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May 14, 2026 / Queens Government Media Politics NYC / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Buzz NYC.
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NYC Billionaire Press Billionaire TV News & Free Speech in America
Billionaire Press NYC, Billionaire TV News & Free Speech & a Free Press in America All Four TV Networks are Owned by Billionaires, who Appear to Use Their Med....Billionaire Press Billionaire TV News v The Peoples Press on the Web .
Queens News NYC
Apr 20, 2026 at 12:15 am by PeterParker
NYC Mayoral Race 2025
Queens Politics & Government NYC
NYC Mayoral Race 2025
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* Here's Lookin' at You, Kid
Mamdani Talks about the First 100 Days & the Next 1360 to Come
April 13, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Late Sunday afternoon I headed over to the Knockdown Center, located off Flushing Avenue in Maspeth. Maspeth is a neighborhood located on the Brooklyn / Queens border, and a bit of an outpost in a transportation desert, where some of NYC's manufacturing, warehouses and distribution centers are located.
I was on my way to Mayor Mamdani's Press Conference / public speech, where he planned to talk about his first 100 days in office as the Mayor of NYC.
In the photo at right, stand NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and surprise honorary guest, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, at the press event held by the Mayor's Office on Sunday, April 12, 2026 in Maspeth, NYC.
Truly Great Leaders are Humble, Respectful, Determined & Learn-ed
Mamdani is a Muslim American and Sanders is a Jewish American. And one of the things that I find most interesting, is that these two - instead of fighting each other - they have teamed up, in an effort to try to solve some of the real significant problems facing New York City and America. This is the approach America has taken in the past, and hopefully will return to taking in the future.
Happily, but also sadly, both men are exceptions - to the kind of weak, weak-minded, and apparently corrupt leadership, that we currently have in the federal government, and that up until a bit more than three months ago, we also had in NYC City Hall.
Thankfully, Mamdani and Sanders are not exceptions to the kind of high quality leadership America has had in the past. We've been fortunate to have had intelligent, selfless leadership, but that didn't happen on its own. In the past American voters were diligent and wise enough to choose good leaders, because they invested the time in making the right choices, and also made the right choices in selecting the information sources they relied upon to obtain their voting information. The making of intelligent decisions by the American electorate, gradually slipped away over the past 60 years, as TV increasingly became the dominant source of Americans' news, and thus also their voting information. It's been a long slippery slope, with nasty fiscal and other consquences, that has brought us to the state of the City and Union today.
Prior to the arrival of TV News, American voters read the newspapers, run by lots of different people, espousing many different points of view, which the electorate discussed amongst themselves, prior to voting. Thus Americans, back in the day, elected and were led by, wise and caring leaders, representing an an increasingly diverse population, which is what had made America a great nation. Perhaps we're on the cusp of a resurgence of that sort of informed electorate decision making, as voters migrate their news consumption from billionaire TV news to the numerous, varied information sources on the web. Currently just five to six billionaires control the corporations broadcasting TV news.
Later this week I'm going to take you into the Mayor's 100 Day Press Conference, and give you a closer look at things, beyond the shallow billionaire TV News reports and / or the dishonest headlines you may have already seen, if you read billionaire R. Murdoch's NY Post. The NY Post is easily one of the most dishonest newspapers in both NYC & the USA*, as Rupert Murdoch uses it to manipulate voters' perceptions, so that they vote for his favored candidates [like Trump], who will give Murdoch and other billionaires huge tax breaks, funded by debt dumped on your children, grandchildren, and future generations, while simultaneously cutting government services, like education and healthcare, to boot. This is not just thoroughly un-American, it's morally and ethically reprehensible.
Stay tuned, and in the meantime have a nice week.
* This assessment is based on my observations of the NY Post from 2016 - 2026.
GB 607
Mamdani Mayoral Inauguration Day, as Seen from the Nosebleeds
The Bitter Cold didn't Nip the Warmth of Our New Mayor on his Big Day
January 1, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.
I'll be the first to admit that the photos shown herein, aren't likely to win any awards. But I never take photographs or write reports to win awards. I take and write them to share with our readers what's going on in our fair city, as seen by one of their own - a fellow member of the plebeian citizenry of NYC. And I also report on things, with an eye toward posterity.
In the photo at right, Zohran Mamdani and Rama Duwaji are shown walking out of City Hall and onto the steps of the political public stage on January 1, 2026. Mamdani was inaugurated privately, earlier in the day, by NYS Attorney General Letitia James. And he would be inaugurated again, cermoniously, by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, about an hour after this photo was taken.
As I was freezing my buns off in the bitter cold outside of City Hall, waiting for Mamdani to appear and give his speech, my thoughts matched the chilly bitterness of the season. The biting 20 mph+ wind gusts & the well below freezing temperatures, didn't thaw out my anger, as some long-winded speakers seemed to ignore the fact that this was Zohran's day - not theirs. And that those of us in attendance, had been waiting outside on the open streets of south Manhattan, with the biting winds coming in from the harbor, for hours.
Eventually my camera succumbed to the cold, as my battery, having been fully charged earlier this morning died. Thankfully, it was after I got a couple of photos of our new Mayor and his wife. I interpreted the battery dying, as god's invisible message, giving me permission to go home, before I froze to death.
In the photo above or at right you can see a number of well known, former and current, NYC and NYS government officials. Starting from the first row in the lower left corner, wearing a green coat is Governor Kathy Hochul, to her right is NYS Attorney General Letitia James, fashionably dressed in a camel-colored coat wearing a beret, to her right is U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in a dark coat and to her right are U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his wife. Above and just right of Sanders is former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is standing to the right of former Mayor Adams [his head is buried underneath a newsie cap] and his friend, Tracey Collins. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who did not endorse Mamdani, is on Adams' left.
I shambled to the subway station at City Hall, passing through the garrison of NYPD officers who were also enduring the piercing winds, and numbing and bone chilling cold. They seemed better dressed than I for the weather, as I'd not attended such a frigid, hours-long, outdoor event, since the January 5, 1985 NFL Playoff game between the NY Giants and Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Today, at City Hall in NYC, it was 27 degrees, with 14 - 16 mph wind gusts, and a wind chill temperature that ranged from 8 - 18 degrees. As I had no cap, and nothing to break the wind from coming through my jacket and jersey, my arms and legs started shivering continuously, before I decided to go home.
On the subway my fingers and toes began to thaw. At first there was some pain as the blood started circulating through them, bringing back the warmth they had recently lost. The same thawing began to come over me mentally, as I pondered my own life on the ride home, as I thought about our new Mayor.
Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration Speech January 1, 2026 in Fotos
One of the things that struck me is that as Zohran is an immigrant, who was born on the other side of the world in Uganda, in Africa; he doesn't just see himself in the context of us 8.5 million New Yorkers who live here, nor does he limit his view of us collectively to the 342 million Americans we are, but rather sees us as a plantery whole of 8.3 billion Earthlings, of which NYC represents 1/10th of 1% of the planet population.
What Mamdani had to say and some context for it follows.
- CLICK here to view the rest of our report on the Inauguration of Zohan Mamdani at City Hall in NYC on January 1, 2026 including photos.
* Did the NYS Gaming Commission Make a Mockery of the Law?
NYS Gaming Commission to Make Final Vote on NYC Casinos Today
December 15, 2025 / Queens Neighborhood News & History NYC / Queens News NYC / Queens Politics Government & Media NYC / Queens Real Estate & Business News NYC / Queens News / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC.
With the exception of the headline and paragraph update below, the rest of this was posted before the NYS Gaming Commission vote noted above. This report represents an important back story about how TV news and NYC and NYS government officials failed their communities. It's also a report about what appears to be letting a predatory fox into the community chicken coop.
Update _ All 3 Downstate NYC Casinos Approved by NYS
Update 12.15.25 Post Vote. The NYS casino licenses approved include Ballys in the Bronx, an expansion of Resorts World Casino in Queens, and Steve SAC Capital Cohen's Metropolitan Park at Flushing Meadows Corona Park [see story below].
Resumption of original report.
Today at 1 pm, the NYS Gaming Commission is expected to vote on the final approvals of NYS casino licenses in New York City. Bally's in the Bronx and Metropolitan Park licenses will be voted upon. The final vote, according to a Spectrum News report today, is to address the following, " ... The commission is expected to ratify the board's recommendation Monday after one final review of each applicant's ethical and financial qualifications before issuing the licenses ...".
In the photo above or at right you can see community members trying to make their voices heard in the Corona neighborhood in Queens. The protesters oppose the Metropolitan Park Casino planned which will, in essence takeover some of the parkland in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. But you won't hear about this on the corporate billionaire TV News Networks, because they appear to be protecting the interests of one of their own, by not reporting this to the community.
Nowhere in Spectrum New reports did I find any discussion of Steve Cohen's SAC Capital being involved in the largest insider trading scandal in modern history involving a hedge fund. Steve Cohen named the firm he founded, SAC Capital, after himself - Steve A. Cohen. The firm was fined $1.8 BILLION. Cohen himself was not found guilty in the courts, but journalists covering the story believed that he had fostered a 'culture of corruption'. Based on how the NY Mets ball club has conducted itself since Cohen took over - that description may also apply to them.
Apparently Ethics Don't Seem to Matter Anymore - Just $$$
So, will the NYS Gaming Commission, make a mockery of the importance of ethical considerations, in the disposition of gaming licenses, by awarding Steve Cohen a license? Given how corrupt our municipal [Adams] and state governments [Cuomo √ | Hochul ?] appear to have functioned recently, I'll bet they don't give a damn. But we'll find out later today.
Here are a few related links. The third link will take you to a report by NY Magazine goes to the heart of the possible motivating forces behind the actions of campaign funded government officials, the fourth link is a very short video discussing how Steve Cohen appeared to dodge conviction in the courts, and the fifth link is to an earlier report on the back story we did on Steve SAC Capital Cohen's 'Black Edge'.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on NYS Gaming Commission seems to Ignore Ethics Section of the Law in Approving Steve SAC Capital Cohen's Metropolitan Park Casino in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens NYC.
How did Steve Cohen's Casino License Bid Get this Far?
Did Billionaire Network TV News, Ignore Cohen's SAC Capital Insider Trading History, in Order to Enable the Fellow Billionaire to Keep Gaming Us & the System?
December 1, 2025 / Queens Neighborhood News & History NYC / Queens News NYC / Queens Politics Government & Media NYC / Queens Real Estate & Business News NYC / Queens News / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC.
SAC [Steve A. Cohen] Capital
Pleads Guilty to the Largest Insider Trading Scandal in Modern History
The short story on Steve Cohen is that in 1992 he founded a company that operated a number of hedge funds. He was so proud of it, that he put his name on it - SAC Capital - which is short for Steve A. Cohen Capital. Fast forward less than 20 years to 2010 and the SEC is investigating SAC Capital associates for insider trading. Fast forward another three years and SAC Capital has paid $1.8 billion and has pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges. It's one of the biggest insider trading scandals in modern history and the largest involving a hedge fund.
For details on the Steven A. Cohen Capital Insider Trading case see -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.A.C._Capital_Advisors
Did Cohen Foster a Culture of Corruption at SAC?
Cohen himself never personally pleaded guilty, in part because it's difficult to prove scienter - which is a legal term for intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. But that said, the Steve A. Cohen Capital firm, was founded by and run by Cohen for 20 years. And one of Cohen's high school chums, Michael Steinberg, became one of SAC's most senior portfolio managers. Steinberg was cited by one of his analysts, Horvath, as essentially telling Horvath to seek out non-public information, that they could trade on, which in essence is insider trading.
And while the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm says they take compliance with regulations seriously, a report by American University Business Law Review notes that SAC refused to give them even one example of its refusal to hire someone because of compliance concerns. On the other hand, the Steven A. Cohen Capital firm did hire people, such as Richard S. Lee, who was known to be a risk, as he had just been fired by a Chicago firm for altering his holdings in their accounting system on his first day on the job. Even SAC Capital Legal had reportedly advised against hiring him. Lee eventually ended up as one of the firm's employees who was convicted.
For further details on Cohen's alleged malfeasance use the following links.
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=aublr
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hedge-fund-manager-steven-cohen-settles-with-commodities-agency
- CLICK here for the rest of the story, including Cohen's management of the NY Mets - How did Steve Cohen of SAC Capital get Awarded a License for Metropolitan Park Casino Queens?
GB 603 - FINAL - BIASED MEDIA REPORTING - 11.4.25
Is the Sky Really Falling?
Or is the Billionaire-Controlled TV News & Press is Trying to Manipulate You?
The Self-Serving Fat Cats, Billionaires Rupert Murdoch, Michael Bloomberg, John Catsimitides & Donald Trump, to Name Just a Few - Want to Scare You into Voting for their Preferred Candidate for Mayor - Andrew Cuomo
These Men are Using their Mass Media Outlets Like They Use Everything Else - to Enrich Themselves
November 4, 2025 / NYC Politics / New York City News / Billionaire TV News & Press / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Halloween is Over, but Billioniare TV News wants to Keep You Scared
Halloween may be over, but the billionaire press wants to keep you scared. You've had a great opportunity to witness their misuse of their mass media, doling out their scary narratives to manipulate voters, so they will vote for the overwhelming choice of the billionaires - former disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Let's take a look at a few examples while they are still fresh in our minds. The world has changed and so has the mass media. And like so much these days - it hasn't been changing for the good of the community. And in fact, it is just the opposite.
The people's press, where you will find numerous and divergent opinions and reports, is on the web. The billionaire press is on TV. All six TV networks are controlled by billionaires, the families of billionaires, and the newest network is on his way to becoming a billionaire. That's why all TV News networks put out the same stories, hire the same attractive but empty-headed teleprompter readers, who have good diction, but not a lot of knowledge or insight or good questions about pretty much anything they are telling you.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the biased billionaire TV News coverage of the NYC Mayoral Race 2025.
This ends the local news feed _ 11.4.25
- CLICK here to read the rest of our November _ Queens News Updates 2025.
Billionaires are Rapidly Changing TV News & Not in a Good Way
Billionaires are Amassing a Huge Concentration of Mass Media Assets, in What Appears to be the Privately Owned Propaganda Press
September 18, 2025 / New York City News / NYC Billionaire Press Billionaire TV News & Free Speech in America / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz.
All six TV Networks are controlled by billionaires [or folks whose wealth rounds up to billionaires or are members of billionaire families]. Increasingly they appear to be turning the TV networks into privately controlled propaganda machines. Too often they appear to resemble Rupert Murdoch's mistreatment of the truth in the news. This means they seem to omit key facts and even entire stories from view, while amplifying falsehoods and outright lies spoken by politicians and their teleprompter readers alike, which go uncorrected, leaving those who still trust Network TV News, ignorant and in the dark as to what's really going on in this country.
Network TV News Corps Appear to be Trading Journalistic Integrity for Media Market Share so they can Price More Aggressively. America Beware, as they will have Even More Influence over what you / we Americans see, hear & think.
Colbert was cancelled by CBS and numerous seasoned journalists departed for journalistic integrity reasons. CBS appeared to be compromising their integrity, as Colbert is the top rated show in the time period. But Trump doesn't like Colbert, and CBS had a merger deal that needed to be approved by the Trump Justice Department and FCC, so poof, Colbert cancelled. CBS denies this reasoning, saying they have other [unannounced] plans.
Disney / ABC paid off Trump in a lawsuit many attorneys were sure they could have easily won. And this week Disney / ABC took the Jimmy Kimmel Show off the air for making an opinionated comment of which Trump didn't approve, on the Kirk assassination shooter. Kimmel had joked that the shooter was a MAGA Republican which he does not appear to be, although reportedly the rest of his family is.
The alleged shooter was reportedly in a relationship with someone working through gender identity issues, which is just one of the many important issues of our day, that billionaire TV News repeatedly fails to fully inform upon. This link will take you to the Metropolitan Museum website, of a past photo exhibit, wherein in the mid 1800's a French photographer documented a hermaphrodite, which is someone with both male and female genitalia. That's a fact, that I have NEVER seen raised nor discussed by the flunkies on TV News, who don't seem to be knowledgeable about the world around them, and definitely far too often, just simply do not do their basic homework on important issues.
And the sad thing is that this translates to an increasingly ignorant American public, as up until this year TV was the dominant news source. This year news on the web FINALLY passed TV News, and I am hoping that that trend will accelerate as more Americans start paying attention to how badly TV News fails them, daily.
If you decide to click this link you'll encounter what is likely a shocker to most folks [was to me the first time I saw it at the Metropolitan Museum exhibit in the late 1990's]. But the idea isn't to shock, but rather to instruct - Metropolitan Museum photo exhibit by Nadar of hermaphrodite.
- CLICK to view the rest of this report about how the NYC billionaire press is taking over free speech in America. GB.
NYC Mayoral Race Polls Funding Endorsements & Election 2025
Queens Elections & Politics 2018 - 2021
Queens Politics & Government NYC
Queens Elections & Politics: 2018 - 2021
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NYC Mayoral Race & Election 2021
Eric Adams Wins in Landslide Defeating Sliwa by More than 2:1
Republican Voter Turnout Was Strong on Long Island, but not in NYC
November 3, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Moderate Democrat Eric Adams sailed to victory Tuesday to become NYC's second African American Mayor. Democrat David Dinkins was the first. With 78% of the precincts reporting Adams won 676,481 votes to Sliwa's 293,127.
Democrat Jumaane Williams was re-elected Public Advocate, garnering 598,810 votes which was nearly 69% of the total, with 93% of the scanners reporting.
Progressive Democrat Brad Lander won the NYC Comptroller position, winning 604,000 of the votes, or 70% of the vote with 93% of the scanners counted.
And Democrat Alvin Bragg won the Manhattan District Attorney office, garnering 183,000 votes or 83% of the total.
Four of the five Borough Presidencies were won by Democrats. In Manhattan Mark Levine handily won the borough presidency with 181,000 votes or 85% of the total, with 93% of scanners counted. In Queens Donovan Richards handily won re-election, winning 160,000 votes or 66% of the total, with 79% of the precincts reporting. In Brooklyn Antonio Reynoso also won handily, winning 217,000 votes or 73% of the total, with 78% of the precincts reporting. In the Bronx Vanessa Gibson took in 80,000 votes which was 80% of the total, with 72% of the precincts reporting.
And on Staten Island, the only Republican to win a Borough Presidency, Vito Fossella, won 60,000 votes or 60% of the total, with 87% of the precincts reporting.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report on the election results of NYC and surrounding area municipal areas in November 2021, including Eric Adams landslide victory vs Curtis Sliwa.
How Would a Mayor Eric Adams Govern?
He Seems to Favor Charter Schools & They Seem to Favor Him, He's Pulled in the Most Real Estate Cash & He has Indicated He'll Reverse Course a bit on Police Reform & ...
May 17, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Eric Adams isn't Scott Stringer
Last week I did a report snapshotting what I know about Scott Stringer's political career that leads me to think he's not to be trusted.
Stringer takes big public stands on what I would call generic Democratic issues over which he has little influence - gender equality, race and climate change - while speaking with forked tongue on issues over which he has considerable influence - like real estate developments, local education, public libraries and the pension fund investments - that significantly impact the local communities, neighborhoods and unions.
In that report I also noted how Stringer seems opportunistic in compromising his stances [for example in education and the public library system] in order to capitalize on what he seems to think are self enhancing career opportunities. And Stringer also seems to have used the power and authority of government positions entrusted to him by the people, to aid those who fund his campaigns, possibly trading what's good for the people, in exchange for what's good for Scott Stringer.
Stringer hit my radar nearly a decade ago, while Eric Adams only hit my radar a few years ago. So I'm less familiar with Adams career than Stringer's. But in doing the research, I found that Eric Adams appears to be a slow steady hand, whose positions have evolved over time ... and I would add that generally they appear to have evolved carefully.
1. Eric Adams - Public Schools & Education
Pro Charter Schools & What that Means
FOR PROFIT Charter Schools, don't seem to solve the failing schools problem, but rather split and shift the problem burdens, while privatizing and gutting a significant portion of the public school system. I began reporting on education during the Bloomberg era, wherein Bloomberg's Administration seemed to split public schools into two smaller entities, and then parcel out the achieving students / families via charter recruitment to the privately run for profit charters, while leaving the lower performing students / families in the care of unions and the general public. It seemed to me they didn't really solve anything, and sucked needed capital out of the public school system, putting it in the hands of the venture capitalists who were funding them.
This situation appeared to me not unlike what the insurance industry had done prior to Obamacare - whereby the insurance companies recruited healthy people for health insurance, and avoided signing those who weren't healthy in order to enhance their economic performance. To me this goes against the grain of what America is all about - which is equal opportunity for all. The privatization of the public schools by the predatory for profit charters would turn the public education system into the haves and have nots.
*** It's worth noting that NON-PROFIT CHARTERS evolved for different reasons and provided a healthy challenge to the union run public education system and I view far more favorably than the for profit charters.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about Eric Adams political career and policy positions on charter schools, housing and the police / also an analysis of gun public policy failures in the U.S..
A Look Back at the NYC Municipal Primary Election Results of 2021
Females Won Big, But Because of Ranked Choice Voting, the Results Trickled in Over the Past Month, & Real Assessments of the Changed Landscape have yet to Follow
August 3, 2021 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Government & Politics / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
The June 22nd election primary for NYC municipal offices has long passed, but a solid look at the overall results of the election has not yet followed. What I will attempt to do today, is to offer provide a top down summary of the results, along with some interpretation of what this means going forward.
Women Won Big in the New York City Council Democratic Primaries
One of the biggest changes to municipal government likely to occur following the November election is that the NYC Council will move from less than a third women, to over half women for the first time in NYC history. This assumes most or all of the Democrats win their seats in the general election. This usually happens in a heavily blue state like New York, just as Republican primary winners in Alabama become the likely winners of the general election in that heavily red state. Somewhere between 29 and 31 of the Democratic primary winners in the NYC Council races were women out of a 51 member municipal legislative body.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the NYC Municipal Democratic Primary Election results of June 2021.
Queens Borough President Forum - Chhaya at Jamaica Performing Arts Center
Mar 11, 2020 at 10:28 am by mikewood
Queens Borough President Candidates - Queens BP Office Election 2020
Jan 20, 2020 at 07:35 am by mikewood
Election 2020: Which Queens Borough President Candidate?
Five Pols are on the Ballot and Three Appear in Contention
June 17, 2020 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC.
On Tuesday, June 23rd, we go to the polls to exercise our hard fought right to choose those who will represent us in the halls of power. The majority of the people around the world have not yet won this right, and their governments don’t respect them enough to allow them a voice in the debate of public policy, let alone a seat at the table.
I attended a couple of Queens Borough President candidate forums, to try to make an assessment of the pros and cons associated with each of the candidates running for this office. Following the debates I did a bit of research to add to my perspective. The following is a brief synopsis of what I learned. The photo at right was taken at a March Queens Borough President Forum - seated left to right Constantinides, Richards, Miranda and Crowley. Yin was not in attendance.
There are five pols who will be listed on the ballot, as former Queens Assistant District Attorney James Quinn suspended his campaign sometime around the arrival of the CoVid pandemic, which coincided with the postponement of the election. The candidates are Dao Yin, Anthony Miranda, Donovan Richards, Elizabeth Crowley and Costa Constantinides.
Funding & Support: Who’s Really in the Running?
I started by researching their endorsements and campaign contributions. According to a June 16, 2020 report in City & State recently shows that of the five candidates, two of them – Dao Yin and Anthony Miranda – each raised less than $100,000 in private contributions. Neither of these two candidates has held publicly elected office, and neither of them appears to have significant community / organizational support. So votes for them may send some kind of message, but they are both long shots to win.
That leaves us with three highly competitive candidates: Donovan Richards, Elizabeth Crowley and Costa Constantinides. Richards and Constantinides each raised close to $300,000 from private contributions, while Crowley raised nearly $500,000 in contributions. A closer look begins to hint at what kind of Queens Borough Presidents each will be.
Elizabeth Crowley - Backs Amazon Billion$ Tax Breaks
For example Crowley has the backing of a number of construction related unions because she appears to support a real estate development agenda. She’s been pushing for new rail lines in Queens and she was also very supportive of the proposed Amazon deal which would have given a $ billion plus in tax breaks to one of the largest corporations and one of the richest men in the world. The deal was done behind closed doors. Crowley is also the cousin of former Queens Democratic Party Chairman Joe Crowley, who endorsed his cousin and likely has been advocating her candidacy with these construction unions who used to endorse him.
Donovan Richards - Backs Amazon Billion$ Tax Breaks
Donovan Richards fundraising kicked up a bit later in the game, as likely the Democratic Party Machine, which has endorsed Richards moved into action. Richards has the backing of a number of Queens Democratic Machine allied unions. Richards has worked with real estate developers in his district for many years, taking credit for the real estate developers doing things ‘for’ the community as they began erecting new buildings and improving the infrastructure. Like Crowley, Richards was also supportive of the closed door, tax break laden, Amazon deal. And like Crowley, he too appears to be a pro-development candidate.
Folks in the Jamaica neighborhood are likely in the 'sweet phase' of gentrification, when the community gets all sorts of upgrades for 'free'. But they should beware, because there's no such thing as a free lunch as the folks in western Queens found out. After the freebies ended in western Queens, the rents skyrocketed and landlords have reportedly been making attempts to harass rent stabilized tenants out of their apartments - even though it is illegal to do so.
Costa Constantinides - Stands up to Amazon & Developers
And then there’s Costa. Unlike the two primary Queens Borough President candidates above, Costa’s support doesn’t come from organized groups who appear to be positioning themselves to profit from a candidacy, but rather from non-profit groups attempting to address community issues and causes, focusing their efforts on improving the opportunities and quality of life in the communities they serve. These include groups like the National Association of Social Workers, the Stonewall Democrats [LGBTQ], the Hispanic American Voters Association, the South Asian American Voters Association, the New Queens Democrats [younger], the Muslim Entrepreneurs Association and a host of Progressive government officials around the city.
Costa wasn’t one of the leading voices opposing the Amazon deal - but unlike the two candidates referenced above, he did oppose the deal - which was best explained in a November 14, 2018 Democracy Now interview. In that interview Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim accused Governor Cuomo of bypassing the legislature in order to allocate billion(s) of taxpayer funds, to a company controlled by the wealthiest man in the world. Kim went on to correctly predict that the Governor was subsidizing expansion plans that likely would have occurred with or without the subsidies. [Editor’s Note: Amazon has since made significant investments in growing its footprint in NYC, but without the billions in taxpayer funded credits and grants].
Renters vs Land Lords and Developers?
A Washington Post November 13, 2018 report [the Post is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos] outlined who were expected to be the winners and losers. The 'winners' would have been [western Queens] property owners and developers and highly skilled workers, while the 'losers' would have been renters, low income residents, commuters due to increased transit volume, some small businesses and rival tech companies.
Winners and losers is a competitive description of what's going on right now. Those who look out for their own interests and act to enhance or preserve them generally win - and those who don't - eventually end up losing. In the case noted above, the 'winners' actually lost and the 'losers' actually won because the would be 'losers' took swift and decisive action with the aid of local pols to thwart the behind closed doors giveaways . Other pols who came out to fight against what seemed an unnecessary billionaire tax break included Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, NYS Assemblyman Ron Kim, NYS Senator Michael Gianaris and NYC Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer.
So, on Tuesday, if you back tax breaks for billionaires and real estate developers, you may want to vote for Donovan Richards or Elizabeth Crowley. But if you want pols to negotiate tougher deals, you might want to cast your vote for Costa Constantinides.
As this is an oversimplification, here are links to our coverage of the Queens Borough President forum in January and the Queens Borough President Forum in March, which will give you added insight into each of the candidates' positions.
Click the link for the poll finder website, so you can easily find where to vote in your neighborhood. Be brave, but also be careful. Many of our ancestors died for our right to vote. Remember this is the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The New York City election is Tuesday June 23rd and polls are open from 6 am - 9 pm.
Queens District Attorney Debate
Includes Video of Highlights from the Debate in Jamaica
June 11, 2019 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Queens Buzz NYC.
In May I had the opportunity to attend the Queens District Attorney debate at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center. It was the second event, featuring the candidates running for the Queens District Attorney's office, that I attended. This time I focused more intently how well versed each candidate was on the issues to be addressed by the person winning that position, and what qualifications, experience and vision they might bring to the office.
I have noted my first impressions below, which were gleaned while attending a forum in April, to which all candidates were invited to participate at the Jackson Heights Jewish Center. In the second debate, some of these impressions were altered and some of them were confirmed.
The photo above shows the two leading candidates [based on endorsements] running for the Queens District Attorney office -
Melinda Katz and Tiffany Caban. The photo below shows the other two leading candidates running for the Queens District Attorney office - Gregory Lasak and Rory Lancman.
Tiffany Caban has, by far, received donations from more small contributors than any of the candidates. Melinda Katz leads in fundraising, with strong support from the real estate development community for which she spent years [2009 - 2013] working as a lobbyist.
Gregory Lasak and Rory Lancman have also been competitive fundraisers - but neither matching Tiffany Caban's small donor support, nor Melinda Katz's big donor support.
The following video captures about 17 minutes of highlights from the three hour long debate. I decided not to give equal time because many of the statements made were either repetitive or laden with platitudes. Thus former Justice Gregory Lasak and Public Defender Tiffany Caban received the most air time, as they provided real world anecdotes, as well as real world insights into how our criminal justice system functions and how it can be reformed.
Queens District Attorney Candidates - Queens DA Office Election
Jun 18, 2019 at 07:18 pm by mikewood
Jumaane Williams Wins Public Advocate Election
Williams Bests 16 Other Candidates to Take Second in Succession to Mayor
February 26, 2019 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Politics & Government / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Jumaane Williams appears to have won the election for Public Advocate. According to Ballotpedia, with 88% of the precincts reporting, Williams had received 120,000 or 33% of the vote.
The sole Republican, Eric Ulrich, received 70,000 votes or 19%, which was the second highest total of votes. The other Democrats included former NYC Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, who received 40,000 or 11% of the votes, was followed by Michael Blake with 29,000 or 8%, Ydanis Rodriguez with 22,000 or 6%, Dawn Smalls with 15,000 or 4%, Rafael Espinal 12,000 or 3%, Ron Kim 11,000 or 3%, Daniel O'Donnell 11,000 or 3% and the others each had less than 10,000 votes with 88% of the precincts reporting.
Jumaane Williams is shown in the photo at right in June 2018, campaigning on the steps of the New York Public Library in Midtown Manhattan, for Lieutenant Governor. Williams lost that election in November, but quickly rebounded, winning the position for NYC Public Advocate in February of 2019.
According to a NY Times report Jumaane has eight months before he's up for election again, as this special election - to replace Tish James because she was elected NYS Attorney General - only lasts until the next regularly scheduled election. Congratulations Jumaane.
Decisive Victory for Ocasio & Progressives
Democratic Party Insider Joe Crowley Loses in Stunning Defeat
June 27, 2018 / Bronx Neighborhoods / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Politics / Bronx Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Congressman Joseph Crowley suffered an astonishing defeat Tuesday, when Alexandria Ocasio - Cortez defeated him in the 14th district NYS primary for U.S. Congress. According to Vox, with 97% of the precincts reporting, Ocasio-Cortez had received 15,897 or 57% of the vote, while Crowley had received 11,761 or 42% of the vote.
Crowley, age 56, inherited his office and the Queens Democratic Party Chairmanship from Thomas Manton in 1999. Crowley has spent the last two decades in Washington, D.C. rising to the top levels of the Democratic party leadership, considered by many to be one of the top contenders to succeed Nancy Pelosi as the House Democratic Leader.
Ocasio-Cortez is a youthful 28 years old, the daughter of a Bronx native and Puerto Rican mother. At age five her family moved to Yorktown, a small town in Westchester where she lived until leaving home for college. She attended and graduating from Boston University with a BA in Economics and International Relations. Since then she has worked at a Bronx start up, in the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign of 2016, and as a bartender.
Crowley reportedly had a campaign budget of $1.5 million versus $0.3 million for Ocasio-Cortez, raised via small and online donations.
Crowley, Pelosi, Schumer & the Democratic Party of Appeasement
Alexandria ran a spirited campaign, tapping into some of the energy and frustration of an increasingly rigged system, which Donald Trump has been hyper rigging since he took office in 2017.
The Donald tweeted that Joe lost because he opposed President Donald. But as oftentimes seems the case with Trump tweets - the reality is quite the opposite. The electorate that supported Ocasio-Cortez are more likely to view Crowley, Pelosi and Schumer as leaders of a Democratic Party of Appeasement who need to be replaced by people who will vigorously fight for the democratic principles upon which this nation was founded. Pelosi, Schumer and Crowley are seen as wet noodle leaders of the opposition - telling their supporters to hush up about any possibility of impeaching Trump.
- CLICK here to read the rest of our report about the election victory of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez over Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley.
Queens Borough President State of the Borough Address 2018
Apr 14, 2018 at 10:44 pm by mikewood
Queens Elections Historical Reports Archive
Queens Politics & Government NYC
Queens Elections - Historical Reports Archive
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Queens Library Corruption Scandal: Starring Mortimer Zuckerman's NY Daily News, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer & Queens President Melinda Katz?
Queens Democratic Party Machine & District 23
Aug 31, 2015 at 08:17 pm by mikewood
NYC Election 2013 & NYS Election 2013: City & State Election 2013 NYS NYS
Mar 27, 2017 at 10:36 pm by mikewood
NYC Municipal Election 2013
Nov 04, 2013 at 12:41 pm by mikewood
Poll Locations In Queens
Nov 04, 2008 at 10:15 am by mikewood
Queens Borough President Election 2013
Sep 09, 2013 at 02:21 pm by mikewood
Election Results 2009 - Queens
Nov 30, 2009 at 12:57 pm by mikewood
Queens Government - Historical Reports Archive
Queens Politics & Government NYC
Queens Government - Historical Reports Archive
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De Blasio & Van Bramer at Sunnyside LIC Town Hall
The Mayor & Majority Leader Talk about Issues Facing Queens Residents
April 27, 2017 / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Politics & Government / Queens Buzz NYC.
I attended a town hall given by Mayor de Blasio in tandem with NYC Councilmember Van Bramer. I had rsvp'ed for a ticket along with hundreds of other residents, to hear what the Mayor and the CCM had to say. I arrived a bit after the event had started, as CCM Van Bramer was concluding his introductory remarks.
Mayor de Blasio then took the spotlight, talking briefly about his Administration's successes in improving the public school system, increasing affordable housing, a continued low crime rate while nearly terminating stop 'n frisk, and a balanced budget [see Mayor de Blasio State of the City for details]. But the Mayor acknowledged that his Administration has miles to go before they can rest, in spite of making significant progress in these major areas.
Questions & Answers at Mayor de Blasio Town Hall Sunnyside
De Blasio kept his remarks short before opening up the town hall to questions by residents. The questions included queries about affordable housing. The Mayor noted that he lobbied Albany hard to get the 0% rent increases on stabilized apartments the past two years, and that his administration has made progress in creating new affordable housing units, but he acknowledged that many New Yorkers are still struggling to pay the rent. So he said there's more to do in adding affordable housing units and in creating decent paying jobs - including something already done, which is the raising of the minimum wage.
Another question was about the lagging investments the city has made in its transportation infrastructure for many years, noting that the MTA is running at near capacity on the #7 subway line during rush hours. The Mayor said they were trying to address the problem by adding bus service, and adding ferry service, but that the MTA is controlled by New York State, so he has significant influence, but that the Mayor's office is not in control. The city contributed $2.5 billion to the MTA budget last year.
Another question was about how one is supposed to handle the downside of gentrification, meaning the noise, filth and obstructions associated with a neighbor doing construction / renovations. The Mayor said there are laws which govern what people can and cannot do and that the city has an agency which looks into these issues / complaints. The woman said she'd contacted the agency [not sure whether it was the Department of Buildings - a good starting point is to dial 311 if you have such issues], but that she wasn't having much success. One of the people from that agency was there, so he talked a bit about what they can do and he followed up with her.
The town hall was scheduled to go on as long as people had questions, so I stayed only for a while to get the flavor of the event before departing.
Economic Development In Queens
Apr 18, 2011 at 05:11 pm by mikewood
State Of The Borough Address - Helen Marshall
Jan 25, 2011 at 10:21 pm by mikewood
Click here to read reports related to Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
Click here to read reports related to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
Work in progress - reports related to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
Astoria News - News About Astoria NY
Nov 29, 2009 at 09:13 pm by mikewood
Restaurants In Long Island City LIC - The Waters Edge
Sep 16, 2008 at 11:57 am by mikewood
Queens Borough President NYC
Apr 21, 2016 at 04:11 pm by mikewood
NYS Government & Politics - New York State Governors Office, Attorney General, Comptroller
Apr 21, 2016 at 04:43 pm by mikewood
Queens Borough President NYC
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Queens Borough President Politics & Government
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