What goes on near Creedmoor

From Crains:

Fully 70% of Creedmoor patients are now managed by the various nonprofit organizations operating on the Creedmoor grounds. These nonprofits have been absent from each of the three Creedmoor meetings, although their presence had been requested. They shield themselves from accountability, and tout HIPAA patient confidentiality laws to keep neighboring communities in the dark.

Surprisingly, there is no requirement that wandering patients take their daily medications and there is no behavioral code of conduct protocol conveyed to them. The general lack of accountability by the nonprofits is stunning. Their managers enter the facility gates in the morning and leave at night, rarely stepping foot outside of Creedmoor to see what their patients have wrought on nearby communities.

The aggressive panhandling is rampant. Unsuspecting pedestrians are accosted daily and disheveled individuals often follow them into a Dunkin’ Donuts or wait outside an ATM to demand money. Recently, a woman sitting at McDonald’s in Queens Village was assaulted by a Creedmoor resident. A middle-aged worker in Creedmoor was sucker-punched by a patient as she bent down to pick up a food tray. She is now recuperating with 3 steel rods in her neck.

Public defecation, substance abuse and other quality-of-life infractions are now commonplace in residential communities around Creedmoor. Unfortunately, the police are discouraged from enforcing certain laws now that Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have decriminalized some low-level infractions. Creedmoor officials acknowledge that well-meaning individuals should neither give money nor endure menacing shakedowns by patients who live rent-free, receive three meals per day including snacks, plus a weekly monetary stipend paid in part by the very same individuals that are being accosted daily.

Civic leaders who sought to identify why these problems have dramatically worsened over the past year were repeatedly told by Creedmoor administrators that nothing has changed. But recently, writer and former City Council candidate Dennis Saffran, who investigated Creedmoor for another story, revealed some interesting facts. It turns out that much has changed. Governor Andrew Cuomo prioritized deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill and moving them out of wards and into so-called “transitional housing.” To accomplish this, OMH simply rebranded its wards as “transitional housing” and redesignated inpatients as “outpatients” although their living arrangements never changed.

Homeless removed from hotels featured in DHS' race-baiting videos

"Ok, here is the latest update directly from the operators of the hotels. As of 1/3/17 homeless residents were no longer being housed in the Quality Inn Hotel on Jericho Tpke. As of 1/10/17 homeless residents were no longer being housed at the Bellerose Inn Hotel on Jericho Tpke.

Even though the DHS has agreed to no longer house homeless in these two hotels, the owners are still being pressured and getting occasional calls from DHS contractors requesting to house homeless families. This type of pressure and putting these hotel owners in this position is unfair and contrary to the agreement in which DHS was informed about.

Let me also provide background on this entire episode so that everyone understands how our community succeeded in fighting back deBlasio homeless housing overreach. Back in November, I received a call from one of the owners of these hotels who asked for my help in terminating the use of these hotels for homeless individuals. These hotels had signed NO contract with DHS and never agreed to house homeless for an extended period of time, but had been continually pressured by DHS and its vendors to do so.

The reason the hotel owner called me is that as President of Glen Oaks Village Co-op I have known him from the community and he has a trusting and amicable relationship with me. I urged him to meet with members of the local civics in which I am an active participant to work out a plan with the local community to extricate these hotels from housing homeless individuals and families. These hotels were not in appropriate locations (no subways, limited bus service, no job sites) to house homeless individuals. When I approached the civics I was met with very strong opposition which came from their distrust of the hotel owners. I urged them to meet as we had an opportunity to finally resolve this issue and we shouldn't let this opportunity slip away. I told my fellow civic leaders that even if we did not succeed, we would be in no worse position. They were not convinced.

I did not want to lose this opportunity to finally resolve this homeless hotel problem on Jericho Tpke and contacted Councilmember Grodenchik who I know well and explained to him the situation in detail and asked if he would be willing to host a meeting between the hotel operators and the civics. I felt the civic leaders would be more inclined to participate if the Councilman hosted the meeting. He agreed to do so and he urged the Civic leaders who strongly opposed the meeting to attend. My strategy succeeded and a meeting was held between a number of civics, elected officials and the hotel owners. We all agreed that it was in the best interest of all to terminate the relationship with DHS (Dept of Homeless Services).

The parties agreed that by 12/31/16 all homeless being housed in these hotels would be out. Due to DHS delays, it took about a week after the 12/31/16 timetable for DHS to find alternate living arrangements for the few that were still in the hotels. That is the complete and accurate story to date of this chapter. I am proud that we were all able to finally work together and resolve a perplexing problem that many communities have been unable to resolve."

Thank you.
Bob Friedrich
President, Glen Oaks Village
__________________________________________

Take a lesson from these folks. They did great work by sticking together. The fact that they actually have electeds who support them instead of just paying lip service to them helped as well. These hotels were where the DHS made 2 videos, one of which shows shots of black homeless children dubbed over with someone yelling "white lives matter". They craftily blamed Maspeth for this despite it allegedly happening in Bellerose. Aja Worthy-Davis was moved over to ACS (which must be the de Blasio administration's version of a punishment) and the "f*ck whiteness" guru Lincoln Restler is still in hiding as BdB prepares to meet Preet. - QC

Trib endorses Bob Friedrich!

Queens Tribune

The Queens Tribune has released its endorsement for the 23rd council Democratic district primary and they bypassed county boy Barry Grodenchik and union favorite Rebecca Lynch and instead endorsed Bob Friedrich. Wonder what happened there.

City Council Watch is also calling it for Friedrich.

City Council District 23 candidates appear on NY1

Click photos to watch debates:

Errol Louis hosted a forum for the six democrats running to fill the vacant 23rd district City Council seat, located in eastern Queens. Above is Part 1, featuring candidates Ali Najmi, Bob Friedrich & Rebecca Lynch.

Above is part 2, featuring candidates Satnam Singh Parhar, Barry Grodenchik and Celia Dosamantes.

As for the stats cited in the beginning, they are incorrect. According to the Redistricting Commission, the demographic statistics for the 23rd Council District are as follows:

Population - 152,767 - Total

48,344 White - 31.6%
17,780 Black - 11.6%
55,831 Asian - 36.5% - Note: this includes "East" and "South" Asian populations combined
9,846 Other - 6.4%
20,966 Hisp. - 13.7% - Note: Hispanics may be of any race

152,767 - 99.8% Total

As for voters, the White vote is close to double (near 60%) while the combined Asian vote is a little more than half (almost 22%) of the actual population. This is due to voting trends and enrollment statistics.

If previous MTA funding schemes didn't work, why will this one?

From CBS New York:

Ardent protests erupted Friday against the latest attempt to put tolls on the free East River bridges as part of a congestion pricing plan.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, outer borough business and community leaders said they have been taxed enough.

The protest was billed as a wake-up call for New York City drivers who might be asleep at the wheel.

The protesters were targeting the latest incarnation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s failed congestion pricing plan, which seeks to raise money for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority by putting tolls on four free East River bridges – the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge between Manhattan and Queens.

Some believe the plan is a good idea because in exchange, it seeks to lower tolls on other spans such as the Henry Hudson between Manhattan and the Bronx, the Whitestone and Throgs Neck between the Bronx and Queens.

But elected officials and others at the protest listed all the tolls and taxes that have been enacted to help the MTA, which are still in effect today.

After the $15 auto use tax in New York City, officials enacted a $30 car registration surcharge in the entire MTA region, followed by a sales tax surcharge, a mobility tax on small businesses, and a 50-cent surcharge on taxi rides.

Rash of wheel thefts in Glen Oaks

From NBC:

It's a sight residents in a Queens community are waking up to frequently: cars on cinder blocks and crates, with all four wheels missing.

"It's insulting. You know, they come, they damage your property and then they drop the car on the pavement so there was more damage beside the wheels," said Allon Theilen, who paid $3,800 to replace his wheels when his were stolen a few weeks ago in Glen Oaks.

Glen Oaks Village President Bob Friedrich said, "They literally can get all four tires off in less than five minutes, and then they're gone,"

Friedrich met with police Wednesday and says there is a plan to stop the thieves.

"I've been working closely with the 105th Precinct. They have beefed up patrols here, a lot of unmarked patrols, and they're taking some other measures that I'm not at liberty to disclose right now to try to combat this," he said.

Residents in the Glen Oaks Village coop development pointed to nearly a dozen incidents they know about, and they suspect there have been more in the surrounding area in the last few months.

Why the voter ID double standard?

Photo from Daily News

As a civic leader in eastern Queens I made it my business to vote in the Participatory Budgeting Process that my Councilman, Mark Weprin was sponsoring. Last week I traveled to the Samuel Field Y in Little Neck where the Councilman's staff were working the tables and providing ballots for those who wished to vote. When I asked for a ballot I was told I must first fill out a short form and provide photo id. I thought this was odd since Councilman Weprin and so many other NYC legislators are so strongly opposed to a photo ID requirement for voting in real elections. If it's not OK to ask for photo ID when voting for President or Governor, why is it OK to do so with Participatory Budgeting?

Nevertheless, I presented my drivers license and filled out the ballot access form which asked for my name, address, telephone number and date of birth. As someone who has been victimized by identity theft in the past, I refused to write down my date of birth. There are three pieces of information I do not readily provide; date of birth, social security number and mothers maiden name. I asked why it was necessary to write down my date of birth since they could easily check it on my drivers license. Refusing to do so, I was denied ballot access. So I asked the Weprin staff member to call the Councilman's office and get permission to give me a ballot so I could vote for funding of specific community projects that would help our local schools and the Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

The Weprin staff member in charge of the Participatory Budget project for the Councilman said that if I refused to write down my date of birth I could not vote! Was I the only disenfranchised voter? Later that day, I learned that 2 other people had also been disenfranchised because they also refused to provide their date of birth. I wonder how many others were disenfranchised. And I wonder still, why the voting process for participatory budgeting was so much more rigorous then the one put in place for voting in real elections for Mayor, Governor or President.

I try not to be cynical but I can't help but think that the Participatory Budget process is being used as a way for Councilmembers to harvest voter data information for their use in upcoming elections. How else to explain being denied the right to vote and the photo ID requirement?

Bob Friedrich
Glen Oaks

Were co-ops left out in the cold by FEMA?

From the Times Ledger:

Co-op owners in northeast Queens said they felt discriminated against when it came to seeking federal aid in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

In Glen Oaks Village, more than half of the 134 buildings suffered roof damage to rack up a bill of about $25,000, according to co-op President Bob Friedrich. But after approaching the Federal Emergency Management Agency for grant money, Friedrich said a misinterpretation of fine print left his neighborhood ineligible for aid.

He said FEMA classified Glen Oaks Village as a business association, which qualifies for loans but not federal grant money, and in turn discriminates against the 3,000 families who inhabit the neighborhood.

“This is really an issue of fairness and equity,” Friedrich said. “Our residents are paying for FEMA like everybody else. Yet we are not eligible for the aid.”

Elected officials who represent the region stood beside northeast Queens co-op and condo owners at a Tuesday press conference at Glen Oaks Village to demand revisions on how FEMA classifies homeowners.

According to FEMA spokesman Ed Conley, the agency doles out grant money to individual residents living in co-ops depending mostly on agreements between homeowners and the community associations that oversee them.

“In any county with a major disaster declaration, individual homeowners or renters with damages to their individual units from Superstorm Sandy are eligible to apply for FEMA assistance, and we urge them to do so,” he said. “This includes residents living in co-ops. However, FEMA’s Individual Assistance program is authorized to grant assistance funds only to individuals or households, not business associations such as co-op boards.”

In addition, Conley said grant money only goes toward emergency repairs to make homes livable, which does not include roof shingle damage similar to that reported in Glen Oaks.

“We are looking at what we need to do to get you in a livable housing situation,” Conley said. “Getting people into a livable space would mean repairs to the kitchen, a bathroom or a bedroom — not to replace everything that was lost or destroyed.”

Meanwhile, any property owned by the co-op association, such as a roof classified as common property, must go through to the United States Small Business Association to receive repair loans, according to SBA Public Affairs Specialist Michael Peacock.

Avella wants new tree care policy

From the Times Ledger:

Even before Hurricane Sandy, Glen Oaks Village President Bob Friedrich said his group maintained a running list of ailing trees in his part of northeast Queens, but to no avail.

According to Friedrich, the Glen Oaks tree-trimming laundry list went virtually unnoticed when presented to the city Parks Department despite warnings about roughly 50 unhealthy trees.

By the time Superstorm Sandy swept through his streets, Friedrich said almost half of the already problematic trees had toppled down from the intense wind and rain.

“Had those trees been pruned, they wouldn’t have come down so easily,” Friedrich said. “The city is basically ignoring the pleas of northeast Queens communities.”

In front of uprooted sidewalk plots where trees once stood and homes with missing roof shingles, state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) joined civic leaders and homeowners in Floral Park last Thursday to blast the Parks Department for neglecting homeowners’ requests and failing to maintain its trees.

“One of the biggest problems residents had to deal with in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was downed trees,” Avella said. “It is extremely unfortunate that many of the downed trees that either fell on homes or blocked streets are the same trees that constituents have been calling on the city to remove for years.”

Avella said a changing climate has forced the city’s hand in committing to new policies involving tree damage, stump removal and the placement of new trees. The senator had held a news conference on the subject in July 2011 and said things have not gotten any better this year.

To expedite progress, Avella said he developed his own plan, which included calling on the formation of a tree policy review committee to evaluate tree maintenance and to put an immediate temporary halt to the city’s Million Tree Planting program until new rules and procedures are installed.

“This just further illustrates what I have been saying for years as a former City Council member and now state senator — the city needs to do a far better job at maintaining the trees that are already planted before planting a million more,” Avella said. “Going forward, there needs to be a concrete plan in place to address this serious problem.”

Avella said the city was rushing to fulfill its million trees commitment without proper planning, which has resulted in trees being planted in inappropriate or poor locations.

Civic meeting turns into pol hissy fit

From Times Ledger:

Nearly 1,000 people crammed into North Shore Towers in Little Neck Thursday night to listen to a panel discuss about the skyrocketing property assessment values the city assigned to condos this year and last as tensions flared between Queens elected officials.

Bob Friedrich, co-president of the organization that sponsored the discussion, started off the evening by saying he did not want “lip service” from politicians and running through the reasons why he believed the city Department of Finance unfairly assessed property values that rose by as much as 150 percent in one year. But things got heated when state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) took to the podium.

“As far as what Bob said earlier about lip service, well I think there has been a little bit too much of that tonight,” Avella said, referring to some of the lawmakers who spoke before him.

State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) had already left by the time Avella spoke, but state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) were on hand to hear his comments.

Avella derided colleagues in state government for proposing mulitiple bills designed to correct rapidly rising assessment values using various approaches. He also bashed leaders for proposing bills he suggested were just ploys to help them get re-elected, yet touted his bill as the best of the three currently in Albany.

Stavisky and Braunstein have co-sponsoered a bill in Albany, as has state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck).

The senator’s comments visibly upset Mark Weprin, who immediately stood up and took the microphone.

Uh oh, you upset a couple of do-nothing Weprins, a Toby and a Braunstein! Watch out, Tony!

No more gerrymandering during redistricting

Redistricting 1-12-12 Rally Flyer
From the Queens Chronicle:

Thirteen civic organizations in northeastern Queens believe there’s strength in numbers and have come together to ensure they stay as one during upcoming state legislative and federal congressional redistricting.

Organized by Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village co-op, Eastern Queens United is composed of groups from Glen Oaks, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Bellerose and Queens Village.

“We need district lines that will unite us, not divide us,” Friedrich said. “We represent communities that have a common interest and we want the lines to be drawn that are in the best interest of the community, not the politicians.”

EQU is planning rallies and discussions to prevent the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) from continuing to gerrymander the area. That term refers to dividing an area into voting districts to give unfair advantage to one party or group.

One of the EQU demands is that Assembly Districts 24, 26 and 33 be reconfigured and joined into one AD. Members also want the 5th and 6th Congressional Districts to be merged. In all cases, Friedrich noted, district lines would also have to be changed so that they wouldn’t be too big.

Assembly District 24 is represented by Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), while District 26 is by David Weprin (D-Little Neck) and District 33 is by Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village). “We are not endorsing anyone,” Friedrich said. “We just don’t want to be divided.”

MTA rejects bus request

From the Daily News:

Eastern Queens community leaders say Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials "didn't do their homework" before rejecting a plan that would restore service along a defunct bus route.

Civic leaders and elected officials met with the MTA last week to review a grass-roots proposal to fill the void left when the Q79 bus line was axed last year.

But agency officials quickly dismissed the proposal to extend the Q36 route that terminates on Jamaica Ave. near the Queens-Nassau County border. The Q36N would run north along Little Neck Parkway and eventually connect with the Q30 line.

"They showed absolutely no interest in it," said Bob Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village.

The agency pegged the additional cost at $400,000 per year, but failed to calculate how much additional revenue the route could bring in, Friedrich said.

"They didn't do their homework. They didn't do a proper analysis," he said.

MTA officials said yesterday that the revenue would not cover the additional expense.

"Reinstating service would have to be cost-neutral, and the proposal made by the coalition for an extension to the Q36 does not meet that criterion," said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz.

Why bike advocates are not taken seriously

From Bayside Patch:

Queens Civic Congress Vice President Dave Kulick caused the raising of some eyebrows—and voices—when he stated on Monday night at the group’s Transportation Forum that “anyone” could ride a bike from Queens to Manhattan.

Kulick spoke in support of Transportation Alternatives, a group invited to the forum with representatives of the Department of Transportation and MTA.

“I understand that you’re biker fanatics. We can’t ride [bikes] into the city every day,” Glen Oaks Village President Bob Friedrich told Budnik.

“I do it every day,” said Kulick, adding, “Anyone can.”

“No, I can’t,” shouted back Janice Schreibersdorf—answered back by Kulick with “yes you can.”

“You don’t know my life,” said Schreibersdorf, “Don’t get on your high horse. I’m lucky I can cross the street some days.”

“I’m not superman. I’m almost sixty years old,” said Kulick. Though Schreibersdorf‘s physical impediment was not apparent, there was at least one wheelchair—bound woman present at the meeting.

Ok, so advocating that more people bike is fine. Advocating that everyone bike is unrealistic. And the MTA needs money, so it's also counterproductive.

CB7 meeting was session in stupidity

"During tonight's sham CB7 meeting with DOF Commissioner Frankel, Community Board Chair Gene Kelty attempted to have the police remove Bob Friedrich. This was in response to Bob insisting that his voice be heard.

Many of those in attendance asked me who Kelty was and they referred to him as a goon and thug. Has the time come for Kelty to resign?"

Little Neck Patch has more:

Toward the end of Frankel's remarks, Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village Association, objected to what he called the commissioner's "lack of specifics" in terms of the methodology used by the city to determine the value of condos and co-ops.

"All we wanted to know is how you justified such high tax valuation increases in a time when co-op values are declining," Friedrich said. "He [Frankel] gave us nothing."

At one point, according to Friedrich, CB7 chairman Eugene Kelty summoned police officers to escort the longtime co-op president out of the Union Plaza Care Centre in Flushing — the venue for last night's "un-sanctioned" community meeting.

"It was Gene Kelty who was disruptive and disrespectful," said CB7 board member Warren Schreiber, also president of Bay Terrace Co-op No. 1 and the Bay Terrace Civic Association. "Bob Friedrich should have been allowed to have his voice heard."

However, another attendee at last night's gathering, who did not want to be indentified, saw it a different way.

"Kelty's behavior may not have been appropriate, but Bob's was worse," said the source.

Funny how the person criticizing Kelty used his name but the one criticizing Friedrich is "a source". Who is the source - Bitterman or Apelian?

More community board defections

From the Times Ledger:

Glen Oaks Village is contemplating leaving Community Board 13 and joining CB 11, claiming the co-op has more in common with CB 11 than CB 13, according to Glen Oaks Village President Bob Friedrich.

“We’re considering whether to do that this year or not because we have a lot more in common with CB 11,” Friedrich said, referring to the co-ops that are a part of the northeast Queens community board.

Bryan Block, chairman of CB 13, declined to comment.

Friedrich said Glen Oaks Village has not yet decided to pursue the action, but said if it did it would ask for the community board boundary to be changed to along Union Turnpike instead of the Grand Central Parkway.

CB 13 covers one of the largest territories in Queens, starting from Glen Oaks in the north down along the Queens-Nassau border to Rosedale in southeast Queens.

CB 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece said he had no formal discussions with Friedrich about the move.

Iannece noted that North Shore Towers in Floral Park may also decide to switch from CB 13 to CB 11 and that Bay Terrace has already renounced its membership with CB 7.

Eastern Queens buried

"72 Hours Later in Springfield Gardens (Picture says it all)" - Donovan


It is 8:30 PM Tuesday - nightime in Glen Oaks - this is what is happening right now. A wall of snow was left by City Sanitation blocking access to 249th Street just off Union Tpke.


2 Buses Stuck & Bus Stuck: Major intersection of 260 Street and Langston Avenue, 2 buses are trapped and can't move. This blocks nearby access to LIJ Medical Center which is adjacent to Glen Oaks Village


1 Access-a-ride bus is stuck at another intersection


Earlier today - Fire Battalion Chief Car gets stuck in Glen Oaks as he travels behind a Fire Truck. The streets have not been plowed here.


City Sanitation Plow Truck broke down on Little Neck Parkway and needs to be pushed by another City Plow Truck.

On Monday afternoon an LIJ ambulance was stuck in Glen Oaks Village and had to be towed out.

However, I am happy to report that Councilman Mark Weprin and Assemblyman David Weprin's streets in front of their homes have been plowed to the asphalt.

I called Dist 13 sanitation a few minutes ago, spoke to the foreman and begged for snow plows tonight in our community. I will keep my fingers crossed.

This is a SNOW JOB and there is no accountability, only excuses.


Thanks
Bob Friedrich
President, Glen Oaks Village

David Weprin defends Sheldon Silver

Weprin challenging Friedrich's petitions

Within minutes of the midnight deadline on July 15th, in true “politics-as-usual” fashion, David Weprin filed a petition challenge with the Board of Elections in the NYS Democratic Primary Assembly race in the 24th Assembly District. Since Bob Friedrich is the only other candidate in that race, Bob said,

“I can only conclude that the sole purpose of Weprin’s petition challenge is to disenfranchise voters of the district by attempting to remove me from the ballot so that he can run unopposed in the Democratic Primary. Attempting to disenfranchise voters will only increase the already strong anti-incumbent sentiment that exists among the electorate.”

David Weprin knows that the Friedrich petitions are proper and performed in accordance with NYS Election Law. He is well-aware that his brother, Mark Weprin, chose not to challenge Friedrich’s designating petitions in the last election after carefully examining and inspecting them.

In June, BOB FRIEDRICH asked David Weprin to join him and take a “No-Challenge Petition Pledge” so that district voters would have a choice of candidates in the Democratic Primary for Assembly for the first time in a decade. WEPRIN refused. Bob commented,

“David Weprin likes to talk about “change” and being a different kind of politician, but his actions speak louder than words. Protecting the Weprin family dynasty is more important to David Weprin than the rights of district voters to have an election with a choice of candidates.”

Friedrich is confident that David Weprin won’t succeed in his challenge since the Friedrich campaign has submitted almost 3 times the necessary number of petition signatures required by law.

“I can assure the voters of the 24th Assembly District that we will be on the ballot in September and they will have a choice of candidates. Change is coming on September 14th.”

By filing a procedural challenge to the Friedrich campaign’s petition signatures, Mr. Weprin is alleging that Friedrich’s campaign volunteers, most of whom are middle aged adults or senior citizens, did something wrong, unethical or unlawful. This is a “slap-in-the-face” by Weprin to the more than 60 hardworking and enthusiastic volunteers, including many civic leaders who donated their time each evening ringing doorbells of neighborhood residents and gathering qualifying signatures in accordance with NYS Election Law.

It is shameful that David Weprin seeks to bring the North Korean example of elections to our Assembly District by robbing voters of choice in his attempt to knock his ONLY opponent off the ballot so that he can run unopposed as he has done in every primary election.

Bob Friedrich is confident that these types of political shenanigans will be rejected by the voters in the September Primary.

Friedrich vs. Weprin, Chapter 3

From the Times Ledger:

Bob Friedrich is hoping the third time will be the charm.

The Glen Oaks Village president launched his campaign last week for state Assemblyman David Weprin’s (D-Little Neck) seat representing the 24th Assembly District, which he lost when he ran against the lawmaker in a special election earlier this year.

He also made a failed attempt last year to win the seat now held by City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens).

Friedrich, a Democrat, ran against David Weprin on the Republican line. He will run on the Democratic ticket in the primary this September.

The president of Glen Oaks Village and a longtime civic activist, Friedrich announced his election bid Saturday and said he believes this time around will be different because of a “strong anti-incumbent sentiment.” Additionally, he noted there is no third candidate, which he said took votes away from him when he and Swaranjit Singh were in the race with Mark Weprin for the City Council.

“We need to elect leaders who have worked in the private sector running businesses, employing people and creating jobs, not career politicians like the Weprins, who have spent 36 years on the public payroll,” said Friedrich, an accountant. “It’s time to give them a reality check and send them back to the private sector, where they can look for a job like New Yorkers who are unemployed in a state whose economy is bankrupt with a $9.5 billion deficit.”

District 24 chooses Weprin

The dynasty lives.