By Bianca Fortis
One mayoral hopeful made his case to voters at a popular Maspeth hangout Friday.
Joe Lhota, the Republican candidate in the race, stopped by O’Neill’s, a restaurant and bar at 64-21 53rd Drive, which reopened just last month, more than two years after a five-alarm grease fire leveled the original structure.
Lhota is running against Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate who currently serves as the city public advocate.
Running far behind in the polls, Lhota met and took photos with patrons in the packed bar, then spent a few minutes addressing the crowd that had gathered.
“I want to be the mayor who continues to let the city grow,” he told them. “I want it to be a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to have a lot of fun, most importantly a place where we want to and can continue to raise our families.”
Lhota, who hails from the Bronx, served as the city’s finance commissioner and was later appointed the deputy mayor for operations under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
He then worked as chairman of the city Metropolitan Transportation Authority from October 2011 until December 2012.
“I used to hang out in places like this,” he said about O’Neill’s. “I know how important it is and always will remember the middle class.”
Lhota also took a moment to publicly endorse Republican Craig Caruana, who is running for the 30th City Council seat, which encompasses Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, parts of Woodside and Woodhaven. Caruana’s opponent is Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village).
When asked what he believes is the most significant issue facing Queens, Lhota said he could not choose just one problem, but he did list public education, exorbitant property taxes, rising water bills and a need for more jobs in the city.
He also said he would like to see the crime rate decrease further.
Lhota said he is the only mayoral candidate with the necessary experience to do the job.
“I know what it means to run large and complex organizations,” he said, referring to his time as the MTA chairman and as a deputy mayor. “My opponent has no experience whatsoever. Many of his policies — well, the lack of policies, actually — scare me.”
Before becoming public advocate, de Blasio served as a Brooklyn councilman.
The general election will take place Nov. 5.
Reach reporter Bianca Fortis by email at bfortis@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
