At Eagle debate, CD24 candidates stake out stances on jails, homelessness and BDS
/
Eagle editor David Brand and Gotham Gazette reporter Samar Khurshid moderated a debate Tuesday night with six candidates running for Council District 24. To watch the 75-minute debate, visit facebook.com/queenseagle
By David Brand
Six candidates running for an open seat in Queens Council District 24 staked out their positions on the city jail plan, the NYPD budget, policies for addressing homelessness and relations with Israel and the South Asian community during a debate co-hosted by the Eagle Tuesday.
The debate, held in partnership with Gotham Gazette and the good government group Citizens Union, touched on a range of topics ahead of the Feb. 2 special election to replace Rory Lancman. Early voting started Saturday, but fewer than 500 votes were cast as of Tuesday night in a race expected to feature extremely low turn-out.
The race is New York City’s first test of ranked choice voting, which allows voters to designate their top five choices for the office.
The candidates Tuesday included Democratic District Leader Dr. Neeta Jain, entrepreneur Deepti Sharma, former Councilmember James Gennaro, progressive activist Moumita Ahmed, Queens County Women’s Bar Association President Soma Syed and higher education executive Dilip Nath. Two other candidates, Muhjib Rahman and Michael Earle Brown, did not join the debate.
On jails, all of the candidates said they opposed building a detention tower in Kew Gardens, a few hundred feet from the district.
Two, Syed and Gennaro, said they supported renovating Rikers Island. Ahmed called for the closure of Rikers Island and said she opposed building any jails at all. She said she believed some violent offenders should be incarcerated in existing facilities, but said she did not know exactly where.
On homelessness, all six candidates said they supported raising the value of housing vouchers for individuals and families living in shelters. The current value of the vouchers, known as CityFHEPS, lags well behind the market rate of apartments in New York City, discouraging landlords from accepting the subsidies.
The candidates diverged on the issue of NYPD funding — a key topic in last year’s budget negotiations.
Syed said she thought the NYPD had a “good budget right now” though she acknowledged the need for reform.
Sharma said money should be reallocated from the police to fund social programs, but she did not provide a target amount. “We need to shift the budget, there’s no question about it,” she said. She said she would reduce the number of officers responding to each 911 call, cut overtime and invest money in mental health workers and community centers.
Ahmed said New York has to “reimagine public safety” by removing NYPD from schools, transit and homeless shelters, ending surveillance of Muslim communities and cutting overtime.
Nath said he thought “we need to transform the police department” by addressing systemic racism. He said he would increase the number of police officers, but reduce their overtime.
Jain said she would also “reform the police” by expanding mental health crisis training. Still, she said, she would add more officers.
Gennaro said he does not support any budget cuts to the NYPD because of the “rising crime” in the city.
The candidates also addressed contentious issues related to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Ahmed has faced accusations of anti-Semitism after her controversial 2015 tweet response to a graphic image calling for a boycott of Israel emerged earlier this month. She has also discussed her support for the boycott, divest and sanction movement.
She apologized for the tweet response and said she stands with Jewish individuals facing discrimination.
“Six years ago someone tweeted an upsetting image at me containing what I now clearly recognize as an anti-Semitic trope and for that I am sorry,” she said.
“Anti-Semitism is wrong. It is something I am committed to fighting against,” she added. “To my Jewish cousins I know that when they come for you they come for me too.”
She said she supports the right to boycott Israel.
Syed addressed her application for an endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America, in which she said she supported BDS. She said that was a mistake.
“I don’t support BDS and I’d like to make it clear, like many first time candidates, I speak to many groups and try to get support,” she said. “As time went by, I realized BDS was not the right solution … It’s not alright to single out a country, a group of people who have been persecuted for centuries.”
All of the candidates except Ahmed and Syed said they would attend an annual Jewish Community Relations Council-sponsored trip to Israel. Syed said she would go to Israel on her own dime, or if the city paid for it, but she said she would not take a trip to any country paid for by a third party.
Ahmed said she would “go on a trip that is furthering any sort of propaganda or any sort of rhetoric coming from a government that is expanding settlements into Palestinian land.”
She said she understands the strong ties between Israel and Jewish constituents and said she would seek guidance from the progressive organization The Jewish Vote.
Gennaro, the only non-South Asian candidate at the debate, faced questions about his support for South Asian constituents. He skipped two previous forums organized by South Asian groups, fueling criticism among organizers and residents who say he did little to support the community during his first three terms in office.
“I think that’s bologna,” he said of the backlash.
He said he appointed a Bangladeshi constituent to Community Board 8 and celebrated Bangladeshi heritage each year in the Council.
To watch the roughly 75-minute-long debate, moderated by Eagle editor David Brand and Gotham Gazette report Samar Khurshid, visit facebook.com/QueensEagle.
