At Civic, Meng and Crowley Defend Candidacy

At the Forest Hills Civic Association meeting Tuesday night both U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley and Assemblywoman Grace Meng tackled questions about the upcoming Democratic primary — in which Forest Hills will be a key battleground.

Already, the race has seen its fair share of drama, and the revelation that four Democratic contenders have an interest in the newly drawn seat.

Crowley, answering questions from a resident who said he was concerned about the overt role that ethnic politics was already playing in the campaign, said he felt now was the right time for New York to send an Asian-American legislator, and a woman, to Congress.

“I believe in this [race] we had an opportunity to send the first Asian-American to Congress from the Northeast,” Crowley said. “We have never done that here in New York and this is an enormously large and growing community, and that was one factor. We haven’t elected a woman in Queens County since when? Geraldine Ferraro right here in your neighborhood.”

Crowley said he was intent on sending a female legislator as a response to what he characterized as an assault on women’s rights in the current Congress, noting that he was stunned to still be having a conversation about birth control in the 21st Century.

Crowley made an attempt to clear some of the bad blood between Meng’s campaign and that of Assemblyman Rory Lancman, as well, praising Lancman but admitting that tabbing  Meng for the new seat was bound to bruise a few egos.

Further controversy unfolded in the race on Tuesday morning, when a Meng campaign spokesman admitted

Lancman charged that the admission was evidence that Meng’s campaign was trying to split the Jewish vote in the Sixth District to ensure her victory.

Meng deflected the controversy Tuesday night, saying she hadn’t decided what to do about Nussbaum’s advisory role in her campaign just yet. She said she had not had any discussion with Gottlieb about his possible campaign before he announced his intention to run this week.

“From what I’ve been told I think [Nussbaum’s] conversation with Matt Silverstein, for example, was taken out of context. That being said there have been many instances when there have been more than one Asian candidate in various races, so this is an issue that’s going to come up again and again in New York City politics,” Meng said. “This is a democracy, everyone has a right to run, and at the end of the day, it’s going to be based on issues, not based on our ethnicity.”