Flanked by family, civic leaders and Queens Democratic legislators from throughout the borough, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) kicked off her re-election campaign by opening her headquarters in Glendale last Sunday – when she cited public safety as one of her main platform issues in the bid for the seat she has held since 2009.
“We need to make sure the next mayor prioritizes public safety and doesn’t try to close firehouses,” Crowley said at the headquarters opening for her campaign to once again represent the 30th Council District, which covers Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Glendale, Woodhaven, and Richmond Hill. “We need to make sure we have a 911 system we can count on.”
The city’s 911 system has been plagued by problems recently, including reports of missed and misdirected calls and crashes that force 911 operators to use pen and paper.
Crowley, who serves as the chair of the Council’s Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee, is being challenged by Republican candidate Craig Caruana, a Middle Village native and civic activist who has served as an aide to the assistant secretary of the Navy in the Pentagon. Crowley did not mention Caruana by name, but she did point to her challenger during her speech outside the headquarters located at 67-45 Myrtle. Ave.
“My opponent’s running a dirty campaign already,” Crowley said of Caruana.
A spokesman for Caruana, Kevin Ryan, dismissed her comment.
“Raising your constituents’ taxes and giving them nothing in return – now that’s dirty,” he said.
The councilwoman said at Sunday’s event that during her four years in office she has, among other things, helped to “open four new schools,” as well as “done a lot of work to make sure our schools have new technology.” She also stressed that she has secured funding for renovations to parks, libraries, senior centers, and infrastructure improvements for roads and sewers.
A number of those who spoke said it has not been easy for the Queens legislator to access funding from the city because of Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) – a recently failed mayoral candidate who has had a notoriously contentious relationship with Crowley. A number of political insiders have said that Quinn slashed funding to Crowley’s district in the 2013 budget because her run for Congress angered the speaker. During that race, Quinn had backed now-U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), who had landed the backing of the Queens Democratic Party, chaired by Crowley’s cousin, U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, Bronx).
“One thing I’ve always admired about Liz is her tenacity,” state Sen. Joe Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said. “…Fighting against the speaker of the City Council – it’s not easy.”
Crowley also alluded to the difficult relationship she had with Quinn, expressing relief that “we’ll have a new Council Speaker – who may or may not be here.”
Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), who attended Sunday’s event, has been named as one of Quinn’s possible successors as speaker.
While Crowley’s funding was chopped in the 2013 budget, she did land an increase in the 2014 budget passed in June.
The 2013 cut has landed her harsh words from Caruana’s campaign.
“The excuse that the abysmal funding we get – at the bottom of the city – is somehow the speaker’s fault is laughable,” Ryan said this week. “Getting along with colleagues and not doing things that hurt your constituents are basic jobs of an elected official.”
Alongside Weprin and Adabbo, a number of other Democrats and civic leaders joined Crowley for the headquarters opening, including Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven), state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills), Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), and Democratic Borough President candidate and former Councilwoman Melinda Katz. Among the civic leaders who attended were Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation Executive Director Maria Thomson, Community Board 9 Chairman Jim Coccovillo, Dmytro Fedkowskyj – a member of Community Board 5 and the Queens borough president’s appointee to the city Panel for Educational Policy, and individuals from the Onderdonk House and the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council, among others.
“She’s been doing a wonderful job for Woodhaven,” Thomson said. “After all these years, she finally got our Forest Park Carousel landmarked. We had been fighting for that for years, but it took Liz Crowley to get it done for us. She’s accomplished so much.”
Miller also praised Crowley, saying, “she gets the funding we need for the services we need.
“She does a phenomenal job as chair of the Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee,” Miller continued.
Many of the legislators who spoke Sunday described Crowley as a “fighter,” including Gianaris – who also said “she never forgets the people she represents.”
“We’re dealing with a homeless shelter, and Liz Crowley comes out swinging,” Hevesi added of a nonprofit’s proposal to operate a 125-family shelter on Cooper Avenue in Glendale. Caruana has also slammed the plan, which is being evaluated by the city Department of Homeless Services.
Crowley, meanwhile, called the areas she represents “some of the greatest neighborhoods in this city.
“I know this because I was born and raised here and am raising my two sons here,” she said.
By Anna Gustafson