By Phil Corso
She may have been the last Democrat to enter the five-way primary race for the 19th City Council District, but Auburndale’s Chrissy Voskerichian said she was keeping pace with her opponents by hitting the pavement and knocking on doors.
Voskerichian resigned from Councilman Dan Halloran’s (R-Whitestone) office as chief of staff in late April, soon after he was indicted on federal bribery and corruption charges in early April accusing him of trying to secure a GOP slot for state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) in the mayoral race.
She declared her candidacy for his seat nearly two weeks later, making her the fifth Democrat to jump into the race, joining former state Assemblyman John Duane, Flushing activist and urban planning consultant Paul Graziano, former spokesman for the state’s economic development agency Empire State Development Austin Shafran and Flushing attorney Paul Vallone.
The winner of the September primary will go on to face Republican-backed Dennis Saffran. If elected, she would be the first female councilwoman to represent the district.
Voskerichian, who has also worked for years with the 109th Precinct’s Community Council, said she would call on her experience there to make sure her office is up-and-running on her first day in office.
“I’ve raised two kids here. I’ve been married 29 years here. I know the district inside and out,” Voskerichian said of her candidacy. “And having worked in the Council, I know what the issues are.”
She said some of the most pressing issues and priorities in the northeast Queens district included overcrowded schools, public safety, resisting overdevelopment and government outreach.
The 19th Council District includes the neighborhoods of Little Neck, Bayside, Douglaston, North Flushing, Whitestone, Auburndale and College Point.
If elected, the Auburndale native said she would push for smaller class sizes and more schools to alleviate the jammed classrooms in northeast Queens.
To improve public safety, Voskerichian said she would advocate for more police officers on patrol throughout her district, which could be accomplished by better using where officers are deployed.
“We should never compromise on public safety,” she said. “If we cannot hire more cops, then we need to restructure how we utilize them.”
Voskerichian also said a major part of the district’s character relied on preservation and keeping a close watch on overdevelopment.
“We all live in a little bit of suburbia with all the urban conveniences,” she said. “People move here because of that. I’m against anything that doesn’t stay true to the character of our neighborhoods.”
While working as Halloran’s chief of staff, Voskerichian said she helped facilitate the district’s first crack at the Participatory Budgeting process, which put several community projects up for a vote to determine how to spend $1 million in discretionary funding. If elected to the same Council seat, she said she would uphold and seek to improve the community-inclusive process.
“I want to put more energy into spreading the word and hopefully double participation,” she said. “The goal is to bring people together.”
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
