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Young swears-in new office days before inauguration

By John Tozzi

“We invite everybody who has requests, who needs assistance, to contact our office,” she said, sitting below the seal of the New York State Assembly. On her left was her political mentor, Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing).”When I first took office in 2002, I think we did not open our office until the beginning of March,” Liu said. He congratulated Young for “hitting the ground running.”Young's office was open for business even before she was officially sworn in – that was scheduled for Wednesday. She said she spent New Year's Day in Albany for Gov. Eliot Spitzer's inauguration, drove back to Flushing early Tuesday morning and was headed to Albany again the next day to take her oath of office.”Believe it or not,” she said, “we just entered this office like one hour ago.”Young said her staff would work with Liu's to serve their shared constituents. She also said that language will be no barrier and her aides will work to help whoever comes to them, regardless of what language they speak.Young's election represents a political victory for Liu, whom she worked for as district administrator. She emerged from a crowded Democratic primary to win the nomination for the 22nd Assembly seat being vacated by Assemblyman Jimmy Meng, the first Asian elected to that body. Grace Meng, the incumbent's daughter, withdrew from the race after Liu and Young charged that she did not live in the district.The clear choice of the Queens Democratic machine, Young defeated two other primary candidates. One, Terence Park, was dogged questions over his petitions to get on the ballot. Young beat her other opponent, former City Councilwoman Julia Harrison, in the three-way primary by just 71 votes. She coasted through the general election against Republican unknown Chris Migliaccio.Young's office can be reached at 718-359-0195. It is located at 39-07 Prince St., Suite 3C, and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.She will have a ceremonial inauguration at the Flushing Library Sunday at 3 p.m., she said, the day before the legislative session in Albany officially begins.After her formal remarks and taking some questions, Young thanked the dozen reporters who had packed her new office.”Thank you very much,” she said. “We have to go back to work.”Reach reporter John Tozzi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 174.