State Sens. Michael Gianaris and Jose Peralta have decried the proposed lines for their current districts, which would pit the two of them against each other.

The new proposed state Senate district lines would set Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) against Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), but the longtime friends say they have no plans to duke it out at the polls.

“This actually makes it very amusing,” Peralta said.

Both senators characterized the new districts, drawn by Senate Republicans, as politically inspired. In the past, Gianaris’ district, the 12th District, encompassed most of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside with a thin tentacle extending down to take in parts of Maspeth and Ridgewood.

Meanwhile, Peralta’s 13th District mostly stayed within the area between the Grand Central Parkway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, encompassing East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona, most of Elmhurst and a part of Woodside.

Peralta’s new district instead extends northwest to take in a chunk of Astoria, while another tentacle further south takes in a chunk of Woodside. The proposed 13th District also includes the Con Edison complex, LaGuardia Airport and a chunk of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which now are in Sen. Toby Stavisky’s (D-Whitestone) district, but loses parts of Elmhurst.

To make up for the pieces lost, the 12th District now extends down even further, taking in slivers of Glendale, Woodhaven, Ozone Park and Lindenwood.

Gianaris said the new district lines change the makeup of the district by about 10 percent.

“The only thing they did is that they took my house out of it,” Gianaris said.

Peralta characterized New York state as becoming more Democratic and accused the Senate Republicans of trying to maintain their majority by pitting Democrats in the city against each other.

“The only way they can do it is by gerrymandering, and they’ve done so,” Peralta said.

Both lawmakers hold high positions in the Senate. Gianaris is the chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Peralta is the Democratic whip.

In addition to pitting the party heavyweights against each other, Peralta said his new district also loses about 20,000 Asian residents in exchange for 20,000 white residents. The new lines will put the Asian population in a new Asian district, which is now Stavisky’s, but Peralta said the lines have the effect of cutting in half the Asian residents of Elmhurst.

“There’s no concern for the Asian community in northwest Queens,” Peralta said.

Gianaris, who has long been a proponent of independent redistricting, said while politics can be a factor, the lines fail to be compact, continuous or to keep together communities of interest.

“Astoria is one community,” he said. “For them to split it in two is completely outrageous.”

The senators are not the only ones unhappy with the new districts. On his Facebook page, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) called the new lines an “outrage” and said the 12th District resembled a “baby alien popping out of a stomach.”

Rose Marie Poveromo, a civic leader whose home would be in Peralta’s new district where she now is in Gianaris’ district, said the new districts were “disgraceful.”

“Why should it be changed?” she asked. “This is truly a perfect example of gerrymandering.”

Gianaris said he expected Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto the new lines, but added whatever happens, he and Peralta will not run against each other.

“Sen. Peralta and I have been friends longer than we’ve been elected officials,” Gianaris said.

The proposed districts of state Sens. Toby Stavisky (l.) and Tony Avella. Stavisky's home was not included in her proposed district, meaning she would have to run against Avella.

After a state body released redrawn lines for New York’s state Senate districts, cries of political gerrymandering were heard from northeast Queens all the way to Albany.

In particular, political sources pointed to the proposed districts of Sens. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who would have to run against each other if the boundaries are adopted.

A state body called the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released redrawn political boundaries last week as part of a process that happens every 10 years to accommodate population growth.

Stavisky and Avella’s districts — the 16th and 11th, respectively — were already some of the most gerrymandered seats in the state, according to the two lawmakers.

Avella’s district is only contiguous during low tide, and a portion of Stavisky’s district is the unpopulated Cross Island Parkway.

Neither Stavisky or Avella could be reached for comment on the plan.

The proposed lines, drawn by Senate Republicans, took Stavisky out of her own district.

Every politician has to live, or at least spend a certain amount of time, at a residence in the district. Stavisky lists her address in Beechhurst, which would now lie in the same district as Avella under the proposed lines.

In the previous maps from 2002, the Beechhurst portion of District 16 already looked like a strange addition, an isolated lobe sticking out from the neighborhood of Bay Terrace. Even Stavisky has said the addition of Bay Terrace, which is thinly connected to the rest of the district by the Cross Island Parkway, smacked of gerrymandering.

A source knowledgeable about partisan politics said the Republicans might be trying to create as much infighting as possible in the Democratic Party ahead of the 2013 elections by pitting the likes of Avella and Stavisky in eastern Queens and Sens. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) in the west against each other.

The infighting could mean expensive primaries between Democrats at a time when Republicans enjoy a large fund-raising advantage statewide, the source said.

According to the state Board of Elections, as of January the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee had $164,163 in its coffers, while the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee had more than $3.7 million, which means Republicans have about 22 times as much funding as their blue counterparts.

But if Stavisky did not want to run against Avella, who once worked as her chief of staff before rising through the political ranks to his current seat, she could always move somewhere else within District 11.

The proposed District 16 also brought mixed reactions from groups calling for independent redistricting.

The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy had called for a majority Asian Senate seat to represent the people with ethnic backgrounds ranging from Chinese to Bangladeshi whose population has soared.

The proposed District 16 would be an Asian-majority Senate seat, and the coalition praised the task force for at least hearing its side of the argument, according to spokesman James Hong.

But Hong said the coalition could not support the bizarre and gerrymandered shape of the district in its proposed form and would rather have seen a district centralized more around the Flushing area and eastward toward Bayside.

The proposed lines, however, might not be the final chapter in the redistricting fight. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the proposed lines “hyper-partisan” in Albany and vowed to veto them.

A state task force proposes these state Senate districts for Queens, which has received wide criticism in the borough.

No matter how you slice it, the redistricting plan drawn up by a state task force last week was widely panned in Queens by critics who said the proposal breaks up communities and gerrymanders the lines.

Every 10 years, districts for state Senate, state Assembly and congressional lines are redrawn to reflect population changes recorded in the census.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto any plan not conceived by an independent commission.

The lines were proposed by the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, a body comprised of elected officials and members of the public selected by elected officials.

Under the group’s plan, Sens. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside) would have to run against each other in a primary in one district and Sens. Jose Peralta (D-Corona) and Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) would face off in another contest.

“I can’t believe there are Democrats that would have to primary each other,” said Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica), whose southern Queens district would cut Broad Channel and sections of southeast Queens and add parts of the Rockaways if the plan is enacted.

The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association is against the plan because it would carve up the neighborhood among three different senators: Joseph Addabbo, Malcolm Smith and Shirley Huntley

“When it comes to the Senate lines, the people of Woodhaven are being treated as pawns in Albany’s gerrymandering games,” said Alexander Blenkinsopp, spokesman for the association.

Eastern Queens United, a group of a dozen civic associations, criticized the redistricting process for dividing communities.

The task force “has abdicated its responsibility to serve the needs of the community and instead has served the needs of its politicians,” said Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village co-op and founder of EQU. “The new legislative maps are an abomination and are gerrymandered to break up our communities that have simply asked to remain united.”

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck), who represents a portion of the area covered by Eastern Queens United, said he was against the task force’s map.

“Northeast Queens is a special and distinct geographic region, whose residents and community leaders have voiced their desire to be kept together in a contiguous district rather than be divided,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to offering testimony as part of [the task force’s] public review process and for my constituents to do likewise in order to end with a map that truly represents the unique character of northeast Queens.”

The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy applauded the task force for drawing a new Asian-American majority Senate district in Queens and a new Assembly district but criticized the group for dividing Flushing.

“A compact district in Flushing-Bayside should be drawn to keep Asian-American communities of interest together in these neighborhoods,” the group said.

ACCORD also said the task force “has not brought equality to all Asian-American neighborhoods across New York” because Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park were divided into multiple districts.

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.

Ignazio Terranova (second from l.) answers a question at a town hall held by state Sen. Jose Peralta. He was joined by Corey Williams of the Health Department (l.-r.), Dalila Hall of the DOT, Peralta's chief of staff Nancy Conde, Capt. Thomas Conforti of the 110th Precinct and Capt. Brian Hennessey of the 115th Precinct. Photo by Rebecca Henely

A town hall hosted by the staff of state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) last week grew heated early when a man confronted a city Department of Transportation representative over the conversion of 37th Road between Broadway and 74th Street into a pedestrian plaza.

The question was one of many asked of various city agency representatives at the Nov. 7 meeting at IS 227, at 32-02 Junction Blvd. in East Elmhurst. Since Peralta could not attend the event, the event was moderated by Nancy Conde, his chief of staff.

Abdul Basher. a member of the United 32BJ property service workers union, contended that business owners on 37th Road had seen their business drop after the road was converted in October. Basher and others have said that the creation of the plaza and subsequent rerouting of the buses that used to travel down 37th Road have cost them out-of-area customers, who used to stop by after window-shopping from the buses.

Dalila Hall, deputy borough commissioner for the DOT, said the change was made based on the Jackson Heights Transportation Study, with the approval of Community Boards 3 and 4 and elected officials who requested more public space in Jackson Heights. She said the study was well-advertised through fliers and on the DOT’s website.

“It was a two-year process,” Hall said. “We didn’t do it willy-nilly.”

But she emphasized that the DOT was aware of the merchants’ concerns and eager to reach a solution with them.

Other agencies and police officers fielded questions about quality-of-life issues at the meeting. Questions ranged from procedures for dealing with unsafe buildings to motorists speeding down certain streets.

In response to a question about school overcrowding, Brian McGinn, manager of operations for the city Department of Education’s Division of School Construction Authority, said four new buildings were planned for the district and that they would be built from September 2013 to September 2015.

“That should alleviate a lot of the overcrowding,” McGinn said.

Other questions were for smaller but annoying matters.

Ignazio Terranova, deputy inspector for the city Sanitation Department, said in response to a question about whether the department was enforcing dog curbing laws that failing to do so would result in a $250 fine.

“Once we see the smoking pile, boom,” Terranova said.

Others had complaints about livery cab drivers and said the drivers sometimes park on the street and leave their trash there.

Giovanna Reid, district manager of CB 3, said that in addition to writing down the driver’s license number, those who see livery cab drivers misbehaving can reach out to the board as well as elected officials and a public hearing can be held during the driver’s regular license renewal period.

“We want to make sure operators understand [they] must be good neighbors,” Reid said.

Mohammed Bichri, who runs a food cart in Astoria, said he believes he would get an "A" if state Sen. Jose Peralta's proposed legislation to institute a grading system for vendys is passed. Photo by Christina Santucci

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said he will introduce legislation to institute a letter grading system for food cart vendors similar to those for restaurants and other eateries.

“New York City street food is famous around the world,” Peralta said. “And if you add this letter grade, our street food will also be known for its safety and cleanliness.”

The city Health Department and Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced a letter grading system for what was called “eating establishments” in July 2010, which requires restaurants to post a letter grade in their windows depending on how many health code violation points they receive upon inspection. Since then the grades have become a common sight throughout the five boroughs.

Eating establishments are defined as restaurants, coffee shops, bars, nightclubs, cafeterias, retail bakeries and fixed-site food stands, but vendys have not been included in the system. At the one-year anniversary announcement of the letter grades this summer, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said the constant movement of food vendors would make surprise re-inspections difficult.

Bloomberg, however, was in support of the idea.

“I would love to see, before I buy from a cart, a sign up there telling me whether or not the guy washed his hands before he reaches in and pulls out the hotdog,” Bloomberg said earlier this year.

Mohammed Bichri, who runs the halal food cart at the corner of Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street in Astoria, said he would welcome a letter grading and would expect to get an “A.”

The vendor advocacy group The Street Vendor Project also came out in favor of Peralta’s proposal.

“Most mobile food vendors want letter grades just like restaurants receive,” the Project said in a statement. “The vast majority of them sell clean, delicious food and they want to be recognized for that.”

Peralta said he believed instituting letter grades for food vendors would be a boon to patrons.

“Consumers should know that what they’re eating has, by the most part, met certain health and safety standards,” Peralta said.

The senator said that while some restaurant owners have claimed their business has been hurt by letter grades of less than an “A,” he said fixing a violation that could cause harm to the consumer should be the greater priority since a consumer’s bad word of mouth could also damage a restaurateur’s or vendor’s reputation.

Peralta added that a positive grade could be an asset to a vendor.

“People are going to pass by and say, ‘Hey, that unit got an ‘A,’ so maybe I’ll stop and eat there,’” Peralta said.

He said re-inspecting the vendys should not be too much of a problem since legitimate vendors are registered and stay in one place.

The senator said he was working on finding a co-sponsor for the proposed legislation in the state Assembly and finding other co-sponsors as well.

Christina Santucci contributed reporting to this article.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (second from r.) is joined by Jackson Heights-area legislators -- state Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, state Sen. Jose Peralta and City Councilman Daniel Dromm -- as he presents his overview of the neighborhood and surrounding area's economy last week. Photo by Rebecca Henely

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli painted a mostly positive portrait of Jackson Heights and its surrounding neighborhoods’ economy on a visit to the community last week, saying small businesses owned by immigrants bring in much money and the area has enormous potential growth.

“The economic future of northwestern Queens is a bright one,” DiNapoli said.

The comptroller’s “economic snapshot” of Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst and East Elmhurst was prompted by state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst).

Peralta joined DiNapoli, along with state Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights) and City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), at the unveiling of the findings at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, at 37-06 77th St.

The senator said DiNapoli’s analysis could help developers understand the community’s needs?.

“It’s very important for our community to have this kind of document to move forward,” Peralta said.

DiNapoli’s portrait goes back more than 10 years, covering the neighborhoods both before and after the 2009 recession. He said immigrants from 71 countries live in the four neighborhoods, many of whom are small business owners. From 2000-09, the number of businesses grew by 18.1 percent, a percentage three times larger than the rest of the city, and most of these businesses employed less than 10 people.

“People from all over the world continue to come here to live, work and raise their families,” DiNapoli said.

The recession did have an effect on the neighborhoods, however. While private sector wages grew by 6 percent each year from 2004-08, they dropped by 1.5 percent from 2008-10.

The average rent also changed from taking up an average of more than 30 percent of residents’ income? in 2002 to taking up an average of 43 percent to 48 percent of residents’ income in 2008.?

He suggested the long-planned revitalization of Willets Point could bring opportunity much-needed by residents.

“Public and private investment is needed,” DiNapoli said.

DiNapoli said the area had remarkable draws, such as Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the Louis Armstrong Museum, but one problem was school overcrowding — 19 of the area’s 22 elementary schools are above capacity.

DenDekker said he hoped the report would spur development without hurting small businesses. He also suggested that leaders should find ways to help small businesses comply with regulations without just levying fines.

“We don’t want to upset the balance of losing our small businesses,” he said.

Dromm said he believed the economic growth in the area earlier this century is related to the? immigrant population. He said he buys everything he needs from small businesses run by immigrants within a block of where he lives.

“I’m very proud of this neighborhood,” he said.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (r.) joined with representatives of the TLC (left) to discuss the legislation to bring livery cabs that can take street hails to the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan. Photo by Rebecca Henely

A town hall held by state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) on the bill to bring livery cabs that can be hailed to the outer boroughs erupted into impassioned statements and heated arguments, mostly in Spanish, from industry members on separate sides of the plan.

More than 100 people crowded into the Langston Hughes Library, at 100-01 Northern Blvd., Monday for a presentation on the controversial bill, which passed both houses of the state Legislature last month but has not yet been signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The bill calls for 30,000 permits that will be issued allowing livery cabs to pick up passengers in Upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs, plus the sale of 1,500 yellow taxi medallions, 569 of which will be for handicapped-accessible vehicles. Peralta was one of only two Queens senators to vote for the plan, the other being Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans).

Peralta did not explain his vote but brought in a representative from the city Taxi & Limousine Commission to go over the details of the plan.

“This is more of an informational meeting,” Peralta said.

Adrian Gonzalez, senior analyst at TLC, said the highest number of street hails occurred in Manhattan, the city’s airports, along Queens Boulevard and in Brooklyn Heights. Beyond that, the most street hail demand in Queens comes from where Broadway meets Grand Avenue in Elmhurst and Jamaica Avenue-Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica. Broadway and Grand Avenue averages 39 street hails an hour and Jamaica Avenue-Parsons Boulevard averages 16 street hails an hour.

Gonzalez said the new cabs, which will be known as “Borough Taxis,” will have street hail privileges anywhere in the city but not south of East 96th Street or West 110th Street in Manhattan. Phoned-in pickups will still be available anywhere. The taxis will be credit/debit card ready, be metered and have a distinct color and markings from their yellow medallion brethren.

“You can spot it out on the street. You can spot it in a picture,” Gonzalez said.

After Gonzalez’s presentation, the town hall was opened up for questions, but many used the opportunity to speak for or against the plan, often making five-minute speeches in Spanish that received applause or condemnation from the mostly Spanish-speaking crowd.

Avik Kabessa, chair of the New York Independent Livery Driver Benefit Fund, said the plan had serious flaws and that 20 community boards across the city rejected it. Some agreed while others, like Cira Angeles of Riverside Brokerage, said he was disseminating false information. Another man held up a tote bag full of citations he had received for street hails.

Peralta said what happens next is ultimately up to the governor, but if the bill becomes law, the state will work with the TLC and analyze the various costs.

“I think there’s always a bit of hesitation with change and that’s understandable,” Gonzalez said.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (second from l.) hugs his partner Dan Hendricks as Councilman Daniel Dromm (l. to r.), the Rev. Ronald Tompkins and Yessika Giraldo, president of the Queens Pride Lions Club, look on. Photo by Christina Santucci

Jackson Heights resident Jackie Lui (front r.), a gay supporter of the marriage law, shakes hands with state Sen. Jose Peralta after the event. Photo by Christina Santucci

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed same-sex marriage into law, a city councilman had a chance to break out a long-awaited wedding cake and officials were already speculating how much revenue would come from the legislation.

By a 33-29 vote, the state Legislature passed the controversial measure late Friday night to end the summer session, drawing praise from gay rights activists across Queens and condemnation from prominent religious figures.

“New York state has said ‘I do’ to equality,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), an openly gay legislator.

Dromm stood outside the Jackson Heights Post Office Saturday with a white cake bedecked in rainbow-colored candy. Someone began playing the traditional processional wedding song on a nearby piano as Dromm cut the cake along with openly gay Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), who had just returned from casting his vote in Albany.

“Yesterday was a ‘where were you?’ moment,” Peralta told a small crowd gathered on the sidewalk. “Where were you when equality became a reality?”

It was unclear whether the bill would actually pass until state Sens. Stephen Saland (R-Poughkeepsie) and Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) announced their last-minute support on the floor and brought the total to four Republicans in support of the bill after state Sens. James Alesi (R-Fairport) and Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) hopped on board earlier last week.

A crucial moment for Queens lawmakers came on June 14, when state Sens. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) and Shirley Huntley (D-St. Albans) announced a sea change in their districts and flipped positions after voting against a similar bill in 2009.

The bill has divided religious organizations, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed the economic boon that gay couples will provide to the city.

“Stay in a hotel. Buy flowers, clothes, a meal or whatever. It’s good for the economy,” he said Monday, adding that the city will have extra judges on hand to dole out marriage licenses the first day it is legal to do so on July 24.

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) wasted no time in announcing he will host a mass same-sex wedding ceremony in Bethpage State Park July 29.

Several wedding halls around the borough, like Terrace in the Park, had not received any bookings for same-sex marriage receptions yet and Queens Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Jack Friedman wondered just how big the impact on the borough would be.

“I don’t think it’s going to be major. It could have a minor, positive impact on the economy,” he said.

One Queens activist wanted no part in the possible economic benefits and blasted Albany for not putting in protections for private businesses.

“I pose this question, what about catering houses? Do they have the right to discriminate against these wild, flamboyant parties?” asked Frank Skala, president of the East Bayside Homeowners Association.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan, of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, opposed the bill and issued a statement expressing his dissatisfaction.

“We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization,” the statement said.

But not all religious figures were against the bill.

The Rev. Ronald Tompkins, a former Jackson Heights pastor, blessed the crowd at the post office Saturday and offered his congratulations to Dromm and the LGBT couples in attendance.

“I read the Bible. I don’t know what they are reading,” he said following the cake-cutting, in reference to religious figures who condemned the legislation. “I wish more churches were here to celebrate this moment.”

Due to language in the bill, it is up to the houses of worship to decide whether or not to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, but those who choose not to may be missing out.

Youla Efthimiou holds up a photo of her 9-year-old autistic son, Thanos, at a forum for parents about dealing with the disorder. Photo by Rebecca Henely

About 80 people, most of them parents of children with autism, gathered at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights last week to speak to New York autism advocates about how to navigate the educational and medical systems as well as hear about services available to them and their children.

“It’s very good that we have this session tonight to discuss some of those issues,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), a guest at the forum May 23.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) sponsored the forum, but it was the brainchild of Pastor Stephen Taala, head of the Bible Baptist Church of Jackson Heights, which operates out of the Jewish Center at 37-06 77th Ave., who is the father of a 9-year-old with autism.

“It was very touching to see all the parents come and want to get more information,” Taala said.

The speakers, all of whom were parents of autistic children, spoke about their experiences dealing with their children, with the city schools system, potential treatments for their children and how meeting with other parents helped them.

“We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know where to go, but we had each other,” said Andrew Bauman, CEO of New York Families for Autistic Children, of the genesis of his group.

Bauman’s son was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old and is now 18 years old, and the group he represents helps parents of autistic children navigate the health-care system and the city schools system as well as having numerous support groups for family members.

Mary Coyle, whose autistic son is 20 years old, spoke about treating him through homotoxicology, a type of remedy that integrates mainstream and alternative treatments.

Youla Efthimiou, who has a 9-year-old autistic son named Thanos, said her life improved when she entered a support network — specifically, the Queens County Parents Autism Coalition — organized by Cheryl Ocampo.

“I never heard of autism before,” Efthimiou said. “My only reference with autism was the movie ‘Rain Man.’”

She said support groups can help parents, but can also help siblings of kids with autism who do not have mental disabilities themselves. The siblings can see other families who live like they do.

Sylvia Verga, who has used homotoxicology to treat her son after finding herself dissatisfied with trying to get her son help through traditional means, said one of the hardest parts was overcoming the feeling that she had been responsible for her autistic son’s illness.

“Every time my son overcomes an obstacle, I rejoice and my family rejoices,” Verga said.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (c.) visited the East Elmhurst Library, one of five libraries to which he gave $10,000 each for buying books. Queens Library officials and children from PS 127 were present for his visit. Photo by Rebecca Henely

In the midst of a prominent campaign by the Queens Public Library for private donations so the institution can buy new books, representatives of the system recognized one of their largest donors Friday.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) visited the East Elmhurst Library, at 95-06 Astoria Blvd., where he announced he had donated $50,000 to the Queens Library system through member items so the libraries within his district could buy books.

The money was distributed evenly between the five libraries in Peralta’s district: the East Elmhurst Library, the Jackson Heights Library at 35-51 81st St., the Corona Library at 38-17 104th St., the LeFrak City Library at 98-30 57th Ave. and the Langston Hughes Library at 100-01 Northern Blvd. in Corona.

“I wanted to make sure books are purchased,” Peralta said.

At a ceremony that included a saxophone performance and was attended by the Friends of the East Elmhurst Library as well as by about 30 fifth- and eighth-grade students from East Elmhurst’s PS 127, the East Elmhurst Library’s Community Library Manager Johnnie Dent and Queens Library Chief Executive Officer Tom Galante thanked Peralta for his donation.

Galante said the library had done well with raising money through its Buy-A-Book Drive, but Peralta’s grant was the largest and a boon at a time when the library has had to cut 70 percent of its book budget.

“That’s a huge improvement on what’s available for people to read and borrow,” Galante said of Peralta’s grant.

Peralta said he was glad to be helpful to the library in a time of economic crisis. To the students in the audience, Peralta shared the story of when he got his first library card from the Corona Library when he was a boy. He said he was very excited about it and he treated the card like gold, would often show it to his relatives and tell people what books he took out with the library card.

“I want people to have that feeling about coming to the library,” Peralta said.

The Queens Library also opened two 24-hour, seven-days-a-week self-service return kiosks at branches in western Queens this week, one at the Corona Library and the other at the branch at 40-20 Broadway in Long Island City.

Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) gave $200,000 to the library for the kiosks and Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) gave $250,000.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (c.), joined by Assemblyman Francisco Moya, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, members of the Guardian Angels , parents and children, announces legislation that would put peddlers of "chica chica cards" behind bars. Photo by Howard Koplowitz

Stroll down Roosevelt Avenue from 69th to 112th streets and it is impossible not to notice the men distributing small cards with scantily clad and sometimes naked women on them with a phone number to call for “delivery.”

But state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) have teamed up to help police and the Queens district attorney’s office to prosecute the peddlers.

“What we see here is small, baseball-size cards, sex cards, chica chica cards,” Peralta said Sunday outside PS 19 in Corona, where he announced a bill that would fine the sex card distributors $1,000 and put them in jail for up to a year.

The cards are known as “chica chica cards” because the men who hand them out promise “chicas, chicas,” or “girls, girls.”

Peralta said the current law governing distribution of lewd materials is too vague to prosecute people who hand out the sex cards, but his legislation specifically adds the sex cards to the law so they can be arrested.

Peralta said the cards, handed out overnight, are picked up the next morning by children who go to school near Roosevelt Avenue.

“These cards are being picked up, they’re being traded like baseball cards,” the senator said.

Corona resident Duberki Bacheco, who spoke at the news conference and has a young daughter, called the cards “disgusting.”

“On [Sunday] morning I picked up three cards,” she said, including one of a nude woman.

Peralta said his bill, which is also sponsored by Moya in the Assembly, “will take criminals off the streets.”

He conceded the bill will not eradicate prostitution along the avenue, but eliminating the cards from the streets is “one of the many battles that we have to face on Roosevelt Avenue.”

“The idea here is to get the city and state government to get involved,” Peralta said.

He said the Guardian Angels will be patrolling Roosevelt Avenue in the next few weeks to help the NYPD in cracking down on the sex cards.

Moya, who picked up one of the cards in front of his house on the morning of the Sunday news conference, said the fact that children see the cards on their way to school is “simply unacceptable.”

“We want to keep our streets clear of pornography peddlers,” he said. “We need to make sure that we stop this problem.”

City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) said she used to attend PS 19 and never had to worry about stumbling upon the cards like kids today do.

“As a woman, as a resident of this community … I say that it’s absolutely disgusting and unacceptable,” she said.

Ferreras said she would introduce a resolution in the Council to denounce the cards.

“It’s time that we take our Roosevelt Avenue back because it belongs to all of us and certainly not these people,” she said.

Besides going after the sex card peddlers, Ferreras said the legislation would also help the district attorney’s office find out “who’s behind this,” referring to ?prostitution.

Ferreras noted that most of the girls featured on the cards are immigrant women who most likely are abused and forced to sell their bodies.

“This is a whole conversation that’s very real in Corona and that conversation is sex trafficking,” she said.

State Sen. Jose Peralta (c.) honored Bill Thompson (second from r.) and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall (r.) at his Black History Month event. Photo by Rebecca Henely

In celebration of Black History Month, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) bestowed honors upon three black New Yorkers for what they have done for the city, Queens and East Elmhurst.

More than 130 people crowded into the meeting room of the Langston Hughes Library, at 100-01 Northern Blvd. in Corona, last Thursday as Peralta presented former city Comptroller Bill Thompson with a Special Recognition Award, Borough President Helen Marshall with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Lynda McDougald, president of the East Elmhurst and Corona Civic Association, with the Community Activist Award.

Peralta said he plans to make this Black History celebration an annual one. As the first Dominican American elected to the Senate, Peralta pointed out that African Americans and the civil rights movement paved the way for Latinos.

“I’m very grateful for what they’ve done,” Peralta said.

The honorees spoke on the lessons of black history, particularly the discrimination they experienced growing up decades ago in New York City, and linked the struggles of old to the struggles of today. As the keynote speaker at the event, Thompson encouraged those in the audience to talk to their children about black history and said he learned a lot about black history from listening to what his father remembered.

“Over the years, the things that I’ve heard from him give me a greater appreciation of where I’m at,” Thompson said.

Peralta also said he believed Thompson would win the 2013 race as the city’s next mayor.

Marshall spoke of her experience growing up as the child of Guyanese immigrants with a Southern stepmother and of her work as the first director of the Langston Hughes Library. She said every award she receives is special to her.

“I love what I do and just doing it is an award for me,” she said.

McDougald, whose career in civic activism began when she went with her mother to a sit-in at age 13, said she wanted the young people of today to find civic engagement.

“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything,” McDougald said.

Many of the elected officials who came to the event thanked those honored and other black Americans for their accomplishments and what the civil rights movement had done for their own minority groups. City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) commended President Barack Obama and East Elmhurst-born U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder for their recent conclusion that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst), who is black and Latina, also praised those were honored.

“I want to thank you not only for the doors that you opened but that you held open so we could walk through,” Ferreras said.

Jose Peralta (c) predicted Bill Thompson (with proclamation) would prevail in the 2013 mayoral election during a Black History Month event at the Langston Hughes Library. Photo by Rebecca Henely

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) threw his support behind former city Comptroller Bill Thompson becoming mayor of New York at his Black History celebration at Langston Hughes Library Thursday.

“Next time around, you’re going to have Bill Thompson succeed,” Peralta said.

At an event located at the library on 100-01 Northern Boulevard in Corona, Peralta gave Thompson a special recognition award. At the ceremony he called Thompson a “very good friend” and said he believes Thompson could become the next mayor, offering strong words of praise for his fellow Democrat but not making a formal endorsement for the 2013 election.

“This is someone who has had a distinguished career in public service,” Peralta said.

Thompson, who was Comptroller from 2002 to 2009, ran for mayor on the Democratic and Working Families tickets in 2009, but Mayor Mike Bloomberg won a third term by more than 50,500 votes. Thompson announced in January 2010 to the New York Times he planned to run again.

Thompson thanked Peralta at the Black History ceremony, which Peralta plans to make an annual event.

“I hope I come back in a few years as the next mayor of the City of New York,” Thompson said.

This post has been updated to clarify that Peralta did not declare his formal endorsement of Thompson for mayor.

State Sen. Tony Avella has been appointed the ranking minority member of the Cities and Environmental Protection Committees. Photo by Christina Santucci

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) is one of three freshmen Democratic senators to be appointed as ranking minority members of legislative committees in Albany, Sen. Democratic Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) announced last week.

Avella, who represents the 11th Senate District, is the ranking member for the Democrats of the Cities and Environmental Protection committees and will serve on the Education, Aging and Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs committees.

“As a freshman senator, it is an honor to have been tasked to serve on five committees and to be a ranking member on two,” Avella said. “As ranking member, I will be the point person for the members of my conference on bills that will go before my committees. This will allow me to point out any problems or flaws pertaining to a particular bill to emphasize the importance of specific legislation.”

The other new Democrats who were appointed ranking members were Sens. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Tim Kennedy (D-Erie County). Gianaris will head the Codes Committee and Kennedy will lead the Commerce, Economic Development and Commerce Committee.

Ranking members review all bills that go before their respective committees and serve as the authority to whom other committee members can direct questions regarding the bills. Ranking members are also influential in the appointment of new commissioners for state agencies.

After being sworn into office in the beginning of January, Avella, who toppled former Republican Sen. Frank Padavan in November’s election, said he planned to focus on the state budget and ethics reform.

“I’m worried about how the budget cuts will impact everybody — in the state, in New York City, in Queens and in my district,” Avella said last week. “Will the discretionary funds, which the nonprofits depend upon, be cut like they were last year?”

A number of Queens lawmakers landed leadership positions in a number of committees. Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) is the ranking Democratic of banks, Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) was appointed the minority party’s leader of the Ethics and the Mental Health and Development Disabilities committees, Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), is the ranking minority member of the Higher Education Committee, for which she had served as chairwoman when Democrats were in the majority, Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) is the ranking member of the Labor Committee and Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) is the ranking member of the Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee.

“The economic crisis of the last two years has demonstrated to all New Yorkers that government cannot function as it always has,” Sampson said in a statement announcing the ranking members. “In order to create jobs and rebuild our economy, we need to do things differently. Our conference is taking that approach to governance by championing ethics, budget and redistricting reform.”

State Sen. Jose Peralta has been named one of the co-chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee as well as the Democratic whip in the state Senate and the ranking member on the Senate Labor Committee. Photo by Christina Santucci

In the nearly one year that Jose Peralta has been a state senator representing western Queens, his star has surely risen.

Peralta was selected as one of four co-chairmen in charge of making sure Democrats recapture the Senate in 2012 and was chosen by Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) as Democratic whip – the fifth-highest leadership position among Democrats.

On top of the two posts, Peralta was also named the ranking member of the Senate Labor Committee by Sampson.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), who a year ago was the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate as temporary president of the body, was relegated to secretary of the Democratic Conference – the ninth-highest leadership position in the conference.

Newly minted Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who was appointed to lead the fund-raising arm of the Senate Democrats by Sampson, chose Peralta as one of four co-chairs of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.

“We are running offense and will have exceptional candidates in every region of this state and the funds to help them spread their message to voters,” Peralta said in a statement. “Election cycles come and go, but the failure of the Senate Republicans to protect working families has been a constant for decades. Sen. Gianaris is the right person to lead DSCC and I know my colleagues and I are hitting the ground running to elect new Democrats to the state Senate.”

As Democratic whip, Peralta will be in charge of counting votes for Senate Democrats on bills and in a statement he referred to the dysfunction plaguing Albany.

“The members of our conference bring different experiences and expertise to the Senate and I thank Sen. Sampson for recognizing that and elevating new members so we can more effectively represent our constituents,” Peralta said. “After decades of dysfunction, late budgets and members behaving badly, the taxpayers are desperate for fiscal discipline, greater ethical standards and a political system which serves and meets their needs.”

Peralta was elected to the Senate last year in a special election for the seat previously occupied by Hiram Monserrate, who was expelled from the body after being convicted of misdemeanor assault for slashing his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, in the face with a glass.

Peralta easily won the election and Monserrate then turned his attention to Peralta’s up-for-grabs state Assembly seat, where he was defeated by Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Corona).

Legislators and advocates are calling for a state law that requires all chain pharmacies, such as this CVS in Astoria, to provide translation services to be expanded statewide. Photo by Rebecca Henely

New York City legislators and advocates are calling on the state to implement a law so all chain-store pharmacies across the state will need to provide language services to help consumers understand their medications. The state law would be modeled on a city law passed in 2009 that took effect in June.

“Taking prescription medications shouldn’t be a game of Russian roulette for seniors, non-English speakers or anyone else,” said state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) in a statement. “I am committed to doing all I can, working with my colleagues in the Legislature, to make medication instructions and prescription labels understandable to all consumers.”

The initiative has been supported by Peralta, state Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst), the immigrant advocacy program Make the Road New York and the Health Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which has taken on Make the Road as a client.

Nisha Agarwal, director of the Health Justice Program, said her program and Make the Road have been working on this issue since 2007. After previous collaboration on various health-care issues, the organizations decided to work on this issue based on a New York Academy of Medicine study that found while 88 percent of pharmacists saw individuals with limited proficiency in English daily and almost 80 percent had the capacity to translate labels, only about 39 percent translated labels daily and almost 23 percent did not translate labels.

“The pharmacist couldn’t explain to them how to take their medicine in a language they would understand,” Agarwal said.

She said the Health Justice Program and Make the Road New York pushed for state passage of city law 859-A, which required all pharmacy chains — defined as those with four locations or more — to provide free translations of all labels and post a notification of a customer’s right to a free translation service. Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed the bill in September 2009.

Agarwal said this is most often done by printing labels in the top seven most-common languages,? which are determined by the Department of City Planning through the American Community Survey every two years, and employing an interpreter for all languages, often through a phone service. She said this law was only applied to chains as many independent stores were already sufficient at providing translation services.

“It was more the really more corporate pharmacies that were not attuned to the neighborhoods they were in,” Agarwal said.

After the city law was implemented in June 2010, Agarwal said the program and Make the Road conducted a survey. They found translation services had improved in the city, but 50 percent of pharmacies statewide could not provide translated labels for prescriptions and 30 percent could not provide interpretation services for medication counseling.

Agarwal said she hopes state regulation will fill in the gaps. A bill was introduced into the state Legislature last summer and will be reintroduced in the upcoming legislative session. She said immigrant organizations and health-care providers have supported the bill.

“People that we’ve talked to have been really thrilled that this is happening,” Agarwal said

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo celebrates with his mother Grace (c.) and wife Dawn during a party at Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach. Photo by Steven Malecki

Despite the support of prominent Republican officials and raising more than three times the amount compiled by his opponent, Anthony Como lost his bid for a state Senate seat to incumbent Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), according to unofficial election results from NY1.

Jessica Proud, spokeswoman for Como, said he had not yet conceded the race as of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday but called Addabbo to congratulate him for being ahead. She said Como would not concede until the memory sticks in the machines could be examined, a process which can take two days.

“There’s just too many questions out there to really have an accurate picture of the race,” Proud said.

Addabbo, a former city councilman who became part of the state Senate in 2009, won 57 percent of the vote, with 92 percent of precincts reporting, NY 1 reported.

The senator said he was grateful for the win which he saw as an acknowledgment of the hard work he had done, and said he had a lot of work to do.

“I look forward to going back to Albany and doing the right thing for the people I serve,” Addabbo said.

Elsewhere in Queens, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) won a full term for the seat he captured in a special election in March. With 83 percent of the districts reporting, Peralta handily beat his Republican opponent, lawyer Richard LaSalle, with 82 percent of the vote. Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) took over outgoing Sen. George Onorato’s (D-Astoria) seat, winning 82 percent of the vote over his Republican opponent, businessman Jerome Patrick Tina Jr., with 72 percent of districts reporting.

In the race against Addabbo, Como brought in some heavy Republican fire power with endorsements from former Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who compaigned with him.

Como, who had a short stint on the City Council, had been a candidate for executive director at the city Board of Elections, but withdrew from consideration to run against Addabbo. Addabbo, the son of former U.S. Rep. Joseph Addabbo Sr., served six years on the Council before ousting Sen. Serphin Maltese in 2008.

The district they were running for encompasses Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth as well as sections of Ridgewood, Rego Park, South Ozone Park and Sunnyside.

Como raised $331,773 in this campaign, with much of the money coming from individual contributions. Addabbo raised $96,645, with some of the largest contributions coming from unions. Having raised so much money, Como nevertheless was in the black for expenditures with $301,285.98 spent but Addabbo went into the red with $149,871.43 spent.

During the campaign, Como requested that light be thrown on Addabbo’s involvement in the selection of the Aqueduct Entertainment Group for a state contract to build and operate a racino at the Aqueduct Race Track. Addabbo said the bulk of the flawed bid process took place before he came into office.

Besides Aqueduct, Como pushed a platform of reform, lower taxes and government transparency. Addabbo’s campaign, on the other hand, touted his record and involvement in the community.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (c.), joined by City Councilmen Jimmy Van Bramer and Danny Dromm, state Sen. Jose Peralta and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall's Chief of Staff Alex Rosa, speaks in support of marriages for LGBT New Yorkers. Photo by Rebecca Henely

Legislators in Jackson Heights told their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender constituents as well as their allies Monday to vote for pro-marriage equality candidates in the Nov. 2 election.

“We are inches away of reaching that magical number 29,” said state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), referring to the number of votes needed in the Senate to pass a bill allowing people of the same sex to marry.

At the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, legislators and constituents discussed the best strategy to use to pass a pro-LGBT marriage bill in 2011, partly in response to the recent suicides by teenagers who were gay or perceived to be gay and the recent hate crimes against gay people in the city: an assault of a bartender at Julius Bar in Manhattan Oct. 11 and an attack on three gay men in the Bronx by nine attackers Oct. 3.

“If people are thinking of copycatting [these crimes], they know that’s not going to work, because the days of us not going to the police are over,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan).

Elected officials at the event included Quinn, Peralta, Councilmen Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), state Assemblyman Michael DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights) and Assembly candidate Francisco Moya. Quinn, Dromm and Van Bramer are all openly gay.

“Like many of you, I would like to be married one day,” said Van Bramer, who has been with his partner for 11 1/2 years.

Dromm said a crucial win for allies of gay marriage would be to elect Tony Avella, a former Democratic councilman who is running in Bayside against Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose).

Peralta said electing Avella would mean the Senate would have a better chance of passing a marriage equality bill in 2011, now that George Onorato (D-Astoria) is retiring and former Sen. Hiram Monserrate, whose seat Peralta won, was ousted for a misdemeanor assault charge. Padavan, Onorato and Monserrate had voted against the legislation in 2009.

“Right now this is the moment for the LGBT community,” said Alexandra Rosa, chief of staff for Borough President Helen Marshall. Rosa’s child is gay.

Suzanne Ramos, board chairwoman of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays New York, was one of many community activists at the meeting who encouraged constituents to go to their representatives and tell them their stories of wanting to marry their partners.

“These things really tug? at the heartstrings and we have to keep doing that,” Ramos said.

Many at the meeting agreed it was marriage the LGBT community needed, not domestic partnerships or civil unions. Cathy Moreno Thomas, board president of Marriage Equality New York, said there are 1,300 tangible rights LGBT people are denied that their straight, married neighbors receive.

“It’s not separate but equal,” Dromm said, “It’s about true equality.”

Dromm also said that members of the LGBT community should team up with immigrant communities and support issues pertaining to immigrants such as the Park51 mosque to fight against hate and prejudice.

“We have to work as a united front,” he said.

The state Senate has asked former Sen Hiram Monserrate to return his parking placard, which he has had since he was ousted from his seat in February. Photo by Christina Santucci

The state Senate is considering contacting the state police if ousted Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who is running for an Assembly seat, does not return his Senate-issued parking placard.

Monserrate, who formerly represented the Jackson Heights area in the Senate as a Democrat, was expelled in February after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo.

Travis Proulx, spokesman for the Senate Democratic Conference, said the Senate has notified Monserrate twice in writing — once in February and once in May — since he had been expelled asking him to return the placard, which allows members of the state Legislature to park in metered spaces without paying tolls or in no-standing areas.

Proulx said both notices have been ignored and the Senate is planning to write him again. It has been more than six months since Monserrate was last in office.

“Monserrate has no right or privilege to be using this placard in New York or anywhere for that matter,” Proulx said.

Proulx said the parking placards are 8 inches tall and 10 inches wide. He said he did not know if Monserrate was actively using the placard, as it is hard to track who is driving any vehicles with placards.

“We really rely on people to act in good faith,” Proulx said.

The Senate is willing to get the police involved, but they want Monserrate to mail the placard back.

“He is not using it in any way that benefits the public,” Proulx said. “It only benefits himself.”

Mike Nieves, campaign manager for Monserrate, said he had no comment on this issue.

Monserrate is running for the Jackson Heights Assembly seat left open after Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) ran for Monserrate’s Senate seat and won. Monserrate also ran for his former Senate seat in a bid to get re-elected in March. Monserrate’s competitors for the open Assembly seat include Democrat Francisco Moya and Republican Humberto Suarezmotta.

Nieves said Monserrate is mounting a traditional campaign, made up of knocking on doors, going to events, canvassing for votes and doing phone drops.

“All we have to reiterate is the good work he’s done as a city councilman and a state senator,” Nieves said.

Nieves said that while Monserrate lost the Senate election, he drew 4,100 votes, which Nieves sees as a good base.

“Hiram is the guy who everybody loves to hate, but he’s not the guy the voters love to hate,” Nieves said. “The system hates him because he’s anti-establishment.”

Nieves said he had no comment on Moya’s campaign.

“I never run a race caring about what the other side does,” Nieves said. “I run a race caring about what my side does.”

Monserrate was convicted of misdemeanor assault in October 2009 following a December 2008 incident in which he slashed Giraldo’s face and pulled her through the lobby of his apartment by her hair. The courts placed a full order of protection against Monserrate to prevent him from seeing Giraldo, which was reduced last month.

Monserrate and Giraldo have reconciled.