City council race to replace Grodenchik is tight and diverse

 

  

Queens Eagle 

 Queens’ topsy-turvy political landscape became even more uncertain last year when Councilmember Barry Grodenchik, one of only four councilmembers in the borough eligible for reelection, decided not to run in 2021.

Even before the announcement, a handful of candidates had filed campaigns to challenge Grodenchik, weakened by accusations of sexual harassment and stripped of his role as chair of the Parks committee. His exit plan set the stage for a wide-open primary, with seven people on the ballot and, according to local political observers and insiders, no clear-cut favorite.

The candidates include Grodenchik’s closest aide, Steve Behar; prominent nonprofit director Linda Lee; veteran government official Debra Markell, Sikh community leader Harpreet Singh Toor; and organizer Jaslin Kaur, the first Eastern Queens candidate backed by the Democratic Socialists of America. Two other community leaders, Sanjeev Kumar Jindal and Koshy Thomas, are also running.

The seven hopefuls are vying to represent one of New York City’s oldest council districts, where more than 20 percent of residents are over age 65. It’s also one of the city’s most suburban regions.

Indeed, driving through the neighborhoods of Council District 23 — and without a single subway stop, most people do rely on cars and buses — one would be forgiven for thinking they’ve already crossed into the burbs of Nassau County. 

Detached single family homes take up big tracts of land here, more so than in nearly any other council district in New York City. Major institutions, like Long Island Jewish Medical Center and the massive North Shore Towers co-op complex, straddle the border of Queens and Nassau.

Even neighborhood names give pause: Are you in Floral Park, Queens or Floral Park, Long Island? 

And if all that geographic confusion weren’t enough, there’s an honest-to-god farm here, complete with sheep for shearing and chickens for laying. Granted, it’s nearly 330 years old and preserved as a novel historic site, but still, a farm in New York City. 

But like suburbs across the country, the Northeast Queens pseudo-burbs are anything but homogenous. 

Residents, and candidates, span the political spectrum and incomes vary. In Community Districts 11 and 13, which overlap with Council District 23, more than 43 percent of residents are considered rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 35 percent of their income on housing. 

Residents also reflect an array of races, religions and ethnicities. 

White New Yorkers, and in particular, Jewish residents, make up a large portion of the population in Bellerose, Douglaston, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks and Oakland Gardens, but the district is also home to some of New York City’s largest Asian, South Asian and Pacific Islander communities. In fact, more than 40 percent of district residents identify as Asian, including about 45 percent of the population in Community District 11, which overlaps with much of the council district. 

About 45 percent of CD11 residents were born outside the United States and many more are first-generation Americans. There are also significant populations of Black and Latino residents in places like Hollis and Queens Village, which are located in the northern portions of predominantly Black Community Districts 12 and 13.

“This is a very ethnically and religiously diverse district and is largely a community of single-family homeowners but with sizable garden apartment co-ops in it,” said Glen Oaks resident Ali Najmi, an attorney extremely active in local politics. He ran for the council seat in a 2015 special election and is representing Kaur in this election. “It’s a great place to live and raise a family.” 

But it could be even better, the candidates agree.

Three major goals emerge in conversations with the people running to replace Grodenchik: Increase transportation options in the subwayless “transit desert,” preserve the quality of the region’s well regarded schools and boost services for seniors. They are also focused on healthcare and reaching residents — like immigrants and low-wage workers — whose experiences don’t fit into the district’s comfortable, suburban reputation.

Pseudoburb? It's sounds like a word shitlib real estate lobbyists on twitter make up to describe residential areas with one and two-family homes, kind of like how said shitlibs weaponize the term NIMBY constantly against people who don't want any more over-development or pseudo affordable housing in this city.

He's eighteen and wants to be elected

 

NY Post

He’s barely old enough to vote, but says he’s ready to be elected. 

Seth Breland, an 18-year-old Democrat from Fresh Meadows, hopes to replace City Councilman Barry Grodenchik in Northeastern Queens when he steps down at the end of next year.

If he is able to get on the ballot in November 2021 and win, Breland would be the youngest elected official in the city’s history. Former Bronx Councilman Joel Rivera, elected in 2001 at age 22, currently holds that title. 

Breland, a graduate of World Journalism Preparatory High School in Flushing, who is now studying political science at Long Island University Post campus, says his age is a benefit on the campaign trail — if not for the publicity alone. 

“I realize the age can be a limitation, but at the same time … it can be an advantage if I play it right,” he said. “My age will give me the sort of attention and enthusiasm to really fight for our district.”

Breland, who turned 18 in May and cast his first legal ballot in November for Joe Biden, said he was inspired to run by another young, progressive Queens politician, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected to Congress at age 28.

“AOC is definitely an inspiration in terms of her age. I had been following her campaign for a while at that point, and it was really inspiring to see,” he said.

CB2 leader and former leader are running for council seats

  

LIC Post

Debra Markell, the current Community Board 2 District Manager, announced Wednesday that she is running to be the next city council member for the 23rd District.

Markell, a resident of Glen Oaks, is looking to fill the seat currently occupied by Council Member Barry Grodenchik, who will be stepping down at the end of 2021.

Grodenchik, who is not term limited, announced last month that he is not seeking a second term to represent the district, which covers a large swath of eastern Queens.

There are five other Democratic candidates vying for the seat with the primary scheduled to take place in June 2021. The new council member will take office on Jan. 1, 2022.

Markell said she plans to get the city “back on track” and cited her experience working in government and as a community leader as the cornerstone of her campaign.

“When I look ahead at the daunting challenges facing our city, it is evident that experience is crucial to getting our city back on track,” Markell said in a statement. “While COVID-19 changed our way of life on many levels, I know we can come back stronger.”

Markell’s career in civil service includes an eight-year stint as the Queens director on the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, a job where she worked as a liaison between Queens residents and City Hall. She held that job during both the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations.

LIC Post

Denise Keehan-Smith, the former chairperson of Queens Community Board 2, held a press conference in Woodside Saturday and announced that she is running to be the next council member for the 26^th council district.

The life-long Woodsider, who was joined by about 40 people by the Big Six Towers on Queens Boulevard, said that she is “the common sense candidate.”

Keehan-Smith is one of 17 candidates vying for the seat that is currently held by Jimmy Van Bramer, who is unable to run again due to term limits.

“I have decided that we need to take our neighborhood in a new direction,” Keehan-Smith said. “We need to get back to basics.”

Keehan-Smith said that most residents across the council district want the same thing.

“They want decent jobs, a thriving small business community and clean streets. We don’t want to pass rats when we are walking through the neighborhood…and we want to be safe.”

She said senior citizens should be able to walk to church and not get assaulted, referencing an incident where an 84-year-old man was robbed in August on his way to St. Sebastian’s in Woodside.

Keehan-Smith said that she would work to save small businesses, create a plan to address homelessness and would work with the NYPD to make the district safe. She also wants to tackle climate change and advocate for fixing what she says is a decaying transit system.

She said that she has a deep knowledge of Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside that she learned while being on Community Board 2 for eight years, with four of those as chair. She also has deep ties to the community, she said, having attended P.S. 11 on Skillman Avenue and St. Sebastian’s Catholic school.

City sneakily sent 100 prisoners from Rikers to Fresh Meadows hotel to shelter in place from COVID-19

Queens Eagle

More than 100 people released from Rikers Island are being housed at a Fresh Meadows hotel as part of a city initiative that local leaders say lacked any community input.

The city is putting up the formerly incarcerated New Yorkers at a Wyndham Garden Hotel on 186th Street to prevent the spread of COVID-19 behind bars and in homeless shelters, officials said. The Office of Emergency Management and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice are overseeing the program.

The city paid for rooms in the hotel because the individuals did not have stable housing and would have otherwise become homeless, said MOCJ spokesperson Colby Hamilton. A handful of other hotels around the city have served the same function.

“This and other hotels have provided an invaluable network of stable, reliable lodging for those in need, keeping people departing the jail system out of congregate housing, while we work with them to find more permanent living solutions going forward,” Hamilton said.

The individuals were released from Rikers Island because they have pre-existing medical conditions that put them at particular risk of COVID-19, he said.

Local Councilmember Barry Grodenchik said he was blindsided by the city’s plan.

“We found out because people started calling the office from the community,” Grodenchik said. “We didn’t get advance notice. At all.”

Grodenchik said he and members of Community Board 8 will tour the facility Wednesday.

The employee who answered the phone at the Wyndham Gardens hotel directed questions to City Hall Tuesday.

“This information is confidential and we cannot give information about who is staying with us and if you want more information you can call the Mayor’s Office,” the official said.

Councilman Barry Grodenchik cops to sexual harassment charges

 

NY Post

A Democratic Queens legislator admitted Tuesday to sexually harassing a female City Council staffer for more than a year — giving her so many unwelcome hugs and kisses that she avoided meetings with him.

Councilman Barry Grodenchik agreed to undergo sexual harassment training at his own expense and give up his chairmanship of the Parks and Recreation Committee.

“I understand that my actions caused the council staff member to suffer embarrassment, stress and discomfort, and emotional distress,” Grodenchik said with his head down.

He zipped through his prepared statement, only looking up at the assembled members of the council’s Committee on Standards and Ethics when he finished.

“I am deeply sorry for my conduct and for any harm suffered by the council staff member as a result of my conduct,” he said.

Grodenchik hustled out of the hearing room past waiting reporters as soon as he finished.
The 59-year-old Democrat, who has represented northeastern Queens in the council since 2015, waived a full hearing on the allegations by admitting to “discrimination and harassment of [an unnamed] female staffer,” according to ethics committee chair Steven Matteo (R-SI).

Beware of the Bayside bike lane

From PIX11:

Parents in Bayside are concerned a bike line directly in front of their children's' school may be dangerous for their kids.

"What about the safety of the 500 kids who are dropped off and picked up everyday? Buses will have to park in the middle of the street. Someone will get hurt," said Edna Harris, a concerned grandmother of a PS 213 student.

Harris' grandson is one of 60 students living with autism who attend class at the school building.

"It's the only school that would have a bike lane in front of it in the City. It doesn't make sense to anyone," said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic.

The bike lane creates a 12-foot barrier between the bus and curb, said Councilmember Barry Grodenchik.

"That's a big distance for a kid," said Grodenchik.

More from the Queens Tribune.

Video Voter Guide - City Council District 23

Video Voter Guide: Council Districts 20 & 23

These 2 incumbents are presented without their challengers, who failed to record videos for the voter guide.

Owners of illegally subdivided homes face steep fines, liens

 (Photo by Carly Miller/BKLYNER)

From Bklyner:

Today, City Council unanimously passed a bill to enforce fines on landlords that illegally subdivide homes to create “modern tenement housing”, an issue that has led to severe overcrowding and deaths in southern Brooklyn.

The bill, Intro 1218 proposed by City Councilmember Vincent Gentile, targets landlords of homes classified as “aggravated illegal conversions,” slapping a $15,000 violation per unit beyond the certificate of occupancy. If unpaid, the fine would be subject to a lien sale on the property.

The legislation also expands the authority of the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and the New York City Environmental Control Board (ECB) to inspect properties and impose penalties.

Gentile, representing Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, and Bensonhurst, was joined today by Council Members Barry S. Grodenchik and Jumaane Williams, representatives from Boro President Eric Adams' office, and dozens of civic groups and housing advocates who spent years rallying around this issue. The bill was supported by 23 City Council members, said Gentile on a sunny Wednesday at the steps of City Hall. A few hours later, the bill passed with a 49-0 vote.

“These strong restrictions and penalties will force egregious property owners to comply with New York City’s building code,” said Gentile. “Substandard housing is not affordable housing.”

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

They'd hold a ribbon cutting for a flea market

Only in Queens do politicians hold press conferences - podium and all - to announce that basic road repairs have been completed. A press statement would have sufficed.

From the Times Ledger

Co-op wants to mow down trees for clubhouse

From the Times Ledger:

Windsor Oaks Tenant’s Corporation is seeking approval by the Board of Standards and Appeals to amend a variance between the co-op and the neighboring housing development so they may clear a wooded area for a new clubhouse and 98 new parking spaces, according to Steve Behar, legislative council to Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens).

The variance to maintain the 100-foot wide section of trees goes back to 1951, when the co-op was built, and serves as a buffer between the two communities.

The land where the variance is in place is between Bell Boulevard and Springfield Boulevard and as many as 15 homes border the variance.

A Community Board 11 meeting in 2015 heard strong resident opposition to the plan to clear the woodland and the co-op’s application through CB 11 to amend the variance was shot down. In 2011, the Tenant’s Corporation had secured a loan to build the 5,000-square-foot clubhouse which was refinanced four years in a row without construction moving forward.

“In our last meeting before coming in front of the community board, it was suggested that we sit down with the residents of 77th Avenue and see where we could come together,” Windsor Oaks President Ronald Kaye said in 2015. “Sadly, they wanted no part of that. They just don’t want the project at all.”

But Behar said the co-op is not backing down from its resolve to level the trees standing between them and their future amenities.

“Over the years, they’ve cut down the trees, which they weren’t supposed to be doing under the variance, and now they’re asking the BSA to eliminate the variance,” Behar said. “This is a buffer between the cooperative and the homes. These people are up in arms because they bought their homes knowing that there was a variance, that they would be protected from this big co-op. We’ve also received a lot of complaints from people who live in the co-op, but don’t want this either.”

What exactly is a clubhouse needed for anyway? What hardship is associated with this?

Patel's thinking twice about homeless hotels

From PIX11:

Avella, along with Grodenchik and Nassau County Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, announced Friday that the owners of the controversial the Quality Inn in Bellerose, targeted for most of the summer to become a shelter, are looking to end their relationship with the homeless agency and scrap plans to house the homeless, effective Jan. 1. This is the second hotel owned by the Patel Group that has promised no longer to serve and house homeless people.

Coincidentally, this is the same hotel that PIX11 News exposed last December. Back then, homeless services was booking rooms for $175 a night — yet PIX11 was able to book them on their corporate site for significantly less.

Homeless services leadership has not responded to numerous requests for comment during the past month.

Patel has 2 hotels on Jericho Turnpike that he converted into shelters. A protest today will visit two of them.

Someone's dumping tires along the Clearview

From the Times Ledger:

Stacks of abandoned tires have been seen littering the side of the highway around 73rd Avenue and Clearview Expressway in recent months.

The Department of Transportation, which believes this is the work of one outfit dumping entire truckloads at once, has been regularly required to haul the garbage away. The city agency has been quick to remove the tires, diligence which was praised by City Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) and state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows) at a Tuesday news conference.

“The area alongside the Clearview Expressway is protected parkland, and no part of New York City, least of all our parks, is to be used as a private dump,” said Grodenchik, referring to nearby Cunningham Park. “As a community, we spend a lot of time and effort keeping our parks and neighborhoods beautiful, and this illegal tire dumping is an affront to our work.”

Gazette a bit confused about election results

From the Queens Gazette:

As for the election in the 23rd Council district, the voting in that election was confined to residents of Oakland Gardens, Queens Village, Fresh Meadows, Floral Park, New Hyde Park, Glen Oaks, Hollis Hills, Douglaston, Bayside, Little Neck, and Bellerose.

In the only election that might result in an upset, the race to fill the City Council vacancy in the 23rd district, the unofficial returns show candidates Barry Grodenchik (Democrat) and Rebecca Lynch (Working Families Party) are close, and it may take a full vote count to determine the winner. A third candidate in that race, Joseph Concannon (Republican) doesn’t figure in the full count.

NY1's results show something much, much different.

Which results were the Gazette using?

Concannon & Grodenchik debate on NY1

Click photo for video.

Grodenchik wins primary

Surprising absolutely no one, Democratic voters in the 23rd Council District, when given a choice between 6 candidates, chose the Queens County Democratic Machine hack. Bob Friedrich ran a close second.

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.

Barry Grodenchik: By the numbers

Barry Grodenchik CFB-07292015

Other information on donors of note:

Grodenchik, a multi-decade employee at Borough Hall with a single term in the New York State Assembly more than a decade ago as his only electoral experience, has raised more funds from other elected and former elected official campaign chests ($8,500) than all of his in-district contributions from the 23rd Council District ($8,297) combined.

Grodenchik's contributors are an example of how the Queens County Democratic Machine tries to bulldoze their way to a victory in what should be a competitive race for elected office. More than 40% of his significant contributions come from direct political connections, including elected officials, former elected officials, judges, political staffers, community board chairs and district managers (including some from Boards 8, 11 and 13 which is partially in the 23rd Council District), and, also importantly, those people whose organizations have benefitted from the purse strings of Borough Hall, where he has been a staffer for decades. And this doesn't even include developers or other businesses looking to get favors and approvals from Borough Hall.

Some examples:

The campaign chests of Liz Crowley and Mark Weprin each gave him $2,750, while Dan Garodnick, a Councilmember from Manhattan gave him $2,000 from his war chest. District Leader Martha Taylor, the co-leader with David Weprin for that area, gave him $250 from her abortive run for City Council in 2013, while Andrew Hevesi gave him $500 and former Assemblymember Jonathan Bing gave him $250 from his old campaign chest (still active) and $175, the maximum public match for an individual donation; Liz Crowley also gave him another $175.

The NYC Property Tax Fairness PAC gave Grodenchik $500. This Political Action Committee, which operates out of Albany, is run by David Weinraub, a partner of Brown & Weinraub, PLLC, listed as the 7th in a list of New York State's Top 10 Lobbyists in 2014 on the City and State NY website. In 2013, they also hired the former top aide and chief legal counsel to Sheldon Silver, Michael Boxley, who was convicted of sexually abusing a legislative staffer, as a principal in the firm.

Rosemary Vietor, VP of the Bowne House Historical Society, donated $1,000; the Bowne House received significant funding from the Borough President's office for its recent restoration.

Daniel Zausner, COO of the United States Tennis Association, donated $250; the USTA was given public parkland to expand their footprint in 2013, bullishly supported by the Borough President's office during the ULURP land use process.

The owner, Simon Pelman, family members and some employees, of the Union Plaza Nursing Home in Flushing - where Community Board 7 holds its meetings - gave Grodenchik $3,575 more than *all* of the developers and real estate contributions combined. Pelman owns and operates multiple nursing homes throughout Queens. He wrote a letter of support to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman during the trial of William Rapfogel, the former President of the Metropolitan New York Council on Jewish Poverty who embezzled $9 million and used much of the money to make campaign contributions, through straw donors, to win the favor of political candidates.

The largest real estate contributions were $1,000 from Christian Lee, the Principal of F+T Group, developers of the under-construction Flushing Commons on the site of the former Municipal Parking Lot, who received their approvals from Borough Hall; and Thomas D. Wong, a "retired" real estate broker from Maspeth, who contributed $1,175. Carl Mattone, President of the Mattone Group, made sure to drop him a small $250 contribution to remind him that they are still in the local development game.

The President, Wu-Hsing Liao, his family/employees, and the C.E.O. of Asia Bank, N.A., based in downtown Flushing, contributed $1,200 to Grodenchik.

Finally, the owners and family of Plaza College in Forest Hills, the Callahans of Douglas Manor and Whitestone, gave four contributions of $175 each totaling $700. Plaza College is interesting for several reasons: not only is it a small private college celebrating a century in operation next year, it has been run by the same family since its founding. More interesting are some of the people sitting on its Board of Directors:

• Leo Fakler, Tommy Huang's architect in the 1980s and a favorite of Borough Hall
• Marilyn McAndrews, a staffer for Community Board 7
• Helen Sears, the former Councilmember for Jackson Heights and Elmhurst and now Deputy City Clerk, working in the basement of Borough Hall handing out marriage licenses
• Al Pennisi - The President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Draw your own conclusions, folks!