CROWLEY: A final pitch to condo and co-op owners

By Elizabeth Crowley, candidate for Queens borough president

As we close out the primary for Queens Borough President during these unprecedented times of crisis, candidates owe it to voters to make a clear closing argument.  I am running to get Queens its overdue fair share of services and funding.  

Covid-19 exposed what happens when a borough has been underserved.  Queens needs a true leader and my record stands for itself.  Every candidate has their own message and reason for running.  Campaigns are tough, but regardless of the rollercoaster nature of events, voters deserve to hear an honest closing message, not one that uses important issues for mere political gain.   

As was reported recently in the Queens Daily Eagle, an independent expenditure funded by big real estate interests attacked one of my opponents for his failure to protect coop and condo owners from an onerous tax.  

While the critique is correct, it fails to inform voters that the groups own backed candidate — supported the same policy and was silent when he could have fought for needed amendments. 

That opponent recently sent a mailing “advocating for the rights and protecting coop owners.”  While I am by no means naive to the proverbial political football, using coop and condo owners as fodder to score points is flat out wrong.

Coops and condos play an important role in the fabric of our boroughs housing sector. 

They are integral to the middle class and stability in Queens.  I am proud to be the only candidate rated by the President’s Council of Condo and Coops (an advocacy organization) who received an A+ rating.  The Council stated, “This is the highest rating bestowed by our organization, whose members represent over 40,000 units of Coop/Condo housing.  The grade is the result of your continuous effort and attention to issues of significant importance to our members. You have always been a partner with us and responsive to the needs of the Co-op and Condo Community.”  

In March I urged the Mayor to halt increases in all Class 1 and 2 property taxes, including coops and condos because it was the right thing to do when Queens became the epicenter of the pandemic.  To me, the A+ rating is not just another press release or tweet; it reflects years of listening and hard work.  I am honored by this recognition and when I see others trying to play politics with such a critical issue, I won’t remain silent.

I will always stand up for the best interests of Queens.  I pledged not to take donations from the real estate industry because I believe the borough president needs to be a fair arbiter of land use decisions.  The next borough president should be a master planner with a bold vision who navigates it through troubled waters.  As someone with a proven record — from working with small businesses after 9/11 to fighting against closing fire houses to running a relief effort after Hurricane Sandy — I am ready to lead and fight for our fair share on day one. 

This is my closing message.  It was also my opening message — because consistency matters.  And in between I will never waiver from standing up for the hard-working residents of the worlds borough.  

Elizabeth Crowley is a former member of the City Council and is a Democratic candidate for Queens Borough President.   She is supported by our Covid-19 first responder unions including: Transportation Workers Local 100, Uniformed Firefighters Association, Uniformed Fire Officers Association, and EMS Local 2507.