Residents of District 31 in southern Queens know what it’s like to have flooded streets on a sunny day just because of high tide. They remember the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Sandy because they are still living with it. The candidates running to represent them in Tuesday’s special election, however, are quiet on environmental issues.
The district’s Feb. 23 race will fill the seat vacated by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards in December of last year. Of the nine declared candidates – LaToya Benjamin, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Latanya Collins, Sherwyn James, Nicole Lee, Nancy Martinez, Pesach Osina, Shawn Rux and Manuel Silva – less than half mention climate-related issues on their campaign websites. Only Rux acknowledged flooding as a top priority issue during last week’s campaign events.
