Queens News

Veteran government strategist Selvena Brooks-Powers is one of nine candidates in the race for Council District 31. Photo courtesy of the campaign

By David Brand

Veteran government strategist Selvena Brooks-Powers was working at Peninsula Hospital in Rockaway Park when the medical facility closed for good in 2012.

The impact of that shutdown rippled through the surrounding communities, eroding access to treatment and, eight years later, complicating the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Brooks-Powers vies for an open seat in City Council District 31, she said she is driven by the need for better healthcare in the Rockaways and Southeast Queens.

“When it closed I saw the need,” she said. “We had St. John’s and Peninsula, but the nearest trauma hospital is Jamaica which could be 30-40 minute drive. And that’s the difference between life or death.”

“When we see how all these hospitals across the state are stretched, can you imagine one hospital on the peninsula? Access to quality healthcare should be a basic human right,” she continued.

Brooks-Powers is one of nine candidates appearing on the ballot in a Feb. 23 special contest to replace former Councilmember Donovan Richards, who vacated the seat after his election as Queens borough president. She has received an endorsement from the organization 21 in ‘21 and raised $37,553 from 387 contributors, according to her campaign team, though the city’s Campaign Finance Board has not yet published financial disclosure reports.

District 31 is split into two regions: the neighborhoods of Arverne, Edgemere and Far Rockaway in the eastern portion of the peninsula, and Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens in “mainland” Queens.

Brooks-Powers serves as the M/WBE compliance project manager with the JFK Redevelopment Program, ensuring women and minority-owned businesses secure contracts at the district’s main employer, JFK Airport.

In addition to health care, she said she is focused on community development and educational equity, especially for low-income students doing schoolwork remotely without adequate devices or internet access.

She said she would not have voted for the most recent city budget because of its deep cuts to social services and the postponed funding for a new 116th Precinct.

“It took $92 million out of the community and that is something that, as long as I can remember, people have been advocating for the need for this,” Brooks-Powers said.

She gave a measured response to questions about the Far Rockaway rezoning plan approved by the city in 2017. The 20-block upzoning is intended to create about 3,000 new housing units, a population increase that could strain existing infrastructure.

“Of course, New York has a significant housing crisis but I feel that development should happen in a more holistic approach,” she said. “When you start to build you want to make sure a number of things are taken into account: where people go to school, hospitals, jobs, are people going to be able to afford them?”

“It’s something that sets out to address one need without looking at a holistic perspective,” she added.

The February 23 special election will be New York City’s second test of ranked-choice voting after a contest Feb. 2 for a Central Queens council seat.

The new format will allow voters to designate their top five choices for office. If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the last place candidate is eliminated and the voters who picked them will have their second choice tallied. That continues until a candidate receives a majority.

Ranked-choice voting could have a major impact in Council District 31.

Richards won the seat with just 29 percent of the vote in a 2013 special election. He narrowly defeated Orthodox Jewish community leader Pesach Osina, who is again running for the seat this time around.

The other seven candidates include Richards’ former chief of staff Manny Silva, home health aide training school founder Nancy Martinez, school superintendent Shawn Rux, business development expert Latoya Benjamin, educator Latanya Collins, minister and Democratic District Leader Rev. Sherwyn James, and education advocate Nicole Lee.