The proposed lines for districts represented by state Sens. Shirley Huntley (l. to r.), Malcolm Smith and Joseph Addabbo are drastically different than what currently exists.

State Sens. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) and Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) may need to sign up for dance lessons if newly proposed district maps are approved because they will be doing the shuffle.

“It looks like a switcheroo,” Huntley said in a telephone interview Monday, comparing how the new lines give her parts of the Rockaways that are now Smith’s constituents.

Under the redistricting proposal submitted by the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, the Rockaways would be split, with Addabbo’s district representing the western Rockaway neighborhoods, including Breezy Point and Rockaway Park, while Huntley would represent Arverne and Far Rockaway.

Senate, state Assembly and congressional lines are redrawn every 10 years to account for population changes recorded by the census.

Smith now represents the entire peninsula while the Rockaways is split in Congress between U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village), who has the western part, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans).

The task force’s proposal would take away Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Woodhaven and Richmond Hill from Addabbo and give him part of the Rockaways, Fresh Meadows and Broad Channel.

If those changes go through, Addabbo’s district would be more conservative because of Republican-leaning areas in the Rockaways.

“It’s absurd the Republicans are trying every which way to stay in power,” said Addabbo, who beat longtime Republican Sen. Serphin Maltese in 2008. “The voice of the people has totally been ignored in the process and that’s a problem.”

Both Addabbo and Huntley said they would have preferred the Rockaways to be intact as the area is now. Addabbo represented part of the Rockaways in the City Council.

“I don’t mind representing the Rockaways again — I find it intriguing — but I’ve held the position that communities should not be divided. I don’t think Rockaway should have two state senators.”

The Republican-led Senate drew up the lines for its own chamber while the Democratic Assembly did the same.

Huntley said her district and Smith’s are both heavily Democratic and Republicans would have nothing to gain by tinkering with the lines in southeast Queens.

“I frankly thought our lines would stay the same,” she said. “I have no idea why anybody would do this. They could have left me how I was. It really doesn’t benefit them to do it.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto any redistricting plan that is not drawn up by an independent commission, and Addabbo said it appears the lines will be legally contested.

“We are looking at lines drawn by a court at this point,” the senator said about the likelihood of litigation over the redistricting plan, which was conceived out of “the same politics that have plagued Albany for years.”

The senator said the process should be “about voters choosing their representatives, not representatives choosing their voters.

“The process is flawed to begin with,” he said.

Congressman Joseph Crowley (back) puts his arms on Councilman Peter Koo's shoulders during an event to announce that Koo was switching his affiliation from the Republican to the Democratic Party. Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer (second r.) and Ruben Wills look on. Photo by Christina Santucci

Councilman Peter Koo (c.) shakes hands with state Sen. Toby Stavisky (l.). Photo by Christina Santucci

Councilman Peter Koo (front r.) shakes hands with Barbara Conacchio, the chief clerk for the Board of Elections' Queens office, after his registration card was stamped. Photo by Christina Santucci

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) officially registered with the Democratic Party Monday at the Queens Board of Elections offices in Kew Gardens after running on the GOP line three years ago to win a seat on the Council.

Koo is the wealthy owner of the Starside Drugs pharmacy chain and self-financed his campaign.

“We cherish the diversity of our party,” said U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-East Elmhurst), chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, during a news conference Monday at the BOE. “Peter’s joining this effort is a boon to our party and I think it’s great for Flushing in particular.”

Koo said infighting within the Queens GOP was part of his decision to switch parties. He said Democrats had “more leadership” and “more members” on the Council.

“From the beginning, I was always a Democrat at heart,” Koo said.

Queens GOP spokesman Robert Hornak said the party expects to work with Koo in the future.

“We’re disappointed to see him go, but we’ve always had a good relationship with him and we think highly of him,” Hornak said.

City Comptroller John Liu, Koo’s predecessor on the Council, said Koo’s stances on social issues were more in line with Democratic views.

“The issues that he’s talked about … [are] ?really much in line with our Queens delegation,” Liu said, shortly before Koo handed in his registration form to Barbara Conacchio, chief clerk at the BOE. “So it’s only rational that Peter Koo is about to be a Democrat.”

Koo’s switch to the Democratic side means Queens has only three GOP elected officials: U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) and Councilmen Dan Halloran (R-Bayside) and Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park).

“We’re used to electing Democrats, not always converting them,” Crowley said.

After Koo’s switch, Halloran said, “political parties aren’t everything.

“Peter is still my friend and colleague, and I’ll still work with him to cut taxes and create jobs in northeast Queens,” he said.

During Turner’s race, Koo went against his party and endorsed state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck).

When Koo ran in 2009, the Democratic field had five candidates running in the primary.

Koo also said the Republican presidential primary process “was a small part of my decision … especially on immigrant issues.

“I understand how hard it is to be a newcomer,” he said.

State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) joked that he was mystified why Koo first joined the Republicans in the first place.

“I never quite understood why he was a Republican,” Lancman said. “Such a nice guy. He likes people, he likes the immigrant community.”

Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), dean of the Queens Council delegation, said the party always had a good working relationship with Koo.

“We always treated you like one of our own,” he told Koo. “We always treated him as an equal part of the delegation because it’s about serving people.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg (c.) celebrates an 18 percent drop in construction accidents compared to last year at an apartment complex being built in Long Island City. He was joined by Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri (r.). Photo by Rebecca Henely

Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited an apartment complex under construction in Long Island City Monday to announce what he called a step in the right direction: an 18 percent drop in construction accidents citywide from 2010-11.

“This is good for the agency. This is good for the public,” Bloomberg said.

The mayor said there were 152 accidents in 2011 compared to 165 accidents in 2010, even though the city issued 7.7 percent more permits for construction in 2011.

But the news was not all good. There were five construction-related deaths in 2011 compared to four in 2010.

“Five is five too many, but it is a 73 percent decrease compared to 2008,” Bloomberg said.

The mayor’s office attributed the success to a series of reforms the department implemented in recent years. These include a revising of the city’s construction codes in 2009, creating a unit to inspect stalled construction sites, launching a campaign focused on preventing falls on construction sites and implementing more than 25 new construction safety laws.

Some of these laws include required training for tower crane workers, uniform color-coding and disallowing smoking on site.

“There’s nothing more important than keeping our citizens safe,” said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria), who along with other Queens elected officials joined Bloomberg at a new apartment complex being built on Center Boulevard north of 47th Avenue.

City Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri said the administration has been working toward making it easier to build in New York City while also doing it safely.

“It’s been an honor to be on your team,” LiMandri said to Bloomberg.

State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows), who chairs the Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety, said he was impressed with the progress the city has made.

“A safe workplace is not a privilege but a right,” Lancman said.

Trade association leaders also applauded the announcement.

Steve Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, said the construction industry is worth $28 billion and provides 125,000 jobs.

“The city continues to support this critical industry while keeping our workers and the public safe,” he said.

Lou Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employer’s Association, said the only industry that kills and injures more people is mining.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) said he would like to see more buildings and safer buildings in the city.

“You can see cranes going up all around Long Island City,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

State Assemblywoman Grace Meng and state Sen. Toby Stavisky have been selected as delegates for the Democratic Party and are slated to cast electoral votes in the 2012 November election.

Norteast Queens delegates state Assemblywoman Grace Meng and state Sen. Toby Stavisky are charged with collecting signatures for President Barack Obama (pictured). AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari

Two northeast Queens lawmakers have been selected as delegates for the Democratic Party in the upcoming presidential elections.

State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) hope their work will keep President Barack Obama in the White House.

“I’m excited to represent Queens and represent New York state as we nominate Obama for a second term,” Meng said.

The first task given to Meng and Stavisky will be to collect signatures to get themselves and the president on ballots.

As delegates, they will need to be elected — and, obviously, the president needs to be on a ballot to compete with the winner of the Republican Party primary.

The Queens GOP will also pick delegates to perform a similar task, but the party did not return a call to TimesLedger Newspapers by press time Tuesday.

Signatures are required for nearly all public offices, including spots at the city level. It ensures that the ballot will only list serious contenders.

The two northeast Queens legislators will be pounding the pavement in the next few weeks to take names and turn in the signatures by Feb. 2.

There are two delegates assigned to each congressional district. In this case, Meng and Stavisky are assigned to the district of U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside).

But aside from collecting signatures, their essential function will be to cast electoral votes in the 2012 November election.

When Queens residents take to the polls in November, their votes will technically not pick the president. Instead, their votes will act as a guide as to how delegates, like Meng and Stavisky, will vote to officially elect the president.

Each state is assigned a number of electoral votes based on the number of representatives it has in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In New York, that number is 29, two less after the 2010 census trimmed two House seats.

It is a process that is not new to Stavisky, who was a delegate in 2008 and attended the convention in Colorado.

“It was interesting because you met people from all over the country,” she said. “Their issues are very similar. A person out of work in Denver is very similar to somebody out of work in Queens.”

The Republican primary is still in full swing, so Queens delegates from the Republican Party do not know who to collect signatures for as of yet.

Obama already has his party’s endorsement to run in the upcoming election, and recently ran his first re-election television ad.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses the crowd at Queens College. Photo by Christina Santucci

Security moves into place alongside the unidentified heckler. Photo by Christina Santucci

After his Albany address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented his budget plan for a second time in Flushing last Thursday morning, which had many Queens officials in the audience nodding their heads in agreement.

Aside from a Queens College professor claiming to represent the “99 percent,” the audience largely hung on the governor’s words as he touted statewide reforms and pushed his idea for a convention center at the Aqueduct Racino in South Ozone Park.

“Let’s build the largest convention center in the nation,” the governor said, his voice rising. “And let’s build it in Queens.”

A recent statewide Siena College poll found the public’s response lukewarm, however, with only 38 percent in favor and 57 percent opposed to the $4.4 billion plan.

But U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans) loved the idea.

“I’m excited about it,” he said in an interview after the address. “It sends a huge message that Queens is a part of New York City.”

Westerns Queens politicians, like City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), were happy to hear Cuomo’s plans for an energy highway connecting the sites in upstate and western New York, where power is generated to areas downstate like New York City, where demand is heavy.

Astoria currently bears a large burden in supplying the city with power. It is home to six power plants, in addition to Vallone’s office.

“It should have been done a long time ago, but we finally have a governor who has the guts to do it,” said Vallone. “My district provides more than 80 percent of the power for the entire city.”

Cuomo also delved into crime during his speech, which drew the attention of District Attorney Richard Brown.

The governor called for DNA information to be taken from anyone who is convicted of a crime, no matter what the crime. Currently DNA information is only taken from about 50 percent of convicted criminals. The governor’s statements echoed those of Brown, who has long called for the blanket DNA sampling.

“DNA is one of the most powerful tools ever developed to solve and prevent crimes, to exonerate the innocent and to bring justice to victims of crime,” Brown said in response to the speech. “It is the fingerprint of the 21st century, yet we are not making full use of this technology.”

At a news conference immediately following the presentation, Cuomo discussed the Cross Bay Bridge toll, saying he would like to reduce the costs for residents of the Rockaways, who use the bridge to travel to work. He has also previously said he would provide refunds to residents of the Rockaways and Broad Channel, effectively ending the tolls.

This was another win for Meeks.

“I think that bridge has more than paid for itself,” he said, hoping that it would be abolished altogether. “I’ll be working with the governor.”

Cuomo also received plaudits for taking the education and governmental bureaucracy to task for not coming up with a method to effectively evaluate teachers.

The federal government gave New York state $700 million in Race to the Top funds on the condition that it come up with an evaluation system, but the impasse means the Obama administration wants its money back.

If that happens, it will nearly negate the $800 million increase in education funding the governor has planned.

Cuomo said he would increase education funding on a state level by a further 4 percent, but only for school districts that come up with an evaluation method.

He did not cover his plans for pension reform, which have drawn criticism from high-profile union leaders.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will prevent southeast Queens residents from being foreclosed on. Photo by Howard Koplowitz

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans) described 2012 as a year of promise as he met with reporters in his Jamaica district office Tuesday.

Meeks said one of his top priorities is figuring out how to appropriate funds “so we can build a full-service hospital for the veterans,” referring to the St. Albans VA Hospital.?

In the summer, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs stopped its plans to lease part of the 55-acre land to a private developer and renovate the rest of hospital space after years of criticism from community members and former soldiers from across the city.

“The focus of 2012 will be … to have a full-service hospital,” Meeks said.

But the congressman said he was realistic in terms of how feasible it will be to get the funding.

“I realize that we are in economic difficulties right now.”

Meeks addressed complaints against him registered by the conservative Washington, D.C.-based National Legal Policy Center, which has led to the Office of Congressional Ethics looking into his practices.

He accused the group as trying “to drum up something that is not truth.

“I’ve been open about it from the beginning,” Meeks said, which includes a personal loan from a Richmond Hill developer that the NLPC described as questionable.

Turning to his accomplishment in 2011, Meeks said he tried to protect the so-called Dodd-Frank reforms, which in part created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The southeast Queens congressman said the bureau “didn’t have a head” and was caught up in politics that prevented it from doing its job.

Meeks noted that President Barack Obama appointed Richard Cordray to head the bureau, which the president had to do while Congress was on recess because Republicans were reluctant to confirm Cordray.

The congressman said now that the bureau has a leader, it may not help southeast Queens residents who are already in foreclosure proceedings now, but the body will prevent them from occurring.

“We’re looking forward in 2012 to having this bureau functioning,” said Meeks, whose district has been a poster child for the mortgage crisis with a foreclosure rate that is among the highest in the nation. “We have been the epicenter for foreclosures.”

One of the larger projects Meeks said he is working on is Delta Airlines’ plan to redevelop its terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport to the tune of more than a billion dollars.

“It helps create jobs,” Meeks said of the plan. “We are turning JFK Airport into the gateway of America that it was 60 years ago when it opened.”

Meeks said he wants more direct flights out of JFK to Europe, Africa and Asia and noted that such flights would need the approval of Congress.

On the proposed convention center to be built adjacent to Aqueduct Racetrack, Meeks called the development “a very exciting piece.”

The congressman said Resorts World, the newly constructed racino at the track, “has created a lot of jobs for people” and that a convention center will follow in those footsteps.

“I think the expansion of a convention center … will create thousands of more jobs. I think it will attract people all around the country to come here. It makes Queens even more relevant in the economy of the city of New York. Queens is a golden place to have it.”

On redistricting, Meeks said he expects his congressional district, which covers southeast Queens and the eastern end of the Rockaways, to stay close to the borders it has now.

The state is slated to redraw political lines later this year.

Based on 2010 census figures, Meeks said 70,000 residents may need to be added to his district. He said the additional people can either cause his district to extend into Nassau County or move further west into more parts of Queens.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (r.) and his wife, Huma Abedin, had their first child, Jordan Zain Weiner, late last month. AP Photo/Barbara Kinney

Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner became a first-time father late last month after his wife gave birth to a 7-pound boy, the New York Post reported.

Weiner, who resigned from his Queens congressional seat earlier this year after a texting scandal, announced the birth of Jordan Zain Weiner in an e-mail to friends, calling his son a “sparkling wonder,” the Post said.

“Did I mention his mom is amazing?” Weiner said in the e-mail, referring to Huma Abedin, a top aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We love you for welcoming him.”

Jordan, who weighed 7 pounds 5.8 ounces at birth, is the first child for Weiner, 47, and Abedin, 36.

Weiner, who had been in office since 1999, resigned in June amid a sexting scandal in which he admitted to having online relationships with a number of women and sent them lewd photos.

Weiner initially claimed his Twitter account was hacked but then came clean in early June.

He resigned later that month during a news conference at a Brooklyn senior center where he started his political career, leading to Gov. Andrew Cuomo calling for a September special election to succeed Weiner in the House of Representatives.

The special election was won by Republican Bob Turner, who defeated state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in the heated contest.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (l.) replaced former Congressman Anthony Weiner in a November special election when Turner became the first Republican to hold the Queens-Brooklyn seat since 1920.

Heading into 2011, the Queens political scene was supposed to be uneventful, with District Attorney Richard Brown facing no opposition and the foregone conclusion that Democratic judicial candidates would defeat their Republican rivals as they have for every year in recent memory.

And while the November elections went as expected — Brown won a sixth term and the six Democratic judges on the ballot won seats on the bench — one unforeseen contest in September with an improbable ending would shock the borough and the country.

A showdown between state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) and retired Republican businessman Bob Turner was set in motion after then-U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner began a fall from grace when he lied about sending a lewd photograph of his crotch to his followers on Twitter.

As the scandal started to unfold in early June, Weiner, who at the time was considered the odds-on favorite to be the next mayor, said the photo was not of him and that his Twitter account was hacked.

But then later that month, an X-rated photo of Weiner that he sent to a Twitter follower was released and the congressman admitted it was indeed him who sent the pictures.

As calls for his resignation grew louder, Weiner at first was granted a leave of absence and said he would go to rehab.

Ultimately, as his support diminished, Weiner held a news conference in late June at the Brooklyn senior center where he launched his political career to announce his resignation from Congress, saying the distraction he caused made it impossible for him to do his job.

As soon as Weiner left his seat and Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a Sept. 13 special election to succeed the congressman, speculation grew over who the Democratic Party would select to run on its line.

In the end, Democratic leaders from Brooklyn and Queens chose Weprin and Republicans turned to Turner, who ran unsuccessfully against Weiner in 2010.

In what was widely believed to be a cakewalk for Weprin, Turner’s campaign built momentum as the weeks went by, first gaining support from former Democratic Mayor Ed Koch and endorsements from the Daily News and the New York Post.

Weprin had a number of Democratic elected officials on his side, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

A series of debates between the two candidates drew hecklers on one occasion as both men challenged each other’s views on federal spending, the deficit, Israel, Medicare and Social Security.

Early polls showed Weprin ahead, but as Sept. 13 grew closer, Turner had the upper hand.

Turner went on to defeat Weprin 53 percent to 46 percent and became the first Republican to hold that particular congressional seat since 1920.?

In Queens, Weprin bested Turner 52 percent to 47 percent, but Turner dominated the Brooklyn portion of the district 67 percent to 33 percent.

The shocking result was attributed by political observers to President Barack Obama’s unpopularity at the time and Turner’s success in making the race a referendum on Obama’s policies.

Also this year, the retirement of then-Assemblywomen Audrey Pheffer and Nettie Mayersohn opened the political stage to two aides who had served behind the scenes for years.

Phil Goldfeder, a former aide to Pheffer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schumer, defeated Republican District Leader Jane Deacy to succeed Pheffer while Mayersohn’s longtime chief of staff, Michael Simanowitz, defeated College Point Republican Marco DeSena to replace Mayersohn.

Judge Toko Serita (c.) performed a wedding ceremony for Therese Lendino (l.) and Laura Casini at Queens Borough Hall July 24, when same-sex marriage went into effect in New York state.

Supreme Court Judge Darrel Gavrin (front l.) completes marriage documents for Darryl Wong and Michael Kandel (r.), of Douglaston, who were one of the 90 couples to get married in Queens the first day same-sex marriages could be performed.

Desiree (l.) and Katrice Bussell, of Jamaica, were one of 90 pairs to get married in Queens July 24, when same-sex marriage was able to be performed in New York state.

Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill June 24 that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York state, Astoria LGBT activist Brendan Fay and his husband, Dr. Thomas Moulton, helped same-sex couples in New York cross the border into Canada or into neighboring states to get married.

Now he receives messages from people in Ireland and Poland eager to marry in New York state.

“It was just so great to see couples getting married and right here in our city,” Fay said.

The June 24 vote came down to four Republican senators from upstate New York who voted in support of the measure, but the debate had been fought in Queens for years. The state Assembly had voted for marriage equality in 2007 and 2009.

While 2011 would see all seven Queens senators vote in favor of the bill, in 2009 five of Queens’ senators voted against the measure: current state Sens. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) and Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and former Sens. George Onorato, Hiram Monserrate and Frank Padavan.

In 2011, the Queens political scene looked much different. Onorato retired and was replaced by Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria). Monserrate had been booted from the Senate following a misdemeanor assault conviction and lost the special election for the seat to Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst). Padavan, Queens’ only Republican senator, lost to Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in a contentious race.

Queens also now had two openly gay city councilmen — Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) — to advocate for the issue.

“The presence of these two capable, community-oriented, active councilmen has shown that gay legislators will do a good job of representing their constituents across the board, which in turn reinforces the idea of gay people as members of the community,” Queens College political science professor Michael Krasner said in an e-mail.

In mid-June, a large swath of Queens legislators, led by U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), held a news conference at Queens Borough Hall in support of marriage equality. Shortly afterward, Huntley and Addabbo announced they had taken polls of their districts and found their constituents now supported it.

Their flipped votes, along with a change of heart by then-Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger, meant all New York Senate Democrats except for Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) were in support of the measure.

The act passed June 24 and was signed by Cuomo the same day. A month later, 90 same-sex couples lined up at Queens Borough Hall to be married.

In November, Van Bramer and his longtime partner, Dan Hendrick, announced they will be joining those who have been married in Queens next year.

“I think the main impact has been to solidify the alliances between the gay community and the other liberal groups in the Democratic Party,” Krasner said. “I also think it may have the long-term effect of isolating anti-gay marriage groups.”

Some states have seen a backlash after granting same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court of California’s decision to allow gay couples to marry ended when voters passed the constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8. Iowa voters defeated three judges who ruled in favor of marriage equality.

Krasner said Assemblyman David Weprin’s (D-Little Neck) pro-marriage equality vote may have contributed to some religious groups voting for now-Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) in the race for the 9th Congressional District, but he said the main reasons for Weprin’s defeat were his weakness as a candidate and an anti-President Barack Obama sentiment.

Krasner said Addabbo and Huntley, as incumbents, will remain hard to beat.

Fay said that while a potential backlash was a concern, he nevertheless believes the vote was a turning point.

“I look forward to the day when all other states follow New York,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner wants Gov. Andrew Cuomo to eliminate the toll on the Cross Bay Bridge. Photo by Christina Santucci

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) reminded Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his Queens roots after writing the governor in an effort to end the toll on the Cross Bay Bridge.

Then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani instituted a rebate program in 1997 for Broad Channel and Rockaway residents who used the Cross Bay Bridge that gave residents a $2.26 rebate on their E-ZPass statements each time they made a round trip.

But in July 2010, citing budget woes, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority partially rescinded the rebate, only reimbursing residents after they made one round trip in a day.

“Quite simply, the toll is a discriminatory fee against Queens’ residents,” Turner wrote to Cuomo. “It forces them to pay a toll to travel from one part of the borough to another. It is a dubious and expensive distinction that my constituents who commute to New York City, who visit friends and family in Queens, and who travel throughout the area have to pay this toll.”

Turner referred to Cuomo’s roots to the borough — he grew up in Hollis — in the letter.

“You and I were raised in Queens. We understand and appreciate the area’s wonderful cultural and geographical diversity, particularly along the coastal areas in the Rockways,” Turner wrote. “I am sure that you would agree that this geographical diversity should not come at an unfair cost to the residents of the borough.

“I ask you to make this a top priority on your agenda for relieving the economic burden on the citizens of my district,” Turner said. “I look forward to working with you and other elected officials as we try to end the toll.”

The congressman’s letter comes three weeks after state Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Ozone Park) appealed to MTA Executive Director Joseph Lhota to get rid of the toll.

The toll was implemented to pay for construction of the bridge, which has long been paid off.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to give Queens Hospitals the same consideration recently given to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, a hospital often frequented by southwest Queens residents, which was looked at by a working group.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) wrote a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month requesting they “start a conversation” on how to address Queens’ and the Bronx’s diminishing health care access following the establishment of a work group to deal with Brooklyn hospitals.

“The focus of late has been on Brooklyn, but we have concerns in Queens County as well,” Crowley said.

The Brooklyn Health Systems Redesign Work Group, or the Berger Commission II, recently released a report at the end of November with recommendations to increase the financial security and quality of care of Brooklyn’s health system.

The study looked at six hospitals, one of which was Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, which many residents in southwest Queens use. The study recommended that Wyckoff, along with Interfaith Medical Center, be integrated into a system with Brooklyn Hospital Center, which has recently emerged from bankruptcy, at the head.

Brooklyn Hospital should then guide Wyckoff and Interfaith in streamlining their care to make it sustainable in a way that helps the communities’ needs and helps the hospitals fix their own financial problems, the study said.

Crowley said while he wants Brooklyn’s health care situation to improve, he wrote to Cuomo Dec. 1 requesting they discuss how to deal with similar issues for Queens and the Bronx’s hospitals.

Crowley said Queens also needs attention after four hospitals closed in the last five years. He said the closings have put a burden on Queens’ existing hospitals and resulted in the lost of hospital beds and emergency rooms in the borough.

“I want to find solutions,” Crowley said. “I want them to be addressed, particularly emergency rooms.”

The hospitals in Queens that have closed include St. Joseph’s Hospital in Flushing, which was converted into the drug abuse support facility Cornerstone of Medical Arts Center in 2007; Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, which shut its doors in 2008 due to a recommendation from the first Berger Commission; and Mary Immaculate in Jamaica and St. John’s Queens Hospital in Elmhurst, which were closed in 2009 after failing to get $36 million from the state to cover operating costs.

Crowley said the loss of emergency rooms was a particular concern as time could mean the difference between life and death in many situations. He also said that closing a hospital is a loss to the local businesses that employees once patronized.

“Hospitals are an economic engine and they are in our communities,” he said.

The congressman said some possible solutions could be relieving hospitals of their debt or creating a free-standing emergency room like the one being set up at the former site of Manhattan’s St. Vincent Hospital in Greenwich Village.

“I think there’s room for a lot of creativity here,” he said.

Crowley’s district, which encompasses Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Corona, Woodside, Maspeth, College Point and parts of the Bronx, does not include any of the shuttered hospitals, but he said the closings have had an effect on his constituents.

But his district does cover Elmhurst Hospital Center, which has been working to expand its services.

The United States Postal Service is proposing to close down the College Point sorting facility as part of a national consolidation effort.

A group of postal workers and two politicians voiced their opposition Friday night to the U.S. Postal Service’s proposed closure of a College Point facility that could leave hundreds of jobs in limbo.

Stephen Larkin, vice president of the Flushing chapter of the United Postal Workers Union, said that USPS has not made clear what will happen to the workers at the plant who number about 1,000.

“We have clerks, mail handlers, maintenance and motor vehicle operators that will be affected and they won’t give us any information about what they plan to do,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the USPS said that about 700 workers will be relocated to other jobs.

The proposed closure of the facility — one of nearly 300 that USPS would like to shutter across the nation at the expense of 35,000 jobs — would save the struggling system nearly $31 million, according the spokeswoman said.

Larkin said that there is a layoff clause in their contract, but that he suspects the USPS will try to circumvent it anyway.

The spokeswoman said “changes are being sought after” with regard to the contracts, though USPS would work to find everybody a landing spot.

If the plant is eventually consolidated or closed, the work would instead be done in Brooklyn or in Manhattan.

The switch would not cause any delay in service, the spokeswoman said, but USPS is changing the definition of first-class mail on a national level.

Instead of some mail arriving in one day, it will soon take two to three days if the cost-cutting proposal goes through in March and is approved by Congress.

A USPS spokeswoman said that while the mail will be slower because of the policy change, it will not be due to the consolation of facilities all over the country.

But City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) cited traffic between the two boroughs as reason to question USPS’s statement.

He also took issue as to why the Queens facility was slated for closure in the first place.

“They wouldn’t tell us how they reached the conclusion to close this the facility instead of Brooklyn,” he said.

But the USPS’s budget woes have another source as well, according to state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) who also spoke at the hearing.

In 2006 the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring the USPS to pay pension costs for an employee upfront — a process that Avella called “absurd,” and U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) sought to overturn by co-signing legislation earlier this year.

Pre-funding pensions means that when a new employee is hired, the USPS must pony up the money for that person’s benefits in one lump sum. It costs the postal service, which is the only agency required to do so, about $5.5 billion a year, Avella said.

Workers will find out in March whether the facility will be closed or consolidated pending congressional approval.

Queens GOP Chairman Phil Ragusa (l.) shakes hands with Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Photo courtesy Queens Republican Party

Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich met with Queens GOP Chairman Phil Ragusa during a stop in Staten Island Saturday, and while Ragusa heaped glowing praise on the former House speaker, he stopped short of backing him.

Gingrich, a former Georgia congressman and House speaker in the early 1990s, vaulted past former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in national polls in recent weeks to claim the top spot among Republican primary voters.

Gingrich made an appearance at the Staten Island Hilton before a crowd of Tea Party voters.

New York is such a reliably Democratic state in presidential politics that ?candidates of both parties barely make any appearances here except for raising funds from deep-pocketed city residents.?

The last time a Republican presidential contender won the state’s electoral votes was Ronald Reagan in 1984.

“I am extremely pleased Newt Gingrich took time out to talk with me and some of my Queens leadership team to discuss his plans,” Ragusa said in a statement Monday. “Clearly the speaker appreciates the important role Queens continues to play, and he demonstrated a keen knowledge of the concerns of Queens’ voters.

“Newt Gingrich is a strong and very impressive candidate and is someone I think the American people would have great confidence in when it comes time to turn around our failing economy and put America back on the right track.”

Gingrich’s visit to the city came a week after City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) was selected to head Romney’s campaign in the city.

Queens GOP spokesman Robert Hornak said Ragusa has not backed a candidate for president yet.

“This is not an endorsement and there’s no final decision made,” Hornak said.

But a source familiar with Ragusa’s thinking said, “Phil is leaning toward Gingrich.”

Ragusa said Gingrich has “an incredible command of the issues.

“Even former President Clinton described Speaker Gingrich as a problem solver and the thought of him debating Obama is almost irresistible,” he said. “One thing is clear — a mere month to go before the Iowa caucus, the field is thinning and Newt Gingrich is demonstrating his experience and intellectual vigor. I look forward to discussing the Republican slate with my leadership in the coming week. It is great that we have such a strong field!”

The state’s presidential primary is scheduled for April 24.

City Councilman Eric Ulrich will be chairing Mitt Romney’s campaign operation in the city. Photo by Christina Santucci

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has tapped City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) to head his campaign operations in New York City.

Ulrich, 26, is a rising star in the Republican Party who was first elected to the Council when he was 24.

He is one of five Republicans on the Council and among three GOP councilmen from Queens.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the race to decide who will face President Barack Obama in November 2012.

The announcement came from Romney’s New York state chairman, Guy Molinari, the former Staten Island borough president and congressman.

“Since being elected in 2009, Eric Ulrich has emerged as one of the rising stars in the Republican Party,” Molinari said in a statement. “I am honored that he has agreed to work with me to ensure that Gov. Romney assembles a formidable organization here in New York City for our party’s primary and we return New York to the Republican column next November.”

Ulrich said he believes Romney is the best candidate in a crowded Republican field.

“As the debate over our nation’s future reaches a critical stage, I am certain that Gov. Romney has the experience and ideas needed to get our country moving again,” the councilman said in a statement. “In 2009 and 2010 the Republican Party in New York City experienced remarkable gains in city, state and congressional elections. I am looking forward to working with Guy Molinari to build on those successes and elect Mitt Romney the next president of the United States.”

The gains Ulrich was referring to include U.S. Rep. Bob Turner’s (R-Kew Gardens) upset victory in September over state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in the special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner and the elections of GOP City Councilmen Peter Koo (R-Flushing) and Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone).

The House Ethics Committee dropped one allegation against U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks but will be pursuing another. Both allegations stemmed from loans the congressman received.

The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee said it will not look into a nearly $60,000 home equity loan received in 2010 by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) after the Office of Congressional Ethics determined there was no reason to believe the congressman violated House rules.

But the committee said it will pursue a claim Meeks failed to disclose a $40,000 personal loan in 2007 from Richmond Hill developer Edul Ahmad in a timely manner.

Meeks did not provide a statement on the committee’s decision before press time.?

The OCE made the recommendations, which were confidential, in April and the Ethics Committee unanimously voted to accept the recommendation in August.

Meeks received a $59,650 home equity loan from Four M Investments LLC in 2010 and there were allegations that the arrangement was “improper,” according to the Ethics Committee.

Meeks’ attorneys say the nearly $60,000 loan was used to pay off the $40,000 loan from 2007, but the OCE said since the 2007 arrangement had no interest rate or repayment terms, it “appears to have been a gift.”

The OCE’s policy prevents it from disclosing who made the allegations.

Two Washington, D.C., area groups that have made ethics complaints about Meeks before — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and the National Legal and Policy Center — said they did not make allegations about the home equity loan to the OCE.

CREW? complained to the OCE about the $40,000 loan from Ahmad as being questionable.

The OCE, in a 6-0 vote, recommended the Ethics Committee dismiss the home equity loan allegations “because there is not a substantial reason to believe that Rep. Meeks received the loan in violation of House rules and standards of conduct.”

In May, the Ethics Committee unanimously voted to dismiss the complaint.

“According to the referral from OCE, although it was not a commercial loan, it was made on reasonable terms,” the committee wrote. “The loan was supported by a recorded written agreement establishing an interest rate, collateral and repayment terms.”

But the 2007 personal loan will be reviewed by the Ethics Committee.

Meeks revised his 2010 financial disclosure statement to reflect the 2007 loan, which did not appear on his statement for that year.

“If Representative Meeks failed to properly disclose the $40,000 gift on his Calendar Year 2007, 2008 and 2009 financial disclosure statements, he may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law,” the OCE wrote.

The National Legal and Policy Center, which describes itself as a Republican-leaning ?organization, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission late last month that accused Meeks of voiding a $5,000 ?to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that ?had been written and cashed years earlier.

Meeks made three $5,000 donations to the DCCC in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Meeks’s Build America PAC voided a $5,000 check to the DCCC on Jan. 3, the National Legal group said, which inflated the PAC’s cash-on-hand.

“How do you void a check many years after it cleared?” the group said in its complaint. “A check that was deposited many years prior cannot be voided as a stale, dated check. Simply by reviewing the DCCC’s FEC filings, anyone can see that the $5,000 checks from Build America PAC in 2002, 2003 and 2004 were deposited shortly after they were recorded as written. Nothing suggests the checks were not received. Nothing suggests that the donations were in any way refunded to Build America PAC.”

In the past, Meeks claimed the National Legal and Policy Center had no credibility because it is a partisan organization.

Ken Boehm, president of the group, said the organization files complaints against members of both parties.

“We’re conservative, but we stand by the fact we’ve gone after both Republicans and Democrats,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman says he would like Congress to raise the limit on mortgages the government can guarantee in high cost areas.

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) said last week he was leading a bipartisan effort in Congress to stabilize the housing market in Queens and other high-cost areas by raising the limit on mortgages the government is allowed to guarantee.

Ackerman sent a letter signed by 131 members of Congress last month, urging House leaders to reinstate the $725,750 mortgage loan limit that would allow Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Authority to guarantee mortgages in areas deemed to be high-cost, such as New York, Boston, Chicago, southern California and San Francisco, among others.

Congress had raised the limit from $625,000 in 2008 in an attempt to stabilize the housing sector, but that extension expired at the end of September and reverted back to its previous figure. The congressman said many private lenders have been extremely reluctant to make additional mortgage loans in the still sluggish economy.

“Forcing this transition in a weak market, before the private market has shown the willingness to take on additional mortgage risk, is not wise policy during a housing crisis,” said Ackerman, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.

“Middle-class homeowners are struggling through the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression. If a large portion of the housing market is forced to fend for itself, the result will be disastrous for homeowners throughout Queens and all across the country,” the congressman said.

In addition, he said the expiration of the higher limits forces homeowners to seek more expensive, privately funded mortgages with higher down payment requirements.

“We should be doing all we can to stimulate the economy and help the housing sector recover rather than socking homeowners with higher interest rates and larger down payments. Making the cost of mortgages more expensive makes zero sense during these fragile economic times and will only slow the economy’s delicate recovery,“ said Ackerman.

Kings County Supreme Court Judge John Ingram (r.) swears in U.S. Rep. Bob Turner at a ceremony Sunday. Photo by Rebecca Henely

Despite a disruption from a small protest, U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Kew Gardens) was inaugurated Sunday at Metropolitan High School in Forest Hills before an enthusiastic crowd. The first Republican congressman to represent the district since 1923 received support from Republicans and Democrats at the ceremony.

“We are here today because Bob Turner stood up for what was right,” said Rep. Peter King (R-Massapequa Park), who acted as master of ceremonies for the inauguration.

About 150 people attended the event at the 91-30 Metropolitan Ave. schools in Forest Hills. Turner’s wife Peggy held the Bible as he was ceremonially sworn in by Kings County Supreme Court Judge John Ingram.

But the swearing-in did not go completely as planned when Astoria resident Adam Weissman, 33, yelled out a criticism of Turner during the oath and was escorted out.

Weissman said he was a part of TradeJustice, a collective of various organizations against free trade. The protest, which included two other people, was sponsored by the protest group Occupy Wall Street and targeted Turner’s ?yea vote on a free trade agreement with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. President Barack Obama signed the bill last month. Weissman said the law would outsource hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

“I was trying to say that Bob Turner, after two months in office, has already sold out the voters of Queens and Brooklyn,” Weissman said.

The interruption did not faze Turner, who received a standing ovation. After being sworn in, Turner said the country was off-track because of a drift in foreign policy, out-of-control spending and regulatory organizations that he claimed hindered business development.

“People are waking up as you’ve woken up,” Turner told the crowd. “Things are wrong.”

He also characterized Occupy Wall Street as being on “the wrong track” and said America’s capitalist system leaves people free to work and keep their profits.

“America has been a beacon to the world,” Turner said.

Turner’s win over state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in the special election for the 9th District seat, which opened after former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner resigned amid a sexting Twitter scandal, was seen as an upset for the largely Democratic district. His coverage area winds through Queens and Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Ozone Park, Rego Park, Howard Beach, Glendale, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Rockaway Beach and Woodhaven.?

Former Democratic Mayor Ed Koch, whose endorsement of Turner was a great factor in him getting elected, said that while he has known Turner a short time, they have become good friends.

“I look forward to participating in his next election,” Koch said.

While Turner was joined for his inauguration by City Councilmen Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) and Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), Turner’s Democratic colleagues also attended the inauguration, including state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach).

Addabbo, who supported Weprin in the special election, said he was happy for Turner and dedicated to working with him to serve their constituents.

“People benefit when elected officials work together and that’s the oath we took,” Addabbo said.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Lee Mayersohn (l.) congratulates Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, as Simanowitz's wife Jennifer and daughter Elisheva look on. Photo by Christina Santucci

Former Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (l.) shakes hands with Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, who worked on her staff and won her seat in the Assembly after she retired. Photo by Christina Santucci

Queens Supreme Court Justice Lee Mayersohn (l.) swears in Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, who is surrounded by his family - daughter Elisheva and parents Sheila and Sherman Simanowitz. Simanowitz was elected to the seat in which Mayersohn's mother, Nettie, had served. Photo by Christina Santucci

Residents of the 27th state Assembly District began a new era for their community as they welcomed the first new Assembly member in nearly three decades to represent Flushing, Whitestone and Fresh Meadows.

Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (D-Flushing) appeared at a formal ceremony Sunday before various borough and state officials, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), Queens Democratic Chairman U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside).

Simanowitz won the special election for the seat in September after his former boss and predecessor, Nettie Mayersohn, 86, announced her retirement from the Assembly after 28 years in office.

The new Assembly member, who was inaugurated by Mayersohn’s son Judge Lee Mayersohn, promised his constituents at the Electrical Industry Center on Parsons Boulevard in Pomonok that he would carry on the good work she has done over the years.

“Thank you for showing me ?the kind of elected official I want to be,” he told her.

The 27th District also includes the neighborhoods of College Point, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, Electchester, Pomonok, Briarwood, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill.

The who’s who of elected officials applauded Mayersohn for her time in office and the various pieces of legislation and programs she supported. Mayersohn pushed for the passage of the Baby AIDS Law in 1996, which requires doctors to tell mothers if their babies are infected with the HIV virus.

“Nettie Mayersohn was known in the halls of the U.S. House of Representatives and the halls of the U.S. Senate,” Crowley said.

Mayersohn said she was humbled by the support.

“I want to thank you for the support you gave me as an assemblywoman for 28 years,” she said.

Crowley told Simanowitz, who served as Mayersohn’s chief of staff for 15 years, that the best way to be an effective leader was to reach out to the other aisle and show voters that government can be bipartisan.

“People need a restoration of their faith in government. Michael, my suggestion to you is to make a lot of friends,” Crowley said.

Silver said Simanowitz has already proven to be a strong leader during his first two months in office and will be a major contributor to Albany.

“We look forward to your contributions to our efforts. We know you will serve your constituents and the house with loyalty, patience, honor and integrity,” he said.

Simanowitz said he is focused on several issues, but the top one is boosting the state’s economy and encouraging job growth. He noted that one in six New Yorkers is either underemployed or unemployed, which has caused a huge exodus of young adult residents.

“New York needs to lead, not follow, when it comes to job growth,” he said.

The new assemblyman added that his office is always open and he will be taking the community’s interests and concerns very seriously.

“I may be one of the new kids on the block, but I will run to help the people of the state,” he said.

Christina Santucci contributed to this article.

Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder (c.) is sworn into office as his wife, children and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (from second r.) and state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver look on. Photo by Ivan Pereira

Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder (l.) talks with state Sen. Malcolm Smith following his inauguration. Photo by Ivan Pereira

Elected officials from all over the state gathered at Junior High School 210 in Ozone Park Sunday to pass the torch to the community’s newest representative in Albany.

State Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach) was inaugurated before his family, friends, community members and fellow elected officials.

Goldfeder, who worked in the political offices of City Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton), Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Sen Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), succeeded former Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer, who became the Queens county clerk in June after serving the 23rd Assembly District for 24 years.

The new Assembly member said he was grateful for all the support he received from both the party and constituents and vowed to improve their quality of life.

“As the new assemblyman, I’m going to do the things I promised on the campaign,” he said.

The district includes the neighborhoods of the Rockaways, Howard Beach and portions of South Ozone Park.

Several Democratic members of the state Legislature, including state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) and Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing), were in attendance for the event, at 93-11 101st Ave., ?and said the rookie elected official will be making big waves in office.

Smith noted that two key Republicans — U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Kew Gardens) and Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) — were at the inauguration and he called on Goldfeder to continue to lead in a bipartisan manner.

“The aisles shouldn’t matter. You should do what is right,” he said.

Silver agreed and said Goldfeder’s long career in the New York political arena has made him a strong community activist, and he would not only be able to convey the community’s voice to Albany but also bring Albany’s side of the issues back home.

“You are part of a young collection of leaders who continue to define themselves as defenders of working families,” he said.

Pheffer, who was Goldfeder’s former boss, said she was confident he would be able to fill her shoes.

“There are so many, many problems that need to be worked on,” she said. “I am confident that he is going to do a better job [than me]. ?He is confident.”

Goldfeder said he is working on solving those issues, including the elimination of the toll at the Cross Bay Bridge and creating new incentives for neighborhood store owners during the down economic times.

“Right here, there are many businesses that need to survive,” he said.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley nominated Peter Kelly to the post of head of the Queens Surrogate Court.

Attorney John E. “Sean” Crowley is suing a California woman on disability, claiming he was never properly compensated for legal work he had done for her. She and her lawyer, who are fighting the fee, claim his congressman brother’s appointments create a conflict of interest.

Sean Crowley is the brother of U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), chairman of the Queens Democratic Party.

A Forest Hills resident who works for Manhattan firm Davidoff, Malito & Hutcher LLP, Sean Crowley filed a lawsuit in Queens Surrogate Court against Rose McGushin, 49, seeking $10,000 for work he performed on McGushin’s mother’s will more than a decade ago, City Hall News reported.

But McGushin and her lawyer, Manhattan attorney Dan Isaacs, contend the suit over unpaid fees will be compromised.

Isaacs said they do not believe McGushin will get a fair hearing in court because Peter Kelly, head of the Queens Surrogate Court, was nominated for the post by the congressman.

Isaacs, who is also chairman of the Manhattan Republican County Committee, said he had no opinion on Joseph Crowley’s appointments but believed the case hit “a little too close to home.”

“You always want to avoid any appearance of impropriety whatsoever,” Isaacs said.

He said when he appeared before court last Thursday, he was told by Kelly to put in writing the reasons why he thought having Kelly judge the case constituted a conflict of interest. Isaacs is also asking that the case be moved to another court system altogether.

McGushin was not able to attend last Thursday. Their next court date is Nov. 10, Isaacs said.

Joseph Crowley’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Neither Kelly nor the Queens Surrogate Court made a statement. David Bookstaver, spokesman for the New York State courts, said Friday that Kelly would consider the request after it is put in writing.

“Right now it’s all speculation,” Bookstaver said.

Sean Crowley did not address the alleged conflict of interest, but a spokesman for his firm released a statement saying the lawyer wanted to be compensated for his work.

“This case deserves a fair day in court and we expect the court will rule on this matter based on the merits of the case and nothing else,” the statement read.