As the Nov. 4 Election Day draws near and with early voting already underway, Queens residents have the opportunity to make their voices heard, both through the candidates and the proposals.
Among the local elections taking place across the borough are those for City Council Districts 19 and 30, which are both anticipated to be very competitive.
In District 19, Republican incumbent Vickie Paladino is facing off against Democrat Benjamin Chou. Paladino has served in the role since being elected in the 2021 election, when she beat Tony Avella. She was re-elected in 2023, once again edging out Avella. Since her 2021 campaign, Paladino has built a profile around conservative advocacy on a variety of issues, including small business recovery, public safety, congestion pricing, migrant shelters and LGBTQ-inclusive education.
Chou, an active-duty firefighter, bested Alexander Caruso in the primaries last June. His campaign has been centered around affordability, public safety, constituent services and rebuilding trust in City Hall.
The 19th Council District consists of the neighborhoods of Auburndale, Bayside, Bay Terrace, Beechhurst, College Point, Douglaston–Little Neck, Flushing and Whitestone.
The race for City Council in District 30 sees Democrat Phil Wong battling Republican Alicia B. Vaichunas to replace Democrat Robert Holden, who has reached his term limit. Both candidates were staffers for Holden and both have been endorsed by him.
Wong was able to edge out Paul Pogozelski and Dermot Smyth in the June primaries after multiple rounds of votes being tabulated. Throughout his 12 years as a community activist, Wong has fought for the closing of homeless and migrant shelters, as well as more funding for the police. Preserving education and public safety have long been of utmost importance to Wong.
Vaichunas, who ran unopposed in the primaries, said one of her campaign’s main goals is to find common-sense solutions to various issues for residents in the district, including affordability, safety and quality of life.
The 30th City Council District includes Ridgewood, Maspeth, Middle Village, Glendale, Elmhurst and Rego Park.
Below are the races taking place across Queens on Election Day:
Mayor: Zohran Kwame Mamdani (Democrat/Working Families), Curtis A. Sliwa (Republican/Protect Animals), Andrew M. Cuomo (Fight and Deliver), Irene Estrada (Conservative), Jim Walden (Integrity), Joseph Hernandez (Quality of Life) and Eric L. Adams (Safe and Affordable/End Antisemitism).
Public Advocate: Jumaane D. Williams (Democrat/Working Families), Gonzalo Duran (Republican/Conservative/United Alliance) and Marty Dolan (The Unity).
City Comptroller: Mark D. Levine (Democrat), Peter Kefalas (Republican/Conservative) and Ismael Malave Perez (The Unity).
Borough President: Donovan J. Richards Jr. (Democrat) and Henry P. Ikezi (Republican/United Alliance).
Justices of the Supreme Court – 11th Judicial Circuit (Vote for any five): Sandra Perez (Democrat), Gary Muraca (Republican/Conservative), Ira R. Greenberg (Democrat), Richard Felix (Republican), Gary F. Miret (Democrat), Frances Y. Wang (Democrat) and Soma S. Syed (Democrat).
Queens County Civil Court Judge (Vote for any three): Sheridan C. Chu (Democrat), William David Shanahan (Republican/Conservative), Indira D. Khan (Democrat), Susan M. Silverman (Republican/Conservative), Oma D. Phillips (Democrat) and Thomas D. Barra (Republican/Conservative).
New York City Council
19th District: Benjamin Chou (Democrat) and Vickie Paladino (Republican/Conservative).
20th District: Sandra Ung (Democrat), Allen Haolun Wang (Conservative), Joseph J. Chou (Asians United/F.A.F.O.) and Steven Wang (Patriot Party).
21st District: Shanel Thomas-Henry (Democrat/Working Families) and Giovanni Enrique-Franco (Republican/United Alliance).
22nd District: Tiffany L. Caban (Democrat/Working Families).
23rd District: Linda Lee (Democrat) and Bernard Chow (Conservative).
24th District: James F. Gennaro (Democrat).
25th District: Shekar Krishnan (Democrat/Working Families), Ramses S. Frias (Republican/Conservative), Ricardo Pacheco (Safe and Affordable/Stop the Casino) and Shah S. Haque (Asians United).
26th District: Julie Won (Democrat) and John Patrick Healy (Republican/Conservative).
27th District: Nantasha M. Williams (Democrat).
28th District: Ty Hankerson (Democrat/Working Families).
29th District: Lynn Schulman (Democrat) and Jonathan Rinaldi (Republican).
30th District: Phil Wong (Democrat) and Alicia B. Vaichunas (Republican/Conservative).
31st District: Selvena N. Brooks-Powers (Democrat).
32nd District: Joann Ariola (Republican/Conservative).
34th District: Jennifer Gutierrez (Democrat/Working Families).
Judge of the Civil Court
First Municipal Court District: Juliette-Noor Haji (Democrat).
Second Municipal Court District (Vote for any two): Thomas G. Wright-Fernandez (Democrat), Stephen C. Dachtera (Republican/Conservative) and Eve Cho Guillergan (Democrat).
Fourth Municipal Court District (Vote for any two): Gail A. Adams (Democrat), Mary-Ann E. Maloney (Republican/Conservative) and Fania Jean (Democrat).
Fifth Municipal Court District: Jennifer A. Tubridy (Democrat/Republican)
On Election Day, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. In order to find your polling location where you can vote, go to findmypollsite.vote.nyc and enter your address and zip code.
In addition to voting for the candidates, Queens residents will be asked to vote on whether or not to approve six different proposals.
The first proposal is for an amendment that would allow for skiing and related trail facilities to be made on state forest preserve land. Under this amendment, the 1,039-acre site in Adirondack Park would add 2,500 acres of ski trails and related facilities.
The second proposal asks for the approval of the fast-tracking of publicly financed affordable housing in New York City. While still subject to community board review, this would significantly reduce the review time.
The third proposal calls for a simplified review when it comes to limited land-use changes, like modest amounts of additional housing and minor infrastructure projects, in an effort to further reduce the time it takes for community boards to review these plans. The final decision on whether or not to approve these projects would fall on the City Planning Commission.
The fourth proposal is for the creation of an Affordable Housing Appeals Board, consisting of the Council Speaker, the local Borough President and the Mayor. This board would review actions taken by local community councils in rejecting or changing applications for the creation of affordable housing.
The fifth proposal asks for the creation of a digital city map at the Department of City Planning in an effort to modernize operations. The current city map is paper and spans across five offices.
The sixth and last proposal calls for New York City’s primary and general election dates to be moved so that they occur in the same years as presidential elections. The purpose of this proposal is to try and increase voter participation.
