Who – and what – is on the ballot in Queens?
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Queens’ voter guide for the Nov. 3, 2026 election.
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Opinion: We need our city workers more than ever
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“While city leaders are tasked with navigating these uncertain economic times and finding efficiencies, they must also ensure sufficient staffing levels at city departments to provide capable, reliable and responsive services that New Yorkers need.”
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“Divestment is a last resort, but it is an investment tool we can apply to companies that consistently put our investment’s long-term value at risk.”
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Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and North Corona have seen major increases in businesses and jobs over the last decade.
Read MoreCity schools “not sufficiently prepared” for mass shooting incident, 27 councilmembers say
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Councilmember Adrienne Adams wrote a letter to the Department of Education stating that city schools are “not sufficiently prepared” for a mass shooting incident. The letter was signed by 27 councilmembers. Photo via City Council/Flickr.
By Jonathan Sperling
More than two dozen city councilmembers agree that the Department of Education’s schools are “not sufficiently prepared” for a mass shooting incident, according to a letter signed by the pols and addressed to Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza.
Queens Councilmember Adrienne Adams, who formerly served as the education chairperson of Community Board 12 in Southeast Queens, wrote the letter following an audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. A total of 27 councilmembers signed onto the plea for preparedness.
DiNapoli’s audit found that the DOE can do more to comply with the Safe Schools Against Violence in Education, or SAVE Act, which lays out a comprehensive policy for school staff and administrators regarding the protection of students.
“It is alarming to know that erroneous, outmoded and untimely safety plan submissions are prevalent in our school system,” the letter reads, before urging the DOE to mandate compliance with the SAVE Act prior to the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
DiNapoli’s audit also found that five “of the 25 sampled schools did not conduct the minimum number of evacuation or lockdown drills and, for the 2016–17 school year, 3 of the 25 schools did not conduct drills within the required time frames,” among other findings.
A bevy of Queens councilmembers, including Councilmembers Donovan Richards, Paul Vallone, Robert Holden, Barry Grodenchik and Peter Koo also signed off on the letter.
The councilmembers encouraged the DOE to follow DiNapoli’s recommendations, which include working with the Education Department to develop a process to submit School Safety Plans to state police, as required under both the law and the state regulations, as well as reviewing procedures for monitoring emergency drills to ensure that all drills required by law are completed within the required time frames.
NYC schools had nearly 18,000 violent incidents, state comptroller reports
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A total of 17,991 violent and disruptive incidents recorded in the 2017-2018 school year occurred at NYC schools, making up approximately 56 percent of incidents statewide.
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