By Jill Colvin and Colin Campbell 5/21 3:56pm

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Queens Borough President Helen Marshall speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony. (Photo: Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Helen Marshall Didn’t Know John Liu Was Running for Mayor

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall holds one of the most prominent elected offices in Queens. But the 83-year-old lawmaker was apparently unaware until yesterday that John Liu was running for mayor.

During the Queens Democratic Party’s endorsement event Monday, a reporter for a Chinese-language newspaper asked Ms. Marshall if she was disappointed the county hadn’t backed Mr. Liu, who lives in the borough and used to represent it on the City Council. (They backed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn instead.) Read More

By Colin Campbell 3/19 7:30pm

The Vallone Zone

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Vallone Ranger: Harley-Riding Political Scion Vies to Be Queens’ Rebel-in-Chief

“Queens is discriminated against on an almost daily basis,” Councilman Peter Vallone told Politicker last week at Dark Horse, a restaurant near his City Council office.

“Things happen to Queens that would never happen to another borough,” he said, sipping a Stella Artois and taking bites of blackened salmon. “They’d never rename the Brooklyn Bridge. They’d never rename the Manhattan Bridge. Queensboro Bridge is renamed, nobody says a peep. Nobody makes a peep other than me.”

Mr. Vallone, a candidate for borough president, complains that Queens “hasn’t had a bully in the pulpit,” and he would like to change that. Read More

By Colin Campbell 11/26/12 5:46pm

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Tony Avella Will Run for Queens Borough President

State Senator Tony Avella, an outspoken Queens pol who has been mulling a run for borough president for some time, is ready to pull the trigger and announce his campaign. And he’s not holding back criticism against the term-limited incumbent, Helen Marshall, and her handling of post-Hurricane Sandy efforts.

“I thought we should have had a much more active borough president and much more of a coordinating effort from the office of the borough president,” Mr. Avella told the Times Ledger. “That convinced me Queens needs a voice.” Read More

By David Freedlander 1/05/12 4:33pm

Casino Royale

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Who Wants The Cuomo Casino?

For the last several weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been pushing the idea of bringing casino gambling to New York State. In his annual State of the State address yesterday, the governor suggested that New York could see $1 billion in revenue.

In an interview with The Daily News last month, Mr. Cuomo laid out the possibilities of where the casino would be located.

“New York City is a real location,” he said. “Albany is a real location. Buffalo is a real location.” Read More