed far from politics.

"My mistakes are now in my past, several years ago. I have moved on," he said.

Indeed, on NY1's Road to City Hall Tuesday, he announced a run for City Council. He's staking his candidacy almost entirely on a single issue: the planned development of Willets Point, which he views as a giveaway.

"It's an atrocity for anyone to think that they can take 40 acres of parkland and hand it over for free to a developer to build and make more profits," Monserrate said.

Hiram demands return to original Willets Point project

From El Diario:

The controversial redevelopment plan of Willets Point, the Queens industrial area located in Corona, where mechanical repair shops and auto parts sales settled for many years, jumps another time into the headlines.

Corona, Jackson Heights and Elmhurst community groups and organizations such as The Black Institute and the East Elmhurst Corona Alliance held a press conference Tuesday stating that "The true Willets Point redevelopment project is being silently stolen from the community."

Following Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed homeless housing plan and his desire to build affordable housing in New York City, community members in the areas surrounding Willets Points in Queens have teamed up to require that both Mayor and Area Council Member Julissa Ferreras enforce the original agreement detailed in the Willets Point redevelopment plan that included 5500 housing units and at the same time denounce the transfer of 23 acres of public property at Willets Point to a group of Queens planners.

"It is amazing that the mayor of Blasio has offered a plan to develop shelters and homes for homeless people ignoring an already approved plan that would bring 5500 housing units, of which 1,925 units would be permanently affordable," said ex-council member Hiram Monserrate.

...according to the activists, current local elected officials, the mayor and governor are supporting very different re-development plan than those that were approved. These new plans include expanding the project into more than 40 acres of a public park and prioritizing the construction of an unnecessary mega-shopping mall.

[Translated from Spanish so the grammar is not perfect but you get the idea.]

East Elmhurst protests new shelter in their community

Last night members of East Elmhurst and Corona held a protest outside the Marriott Courtyard, just outside LaGuardia Airport. The area already has several shelters and hotels serving as shelters. They were joined by protesters from Elmhurst and Maspeth and announced that they are joining forces.

Stay tuned, folks.

We almost got Hiram back!

Yikes! What were these people thinking?

Like a turd that won't stay flushed...

"Saw this today. He's Baaaaaack.........

Love your blog/site."

George

He's baaaack

From DNA Info:

A disgraced former pol is trying to get back into politics in the neighborhood's district leader race, touting his accomplishments without mentioning his 2009 conviction for assault.

Hiram Monserrate — who was booted from the state Senate in 2009 after he was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend — has posted fliers around Corona and East Elmhurst listing his accomplishments ahead of the September primary.

"A lifetime of service and delivering for our community," the flier says, noting his time in the City Council, state Senate, NYPD and Marine Corps.

"Leadership with results. Our struggle continues," the bottom of the flier says.

Monserrate is barred from running for most elected offices since he was convicted of a felony. But he can run for the role of district leader — an unpaid, volunteer job that doesn't have much power, officials said.

Monserrate having trouble paying restitution

From the Daily News:

Disgraced ex-State Sen. Hiram Monserrate is struggling to pay his court-ordered restitution — and he doesn’t visit his elderly parents despite claiming to live with them, new filings and his father revealed.

The crooked Queens pol, who was expelled from the Senate after assaulting his girlfriend, earns $1,244 a month working at a Brooklyn law firm and $2,227 a month from pension and other benefits, new filings show.

Ten percent of those earnings is supposed to go to the government every month to pay $79,434 in restitution, filings show.

But between March and May 30, Monserrate only made one payment, prompting the U.S. Department of Probation to notify Manhattan Federal Court Judge Colleen McMahon on Tuesday of the “noncompliance,” which was subsequently rectified. He says in court papers that he’s now caught up.

Filings noted Monserrate, 47, lives with his 80-year-old mother, Hilda, and 79-year-old father, Manuel, in Bellerose, Queens. But his father said he rarely even visits.

Hiram pleads poverty

From the Daily News:

Poor Hiram Monserrate.

The disgraced former state senator lost his bid to get his corruption conviction tossed Thursday, while court filings reveal that he's deeply in the red.

Monserrate, a once powerful Queens pol, claims in papers filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that "I am currently in great debt" and only has $220 in his bank account.

"I owe approximately 35,000 to the IRS, another 79,000 in restitution and 11,000 student loans and approx. another 15,000 in credit card debt," says his filing, which he wrote out by hand.

He says he's been eking buy on $1,120 a month from his job working for a law firm on Court Street in Brooklyn, plus another $2,270 a month from pension and other benefits - and $1,100 of that money goes to paying alimony and restitution.

Monserrate - who was expelled from the State Senate in 2010 for attacking his girlfriend - bared his expenses to get out of paying filing fees for his hoped-for appeal of his 2012 federal corruption conviction.