QUEENS BUZZ

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QUEENS BUZZ ADS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

QUEENS BUZZ ADS

QB SPECIAL OFFERS

Queens Borough President NYC

Apr 21, 2016 at 04:11 pm by mikewood


queens boro president queens borough president melinda katz helen marshall

Queens Borough President Politics & Government


Click to view our section on - Queens Borough President.


Queens State of the Borough Address

Katz Delivers Her Third State of the Borough Address

queens president melinda katz queens state of boro addressJanuary 27, 2017 / Jamaica Neighborhood / Queens Politics & Government / Queens Buzz.

Last Friday I headed down to Jamaicatown to watch Queens Borough President Melinda Katz deliver her third State of the Borough Address at the Milton Bassin Performing Arts Center at York College.

I entered the auditorium shortly after she began her address where she was talking about her role in the good progress that the de Blasio Administration Education Department, headed by Carmen Farina, is having in moving the needle in enhancing both infrastructure and performance in the NYC Public School System.

As an example about of third of the trailers have been removed, with plans for another third to be removed this year. This means kids are back in regular classrooms - after possibly decades long neglect by prior Administrations [need to confirm this statment].

I'll have more on the Queens Borough President's State of the Borough Address sometime soon.


QBP Katz State of the Borough Address

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz Gives Queens Address

January 21, 2016 / Flushing Neighborhood / Queens Government & Politics / Queens Buzz.

queens state of the borough address melinda katzI attended Queens Borough President Melinda Katz’s second State of the Borough Address. It was held at the Colden Performing Arts Center at Queens College in Flushing on Thursday morning January 21st beginning at 10 am.

The event began with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a dance routine taken from Chorus Line performed by the Edge School of Arts. We were then shown a video segment about Queens Borough President Melinda Katz in a documentary produced by Queens Public Access TV, followed by the Queens Borough President’s speech.

The speech spanned about an hour. QBP Katz first talked about Queens as a tourist destination, and then looked back at the year of 2015, while touching upon some of the ongoing issues facing the borough like lack of affordable housing, aging transportation infrastructure including Queens airports, and overcrowded schools. She included mentioning some of the government efforts to address these issues, and concluded by talking about the Mets making it into the Playoffs. The address ended with the Mets mascots and management coming on stage.

The address was well attended, including a sizeable union presence, made noticeable by applauses when union efforts were highlighted. A reception was held after the address.


State of the Borough Address

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz Gives Her First Address

melinda katz photo state of the boro addressJanuary 22, 2015 / Flushing / Queens Government & Politics / Queens Buzz. I arrived at the Colden Auditorium at Queens College around 11 am to hear Queens Borough President Melinda Katz deliver her first State of the Borough Address.

To my surprise the auditorium was filled to capacity. I spoke to several members of the audience afterwards to learn a bit more about who had come. Based on a small sample size, many of folks in attendance had affiliations with either community organizations or the unions.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz's address was preceded by a number of traditional ceremonies including the presentation of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, the singing of the National Anthem and introductory remarks by City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras of Corona and Dr. Felix V. Matos Rodriguez, President of Queens College. These ceremonies were followed by a musical performance by some of the students from the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts of Astoria.

Before Queens Borough President Melinda Katz arrived on stage in person, we were shown a video of her by her office talking about Queens and family.

Click here a bit later in the quarter for a full report of the State of the Borough Address.


$element(bwcore,article_picker,1073,Y,N,page_title_home,N)$

Leroy Comrie Named QBP Deputy

Katz Names Comrie Deputy Queens Borough President

leroy comrie deputy queens borough presidentDecember 3, 2013 / Jamaica Neighborhood / Queens Politics / Queens Buzz. We attended a business meeting in Jamaica on Tuesday afternoon where we learned that Leroy Comrie had just been selected to be the Deputy Queens Borough President. Melinda Katz, Queens Borough President-elect made the announcement earlier in the day.

We've covered a number of events sponsored by or in which Leroy Comrie participated and found him to be well versed in borough issues, hard working and a soft spoken government official who works behind-the-scenes. City Councilman Comrie served two terms in the NYC Council serving the Jamaica and surrounding neighborhoods of St Albans, Rosedale, Cambria Heights and Hollis. During his tenure in office Comrie served as the Democratic Majority Whip, and for a period was head of the Queens delegation.

Shortly after Comrie took office in 2002 [succeeding former City Councilman Archie Spigner] the JFK Airtrain began operations between JFK Airport and the Jamaica railroad and subway station [December 2003]. Comrie was also City Councilmember during the transformation / renovation of the First Dutch Reformed Church into Jamaica Performing Arts Center - which was completed in 2009. During Comrie's tenure as City Councilmember, the Jamaica area was re-zoned [along with the rest of Queens] to accommodate building and growth.

We'll post more about these evolving events at a later date.


Can Local Pols Sing, Dance & Act?

Legislative Acts - Fundraiser At Queens College

legislative acts queens polsNovember 25, 2013 / Flushing Neighborhood / Theater In Queens / Queens Government / Queens Buzz. Saturday evening I attended the biennial revue, acted out by Queens government officials, at the LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College. The name of the revue was Legislative Acts.

The all star cast included NYS State Senators, NYS Assemblymembers, NYC Councilmembers, a former NYC Council Speaker, a U.S. Congresswoman, one past Queens Borough President, one current Queens Borough President and the Queens Borough President-elect [some of the performers are on stage in the photo to your right].

The performance including a couple of solo vocals by incoming Queens Borough President Melinda Katz who was accompanied in one skit by Helen Marshall and Claire Shulman. There was also a game of Jeopardy hosted by Jimmy Van Bramer using questions about Queens pols and Queens College alumni, a Rockaways skit including a guest apearance by James Bond, a trip to the North Pole by Wonderwoman to visit Superman at his Fortress of solitude [it seemed futuristic, as they both appeared to have retired from public service], an Albany based performance by Mark Weprin, vocal performances by Julissa Ferreras and Leroy Comrie and a skate boarding and music performance by John Liu ... and more.

They parodied each other, themselves, and some not pols not present - referring to events of the past year(s) in the revue dialogue. We'll post more about the performance, including a photo slide show of Legislative Acts at the LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College - later this week.


Melinda Katz Wins Boro Presidency

Bill de Blasio Becomes Mayor Elect

nyc municipal elections politics in queensNovember 6, 2013 / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Politics / Queens Buzz. Democrat Melinda Katz handily won the Queens Borough Presidency with about 80% of the vote, defeating Republican Tony Arcabascio with less than 18% of the vote and Independent Everly Brown who won about 2% of the vote.

Katz's victory was expected given that the borough is comprised of about 80% Democrats and less than 20% Republicans.

In Queens City Council races Democrat Costa Constantinides won 66% of the vote defeating Green Party candidate Lynn Serpe (15%) and Republican Daniel Paterson (11%). He will replace Peter Vallone as Astoria's City Councilmember. Paul Vallone won in a very tight race. Mark S. Weprin, Daneek Miller, Rory Lancman and Elizabeth Crowley won handily. And the race between Republican incumbent Eric Ulrich and Democrat Lew Simon was very close and possibly contestable.

Bill de Blasio's victory was also expected, as the polls had shown him leading Republican Lhota by a wide margin. It's worth noting that there hasn't been a Democratic NYC Mayor since Guiliani won the position in 1994, some 20 years ago.

Some pundits believe that this election was a referendum on the Bloomberg Administration. Bill de Blasio's campaign theme of the 'Tale of Two Cities' - meaning the wealthy and everyone else - appears to have struck a resonant chord with NYC voters.

We wish both de Blasio and Katz the best in the coming years and hope they will govern wisely.

Click here for prior Queens Buzz election coverage and politics in Queens.


$element(adman,groupads,Sectional2 Ad)$

$element(bwcore,article_picker,1023,Y,N,page_title_home,N)$

Queens Primary Election Results

Katz Wins Boro Prez / de Blasio Doesn't Face Runoff

queens boro prez primary resultsUpdate / September 17, 2013 / Queens Buzz. Thompson ceded to de Blasio and there won't be any runoff. So de Blasio goes onto face Lhota in the November General Election.

Election Night / September 11, 2013 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Politics / Queens Buzz. Melinda Katz received nearly 45% of the vote in the race for Queens Borough President. Peter Vallone was the runner up with nearly 34%. Everly Brown captured nearly 13% and Tony Avella whose name was on the ballot, but had dropped out of the race, won 9% of the vote. Katz will go onto face Republican Tony Arcabascio in November.

In the photo to your right, Republican candidate Tony Arcabascio speaks as Peter Vallone, Melinda Katz and Everly Brown listen at the Queens Borough President Forum held at Flushing Town Hall on August 26th.

Bill de Blasio was the winner of the Mayoral primary, but at press time it initially remained unclear whether he won over 40% of the vote which would preclude any runoff against Thompson who was the runner up with 26% of the vote. Some paper ballots remained to be counted which could have swayed the tally. Christine Quinn, once the front runner, won only 16% of the vote and Queens' John Liu came in fourth place with 7% and Anthony Weiner netted 5%. On the Republican side Joe Lhota won 53% of the vote, beating out billionaire John Catsimatidis who netted 43%.

As for Queens City Council races, many incumbent candidates went uncontested in the primaries. Paul Vallone appears to have won with 31% of the vote in the 19th District but there could be a runoff. Costa Constatinides handily won the 22nd District [currently Peter Vallone's District] with 56% of the vote. Rory Lancman won the 24th District with 62% of the vote. Ruben Willis won the 28th District with 49% of the vote. Donovan Richards won the 31st District with 52% of the vote. Lew Simon won the 32nd District with 65% of the vote. And Antonio Reynoso won the 34th District with 49% of the vote beating out Vito Lopez. And Daneek Miller is ahead with 24% of the vote in the 27th District.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 5th.


Boro President Race Heats Up

Avella, Katz & Vallone Battle For Dem Nomination

queens borough presdent forumsJuly 29, 2013 / Sunnyside Neighborhood / Queens Government / Queens Buzz. I attended two of the Queens Borough Presidential Forums over the past couple of months.  One was on July 25th, hosted by Sunnyside Community Services; and the other was on June 13th, hosted by Chhaya at PS 69 in Jackson Heights. 

In late May, Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik and NYS Senator Jose Peralta, dropped out of the race, just before petitioning to get on the ballot began.  On July 13th City Councilmember LeRoy Comrie withdrew his bid. 

Currently NYS Senator Tony Avella, former City Councilmember Melinda Katz and City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. remain on the Democratic ticket, and businessman Tony Arcabascio is the sole candidate on the Republican ticket. In the photo above are [L to R] Tony Arcabascio, Tony Avella, Melinda Katz, Peter Vallone Jr. and moderator Rocco Vertuccio of NY1.

The Democratic primary is on September 10th, so the focus of this report will be on the Democratic candidates, as we have two months following the primary, to file a report about Tony Arcabascio vis a vis whomever turns out to be his contender.

Later this week you'll be able to click here to read the rest of our report about the Queens Borough President Forums / Debates we attended.


State of the Borough Address 2013

Queens Boro President Helen Marshall Delivers Final State of the Boro Address

state of the borough address queensJanuary 23, 2013 / Queens Neighborhoods / Queens Business / Queens Buzz. Helen Marshall gave her last State of the Borough Address on Tuesday morning at the Colden Auditorium on the Queens College campus.

As she's done the past few years we've been covering this event, she took us through each category of borough administration, recounting the efforts of her administration since she became Borough President in January of 2002.

Generally things in the borough look fairly good, given the givens [challenging economy & Sandy]. And based upon her presentation, it appears she's been a good steward of Queens borough affairs.

Click here to read a prior full report on Helen Marshall's State of the Borough Address for Queens.


$element(bwcore,article_picker,863-717,Y,N,page_title_home,N)$

Queens Neighborhood Links

$element(adman,groupad,Catgry Finance)$

Click on these advertisements for promotions, discounts and special offers by retailers and restaurateurs in Astoria, Flushing, Jackson Heights, Jamaica NY, Long Island City LIC, Woodside, Sunnyside and Queens.

Click this link to go to the:

Astoria Neighborhood

Flushing Neighborhood

Jackson Heights Neighborhood

Jamaica NY Neighborhood

Long Island City Neighborhood

Sunnyside & Woodside Neighborhood

Queens Neighborhoods


$element(adman,groupad,Catgry Realestate)$

Site Search Tips. 1) For best results, when typing in more than one word, use quotation marks - eg "Astoria Park". 2) Also try either singular or plural words when searching for a specific item such as "gym" or "gyms".

$element(bwcore,insert_search,N)$

Click this link to search for something in our Queens Business Directory. Also check out Taste of Sunnyside.


Click the log in link below to create an ID and post an opinion.

Or send this story to a friend by filling in the appropriate box below.

$element(adman,groupads,Sectional2 Ad)$