• Brooklyn
  • Manhattan
Friday, January 15, 2021
Newsletter
Queens County Politics
  • News
    • Activism
    • Arts, Sports & Leisure
    • Community Close-Up
    • Education
    • Election
    • Government
      • City Government
      • State Government
      • Federal Government
    • Legislation/Policy
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Transportation
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • News
    • Activism
    • Arts, Sports & Leisure
    • Community Close-Up
    • Education
    • Election
    • Government
      • City Government
      • State Government
      • Federal Government
    • Legislation/Policy
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Transportation
  • About
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Queens County Politics
No Result
View All Result

Forest Hills Civic Leader Runs for City Council District 29 Seat

Clarissa Sosin by Clarissa Sosin
September 15, 2020
in Election
0
Candidate for City Council District 29 Edwin Wong (photo from EdwinWong4All.com)

Candidate for City Council District 29 Edwin Wong (photo from EdwinWong4All.com)

0
SHARES
731
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Civic leader and decade long resident of Forest Hills Edwin Wong believes he’ll be able to do what he does best if he’s elected to the New York City Council for District 29: Bring people together. 

As the founder and president of the Forest Hills Asian Association and a member of Community Board 6, Wong has spent the last few years working to bring the growing Asian community in the district into the civic and political fold. 

“There is this growing population, this growing demographic. Let’s make sure that people are aware of it, and at the same time, try to bring everyone together,” he said about his efforts. 

Now, after a recent election to the Democratic Party’s State Committee to represent Assembly District 28, Wong is ready to take his political and community engagement to another level by running for New York City Council in 2021, he said. The seat he’s running for, District 29, has been held by term-limited City Councilmember Karen Koslowitz (D-Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill) for the better part of 3 decades. 

Wong’s main focuses are education and small businesses. As a father of two young boys with a day job as a commercial lender at a bank, he comes to the table with an intimate understanding of both the issues, he said. 

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he was worried about space in overcrowded schools, special education and ESL classes. Now, with the pandemic he’s concerned about public health and access to the internet for remote learning.

“The biggest concern is really how do we get these kids to go back to school safely,” he said. 

Likewise for small businesses. As a commercial lender he’s seen first hand the ways that small businesses are struggling under the pandemic restrictions. He thinks that they need more access to grants and low interest loans. But he also thinks that there needs to be more programs that encourage people to support local businesses during these hard times like the citywide outdoor dining program. 

“We can do more things like that that get people to come out and support them,” he said. 

To tackle the city’s current fiscal crisis that was caused by the pandemic, Wong said he would propose that city employees about a certain salary level agree to small salary cuts. This would hopefully help the city avoid some layoffs, he said.

“It won’t solve everything but I think it will at least help with some of the challenges,” he said. 

Wong is against building borough based jails, especially given the city’s financial situation, he said. 

“There’s much more that can be done with the money that’s been set aside for those jails that I think, at this point, in time we need more than anything else. We don’t need more jails,” he said. 

When asked about the movement to defund the NYPD, Wong said he’s not against reallocating money away from the department but that he wouldn’t go as far as defunding. 

“You can’t entirely defund a police department because then you’d have no police department,” he said. 

As a civic leader and community activist, Wong’s focus has been on the district he lives in. But, his ideas are applicable citywide, he said. If elected, he’ll work hard on these issues, and listen to the community, he said. 

He’s running for office in a polarized time, he said, but that won’t deter him. 

“There’s a lot of divisiveness now in our city and our country. Bringing everyone together, that’s my strength,” he said. 

Tags: city council district 29City Council Elections 2021City Council Member Karen KoslowitzEdwin Wongforest hillskew gardensPoliticsqueensQueens PoliticsRego parkrichmond hill
Previous Post

Queens Lawmakers on the Move September 15, 2020

Next Post

Queens Lawmakers on the Move September 16, 2020

Clarissa Sosin

Clarissa Sosin

Clarissa Sosin is a reporter and editor who covers local politics and the issues that impact people’s lives.

Next Post
Queens County City Council News

Queens Lawmakers on the Move September 16, 2020

Subscribe to Our Daily Newsletter!

Podcast: Black & Jewish

Chaya and Ariama with the logo for "Black & Jewish" logo

Today's Top Read

  • Shaniyat Chowdhury

    Chowdhury’s Instagram Post on Human Right Violations of Uyghurs Stirs Controversy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pass the Baby Bottle – It Ain’t a Torch but It’ll Do

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A New CQuID is on the Scene Extending it’s Tentacles into Queens

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queens Lawmakers on the Move Jan. 7, 2021

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queens Lawmakers Join Call for Trump’s Removal

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Queens County Politics

©2020 Never Sink Media

Check out other local political news!

  • Brooklyn
  • Manhattan

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • About
  • Contact Us

©2020 Never Sink Media