Upstarts Face Velázquez & Meeks
Just two local incumbent Congress members are facing challengers in the Democratic Congressional primary set to take place this Tuesday, June 24, the first of three elections this year.
Polls will be open across the state from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. For information on voting or to find a polling place, call 1-212-VOTENYC. Only registered Democrats may participate in the primary.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, looking for her 11th term in the House of Representatives, is being challenged by attorney Jeff Kurzon for the Seventh Congressional District seat.
The district includes parts of Maspeth (bounded by Grand and Metropolitan Avenues, Rust Street and 60th Street); Ridgewood (south of Metropolitan Avenue, west of Forest Avenue, 60th Street, Myrtle Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road Bay Ridge Branch); Bushwick (south of Flushing Avenue and east of Broadway, Grove Street, Bushwick Avenue, Gates Avenue, Madison Street, Central Avenue, Moffat Street and Wilson Avenue); Glendale (east of Brooklyn/Queens border and LIRR Bay Ridge Branch and south and west of Myrtle Avenue, 62nd Street, 80th Avenue and Cypress Hills Street); and all of Cypress Hills and Woodhaven.
In southern Queens, incumbent Rep. Gregory Meeks is facing a challenge from accountant Joseph R. Marthone of Cambria Heights for the Fifth Congressional District seat. The district includes areas of Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and South Ozone Park generally bounded by Hillside Avenue, Van Wyck Expressway, the Belt Parkway, the defunct LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch and 104th Street.
The winners will advance to the November general election.
None of the other Congress members in the Times Newsweekly coverage area-all of whom are Democrats-are on the primary ballot. They include Representatives Grace Meng of the Sixth Congressional District (based in Forest Hills); Hakeem Jeffries of the Eighth Congressional District (based in central Brooklyn); Carolyn Maloney of the 12th Congressional District (based in Manhattan) and Joseph Crowley of the 14th Congressional District (based in Woodside).
There are no Republican Congressional primaries scheduled in this paper’s coverage area this Tuesday.
The Congressional primaries now take place in June in accordance with provisions in the federal Help America Vote Act. Primaries for state offices are scheduled for September.
Along with all of New York’s 27 Congressional seats, all seats in the state legislature and the offices of governor, state comptroller and attorney general will be up for grabs in the November general election.
