With the four-way race for the Democratic nomination to the District 7 U.S. Congressional seat approaching on June 26, candidates for the seat discussed their goals and connections to Woodhaven and Queens with The Forum.
The recent inclusion of a larger section of Woodhaven into the newly redrawn 7th Congressional District—which includes parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well—does not appear to be fazing any of the candidates, all of whom stated that they could provide Woodhaven the attention that its residents are looking for.
U.S Rep. Nydia Velasquez
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velasquez (D- Queens), who currently represents the 7th District, said that bringing Woodhaven under one umbrella was actually a positive, as it would provide greater opportunities to organize and secure funding for services in Woodhaven.
According to Velasquez—who said she visits Woodhaven often whenever she is in the district—many of the concerns she has heard from Woodhaven residents lately include sanitation and illegal dumping along Jamaica Avenue’s commercial corridor, as well as the housing crisis, jobs and the economy.
Regarding those problems, Velasquez said that she has worked to support federal programs to help keep working families in their homes, while tackling job growth “has to be front and center as we move forward.” Velazquez also mentioned her support of legislation expanding funding for women’s business centers—such as one on Jamaica Avenue—that help local, female-owned businesses grow.
“While we are facing a tough economic climate, I’m confident the businesses environment in the Woodhaven area can continue improving through greater technical assistance, an infusion of capital and enhanced police presence in the late evening,” she said.
Pointing to the crime problems along Jamaica Avenue’s business corridor in the last few years, Velazquez said that public safety was also a concern of hers. Therefore, she pledged to work with local elected officials representing Woodhaven in the coming months to expand police presence and strengthen the relationship between our local community the police force.
Councilman Erik Dilan
For Brooklyn native and city Councilman Erik Dilan—who has family and friends in the Woodhaven area—the upcoming Congressional race is an opportunity for him to bring his energy and ideas to the table in Washington.
Elected to the City Council in 2001, Dilan, a married father of two, has several goals at the top of his list that he would like to tackle should he win the seat.
Those goals include fighting for small businesses, fighting for affordable education, creating more local jobs and promoting “green” technology for more buildings.
On small businesses, Dilan said it was important for such enterprises to have more available credit options—criticizing the lack of such options being available for small businesses during the onset of the economic crisis—and vowed to look for more such available credit options for local businesses in office.
Dilan, who chairs the Building and Housing Committee on the City Council, also pointed to the committee’s effort to change current city building regulations in order to allow more “green” technology into older buildings.
Such efforts, Dilan said, were part of what he wanted to accomplish in office, adding that those measures were important in order to “place the nation at the forefront of innovation and technology.”
Dilan also wants to make it easier for youths to attain a college education by advocating for loan forgiveness programs and other programs that can alleviate financial pressures facing young adults so that over the long haul, “we can have the best and brightest workforce that we can.”
On a more local level, Dilan added that his office was also working to get police to eventually solve the murder of Carlos Rosario, the father of Woodhaven resident Ismelda Rosario, who was gunned down in his Brooklyn tire shop on Nov. 20.
Dan O’Connor
Candidate Dan O’Connor, who visited his mother’s cousin in Woodhaven growing up, has frequented Woodhaven several times over the last month, discussing the issues that have been on the minds of residents and local business owners.
Like his opponents, O’Connor, an economist who has written several papers on the economic decline and studied economics at Johns Hopkins University in Nanjing, China, said he would put a focus on helping small businesses.
Noting that jobs and the economy have been among the foremost complaints that he had heard in speaking to residents around Woodhaven in recent weeks, O’Connor said he would look for feasible solutions to both problems, such as building up the Brooklyn waterfront by adding more businesses along its border to create more in-district jobs.
“It would bring manufacturing back not only to America, but immediately within the district,” he said. “
One thing he would not do, he stated, was to support bail outs of banks and major corporations.
In addition, based on complaints regarding transportation that he has heard from around the district, O’Connor said that he would advocate for an investigation of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) due to allegations of corruption within the MTA—which he had also heard from around the district, and even from employees within the MTA.
Calling himself “very principled,” O’Connor also pledged to accept only half of the salary that would be made under the Congressional seat if elected and to serve only four terms.
“I don’t want to be a millionaire,” he said. “But if I’m elected, I will add more accountability, fight corruption, and I’m going to address cost of living, stop sending troops to wars, and represent small businesses and the middle class.”
George Martinez
Lifelong political activist George Martinez’s connection to Woodhaven began a decade ago when he ran an anti-graffiti program, Together Against Graffiti (TAG), out of the 102nd Precinct. Through this program, Martinez worked with local youths to clean up graffiti around local businesses.
Noting that voting and civic participation is low in many areas, Martinez said he wants to build trust between elected officials and the community if elected to office. In addition, he added, he wants to put pressure on police departments to stop so-called ‘stop and frisk” pat-down or search policies—which 700,000 New Yorkers experienced in 2011, 87 percent of them being either black or Hispanic, according to figures from the New York Civil Liberties Union.
In addition, Martinez said he will advocate for strong leadership in getting college education for youths and families, as well as access to quality medical health care and insurance.
Citing the current housing and foreclosure crisis as a primary concern of his, Martinez said he would call for a moratorium on foreclosures, and would push renegotiation of loans in order to help homeowners keep their homes.
Like his opponents, Martinez also pointed out the need to aid small businesses, which have been hit hard by the current economic crisis.
“One only has to walk down Jamaica Avenue to see small businesses closing and not having the support from banks, federal grants to move their businesses into the black,” he said. “Businesses need capital and liquidity, and business training and capacity building for business owners to be successful.”
“People who have the entrepreneurial spirit…should have a partner in government working to make sure that they’re strong, viable and sustainable because that is the backbone of the community. And I’d like to see that at the congressional level,” he added.
By Jean-Paul Salamanca
