Guardian Angels founder and radio personality Curtis Sliwa addressed the Juniper Park Civic Association at our April meeting. Presented is a summary of his remarks on different topics.

Hospitals
If I had to have an emergency operation, they’ve closed so many hospitals in Queens, where the hell would I go? Here we are, one of the largest most prosperous boroughs in the City of New York with a growing population, and they’re closing your hospitals left, right and every which way. How do they get away with that? They get away with that because they can. Because what they like to do in Queens is always take advantage of you.

Snow Removal
You know “some of the streets are too narrow to have snow removed.” Gee, Queens has always had narrow streets. How can you be running the Sanitation Department in the City of New York and not know that one of your largest boroughs has narrow streets? That has to be dealt with. You’re a dollar short and a day late.

The Queens Machine
You pay more taxes per capita than any other borough. Are you aware of that? And you don’t get an equal amount of services. But again, your political establishment is in bed with City Hall and is led by (does he represent Arlington or Fairfax, Virginia?) Joe Crowley. The guy doesn’t even reside in the state. The congressman for one of the most important districts – he’s the one who appoints the judges. And it maintains this feeling of corruption that is real. What is the most corrupt Democratic county in America? Is it Hudson County across the river? Is that the most corrupt? It used to be. They used to call it Jersey Sopranoland. No more. Crook County, Illinois? Clearly still very corrupt, but no, it pales in comparison to Queens County, the Democratic corrupt machine. You know what’s the most corrupt state in America politically for both Democrats and Republicans? Mississippi? Louisiana? Illinois? Think again. It’s New York State. Andrew “Evil Eyes” Cuomo, King Cuomo II, who shut down the Moreland Commission, who should have been indicted along with Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos and his no good son. Unfortunately, Preet didn’t get all the goods on him yet.

Garbage Trains
Now let’s think of Queens, here in Middle Village. I knew that something was amiss in the air here in Middle Village when I smelled garbage. I grew up in Canarsie – remember when we had the landfill along the Belt Parkway? In the summer, the stink would be so bad that it would twist the hairs of your nostrils. They have nowhere else to park those cars that have to be transported to Pennsylvania or West Virginia or wherever the landfill is except here in Middle Village? Why? Because they’re sending a message to you like they‘re sending to all of us from Canarsie and Starrett City and East New York and Brownsville years ago. You get treated like garbage, you have lower self-esteem. You begin to wonder if your elected officials have any juice. Do they have any connections? When it comes to corruption, my nose is very good. I’ve read all the accounts of all the elected officials and what they did to try to re-route the garbage trains. What other neighborhoods would tolerate that? Crated garbage standing there hours on end? Crated through the early morning hours waking up people on both sides of the tracks?

Streets
We just came off the [eastbound] LIE, we made the turn and soon we hit Eliot. And we thought we were going to get swallowed up by not a pothole, but a sinkhole. How long has that stretch of Woodhaven Boulevard been bumpety-bumpety? Now if I’m a mechanic, if I’m running a tire shop, if I’m doing adjustments, if I’m putting in ball bearings, I’m loving it, because my business is booming. What the hell is the Department of Transportation doing? Why aren’t they removing the asphalt and repaving one of the most vital tributaries in the borough of Queens in the City of New York: Woodhaven Blvd, right to the Queens Center, and right to the entrance of the LIE? How the hell could they not know what it’s like there? It’s an obstacle course! How many years has this been going on? How has this not been done? Haven’t you asked? And what happens? They say, “Oh no, it’s in the plans! We don’t have money in the capital improvement budget yet.” I didn’t know that the city was in the red. How come they can’t even pave Woodhaven Blvd? And how many of you are Mets fans? Around a place called Citifield there is a place called Willets Point. Did you see, during the World Series the whole world was watching and every street in Willets Point looks worse than the streets of Kabul in Afghanistan.

The City Council
Just in the area of providing basic services, the day-to-day details, Bloomberg created 311. Do we really need 311? I thought we had city council people. They like to put their names on garbage cans, like they donated it to you. It’s our freakin’ money! We pay the taxes, they put it in their budget, they give us garbage cans – many of which haven’t been cleaned in a month of Sundays – and we’re supposed to be grateful to them and kiss their royal tuchases and they put their names on them. “Courtesy of Council Woman Elizabeth (I can’t chew gum and think at the same time) Crowley. Boy, you talk about a legacy appointment. If I heard Joe Crowley standing right here, and I was saying to myself he doesn’t believe what he is saying about his cousin, Elizabeth. Listen to her. She knows nothing about nothing. And she got booed here in 2001. If the local council guy at that time hadn’t had the urge to merge with the wrong woman and cross that magical line, let’s face it, she would never have been your council woman. If Joe wants something, Joe gets something. He’ll even put a stunad in office.

Public Corruption
The corruption is so inherent, it’s so systemic, and it’s in both parties. We can’t just say one party. Even though the Democrats are in power in this county and they are the most corrupt Democratic county in America. So we should all pray that [U.S. Attorney] Preet Bharara is going to lock them all up and throw the key away because they don’t learn. There are still 3 men in a room in Albany. The next guy to go is Carl Heastie from the Bronx. He’s going, going, he’s almost gone. And he’ll be replaced. We need to establish a new way of doing business, like you’re doing here at this civic association. Many politicians don’t like to come here because they have to answer questions. So you have to muster your organizing ability to go out and make sure they do their freakin’ job.

The Borough Presidency
With regard to me being drafted to run as a Republican for the Queens Borough presidency, this is why I am going to do it: all roads that give the Queens County Democratic machine a badly needed colonic lead through the borough presidency because that’s where the patronage is. We must take out Joe Crowley, his minions, and his sycophants. Even though the Republicans will have candidates to run against Crowley, I would have a unique opportunity at busting their bubble. Can you imagine the Ex-Lax attack in the City of New York by every elected official including within my own party, the Republicans, if I got elected to any office, especially the Queens Borough presidency? It could start a wave of people who figure if you are dedicated, you can make a difference.