Nov. 7, 2023 By Zachary Gewelb
Polls officially closed at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7, for the general election in Queens and across New York City and results are beginning to trickle in.
Throughout the day, voters turned out to decide upon who will be the Queens District Attorney, Justices of the 11th Judicial District of the New York Supreme Court, Judge of the Civil Court and municipal court district judges. Additionally, voters had the opportunity to vote on two citywide proposals.
As for the City Council races in Queens, the incumbents cruised to victory, according to unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections (BOE).
The race that drew the most build-up to the general election was in the northeast Queens District 19, which saw Republican incumbent Vickie Paladino once again battle with opponent Tony Avella, a Democrat and former City Council member who represented the district from 2001 to 2007.
The two went head-to-head in a closely contested race in 2021 in which Paladino beat Avella by just 390 votes.
P.S. 139Q Alfred J. Kennedy in Whitestone – the biggest poll site in the area — saw a strong turnout on Election Day after a fast start Tuesday morning. Polls opened at 6 a.m. to a steady stream of voters that continued throughout the day.
“It’s always important to vote,” said Paul, a longtime Whitestone resident who said he cast his vote for Paladino. “It’s to state what you feel is going on this area and in this country.”
Turnout in northeast Queens was stronger than the rest of the borough. As of 6 p.m. on Tuesday night, the city’s BOE reported that Queens ranked second among votes recorded, with 117,747. Brooklyn led the way with 140,629 votes recorded as of 6 p.m. and the BOE reported a citywide total of 444,511, including early voting totals.
Unofficial results from the city’s BOE can be found below. Totals are as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Results will not be official until the BOE certifies them when all ballots are counted.
District Attorney
Incumbent Melinda Katz (Democrat) is leading Michael Mossa (Republican) and George A. Grasso (Public Safety) with 66.87% of the vote, with 93% of scanners reported. Mossa is in second place with 27.15% of the vote.
City Council
19th: Incumbent Vickie Paladino (Republican) is leading Tony Avella (Democrat) with 59.95% of the vote, with 93.20% of scanners reported. Avella had 39.67% of the vote.
20th: Incumbent Sandra Ung (Democrat) is leading Yu-Ching James Pai (Republican) and Jin Liang Chen (Better Flushing) with 57.73% of the vote, with 93.41% of scanners reported. Pai is in second place with 31.49% of the vote.
21st: Incumbent Francisco P. Moya (Democrat) is running unopposed and will win re-election.
22nd: Incumbent Tiffany L. Caban (Democrat) is leading Kelly L. Klingman (Republican) with 69.14% of the vote, with 99% of scanners reported. Klingman had 30.10% of the vote.
23rd: Incumbent Linda Lee (Democrat) is leading Bernard K. Chow (Republican) with with 62.05% of the vote, with 92.11% of scanners reported. Chow had 36.52% of the vote.
24th: Incumbent James F. Gennaro (Democrat) is leading Jonathan D. Rinaldi (Republican) with 74.79% of the vote, with 90.68% of scanners reported. Rinaldi had 23.25% of the vote.
25th: Incumbent Shekar Krishnan (Democrat) is leading Zhile Cao (Republican) and Fatima Baryab (Diversity) with 65.37% of the vote, with 94.78% of scanners reported. Cao had 21.42% of the vote, while Baryab had 10.60%.
26th: Incumbent Julie Won (Democrat) is leading Marvin R. Jeffcoat (Republican) with 78.88% of the vote, with 98.37% of scanners reported. Jeffcoat had 19.96% of the vote.
27th: Incumbent Nantasha Williams (Democrat) is leading Marilyn M. Miller (Republican) with 92.51% of the vote, with 92% of scanners reported. Miller had 6.90% of the vote.
28th: Incumbent Adrienne E. Adams (Democrat) is leading Rusat Ramgopal (Republican) with 86.56% of the vote, with 92.24% of scanners reported. Ramgopal had 12.49% of the vote.
29th: Incumbent Lynn C. Schulman (Democrat) is leading Danniel S. Maio (Republican) and Sukhi Singh (Common Sense) 67.50% of the vote, with 90.70% of scanners reported. Mao had 27.54% of the vote, while Singh had 4.34%.
30th: Incumbent Robert F. Holden (Democrat and Republican) is running unopposed and will win re-election.
31st: Incumbent Selvena N. Brooks-Powers (Democrat) is leading Daniella M. May (Republican) with 89.48% of the vote, with 96.61% of scanners reported. May had 10.28% of the vote.
32nd: Incumbent Joann Ariola (Republican) is running unopposed and will win re-election.
34th: Incumbent Jennifer Gutierrez (Democrat) is leading Marguerite Chandler (Working Families and Medical Freedom) with 94.61% of the vote, with 87.97% of scanners reported. Chandler had 4.74% of the vote.
Municipal Court Judges
There are also elections for the municipal court judges in four Queens districts. The districts and candidates include:
First Municipal Court District: Michael H. Goldman (Democrat) is running unopposed and will win the election.
Second Municipal Court District: Sandra M. Munoz (Democrat) is running unopposed and will win the election.
Fourth Municipal Court District: Delsia G. Marshall (Democrat) is running unopposed and will win the election.
Sixth Municipal Court District: Evelyn Gong (Democrat) is leading William David Shanahan (Republican) with 51.10% of the vote, with 94.41% of scanners reported.
Citywide proposals
There are two citywide proposals that will be up for vote across every district of New York City. The proposals are as follows:
Proposal Number 1, an Amendment: Removal of Small City School Districts From Special Constitutional Debt Limitation – Citywide
Removes the special constitutional debt limitation now placed on small city school districts, allowing them to then be treated the same as all other school districts. Small city school districts would then not be limited in spending used to maintain and improve school facilities and address the needs of its students.
Proposal Number 2, an Amendment: Extending Sewage Project Debt Exclusion From Debt Limit – Citywide
Extends for ten years the authority of counties, cities, towns and villages to remove debt for the construction of sewer facilities from their constitutional debt limits. Spending on the treatment and disposal of sewage would not be included in the amount of debt allowed throughout the state for ten more years.