{"id":94910,"date":"2026-01-09T17:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94910\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T17:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:08:20","slug":"assembly-candidates-outline-vision-for-district-36-at-astoria-forum-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94910\/","title":{"rendered":"Assembly candidates outline vision for District 36 at Astoria forum \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"From\t\t\t<\/p>\n

From left to right: D36 candidates Rana Abdelhamid, Shivani Dhir, Mary Jobaida and Diana Moreno at a recent candidate forum in Astoria. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud. <\/p>\n

Candidates running to replace Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the 36th Assembly District in western Queens took part in a candidate forum Jan. 3 at Astoria\u2019s Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club.\n<\/p>\n

Diana Moreno, who secured a nomination from the Queens Democratic Party shortly after Saturday\u2019s forum, joined fellow candidates Rana Abdelhamid, Mary Jobaida and Shivani Dhir at the packed event to outline their campaigns for the upcoming special election to replace Mamdani.<\/p>\n

Moreno, who is endorsed by Mamdani and the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is the clear frontrunner ahead of the Feb. 3 special election after securing the nomination from the Queens Democratic Party on Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But Abdelhamid and Jobaida have both signaled their intent to run in the special election along third-party ballot lines, while Dhir has dropped out of the special election to focus on the Democratic primary in June.<\/p>\n

Moreno described receiving the Queens Democratic Party\u2019s nomination as the \u201chonor of a lifetime,\u201d stating at Saturday\u2019s forum that she was running to \u201cdelivery affordability\u201d to working families and fight back against what she described as authoritarianism from the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n

\"MorenoMoreno speaks at Saturday\u2019s candidate forum. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

Dhir acknowledged at the forum that she was the \u201cmost unknown\u201d of the four candidates running to replace Mamdani, describing her campaign as one that aimed to create economic power and stability in the community.<\/p>\n

Abdelhamid, the founder of community non-profit Malikah and a member of the DSA, is running a campaign advocating for tenant and immigrant protection. In a statement confirming that she is remaining in the race issued after Moreno picked up the Queens Democratic Party nomination, Abdelhamid said her campaign is based in \u201cgrassroots organizing,\u201d also touting her roots in the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a lifelong Astoria resident, I was raised by this neighborhood and shaped by its struggles,\u201d Abdelhamid said in a statement. \u201cAstoria and Long Island City know a community candidate when they see one. My campaign is based in grassroots organizing, rooted in our families and standing against the weight of institutional power.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also insisted that her campaign is based \u201coutside traditional establishment structures,\u201d which she said shut out working-class voters.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEstablishment politics creates unequal processes that leave too many people behind,\u201d Abdelhamid said. \u201cWe will petition and organize block by block, fighting until the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RanaRana Abdelhamid at Saturday\u2019s forum. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

Jobaida, another DSA member, has not yet returned a request for comment but will run in the special election along the People First part line, according to Politico<\/a>. Jobaida said at the candidate forum that she is running to \u201cbring power to the people so that no one in the district feels unheard or unseen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen what can be done when people are included,\u201d Jobaida said. \u201cI\u2019m fighting to make this district, make New York state very affordable, equitable and inclusive to each and everyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"D36D36 candidate Mary Jobaida. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

At the forum, moderators Antonio Alfonso and Kimberly Mullarkey-Perez \u2014 two Democratic Disrict Leaders in the 36th Assembly District \u2014 quizzed candidates on a range of topics from legislative priorities to immigration policy.<\/p>\n

All candidates agreed that the affordability crisis is the greatest challenge facing the district at present, with Jobaida also pointing to environmental injustice in the local community.\n<\/p>\n

Moreno, meanwhile, said the district is facing a \u201cdual crisis of affordability and a crisis of democracy,\u201d arguing that democracy had been threatened by a wave of \u201cfederal attacks\u201d against local residents.<\/p>\n

Dhir stated that 16,000 people live below the poverty line in the district, adding that it is \u201cimperative\u201d to bring economic power to the local community, while Abdelhamid outlined the need to support small businesses through rent-stabilization and protect immigrant communities from the federal government.<\/p>\n

Each candidate also expressed policies to deal with the housing crisis, with Moreno calling for investment in public housing such as NYCHA developments as well as investing in the long-term building of social housing and deeply affordable housing.<\/p>\n

Abdelhamid, on the other hand, has vowed to fight for permanently affordable, mixed-income public housing as well as advocating for the rights of low-income tenants in the district.\n<\/p>\n

Dhir called for creating more opportunities for people to own homes in the district, while Jobaida called for low-interest loans for developers to build social and truly affordable housing.
\n\"ShivaniShivani Dhir. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.\n<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s forum saw dozens of local residents cram into the Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club to hear what candidates had to say, with lines forming around the block to enter the club.<\/p>\n

\"CrowdsCrowds packed into the Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club for the forum. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud.<\/p>\n

Alfonso, one of the Democratic District Leaders who voted to nominate Moreno for the February special election, credited each candidate for bringing \u201cthoughtful ideas\u201d to Saturday\u2019s forum. Alfonso said he voted to nominate Moreno because she will bring \u201creal progress\u201d for the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiana is prepared to fight for affordability for New Yorkers and to work with our Mayor and our partners in government to deliver real progress for our community,\u201d Alfonso said.\n<\/p>\n

Mullarkey-Perez said all four candidates were \u201coutstanding\u201d but said she had voted to nominate Moreno because of her plans for a \u201csafer and more affordable district.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The Feb. 3 special election winner will earn the right to hold Mamdani\u2019s old Assembly seat through the rest of the 2026 calendar year. The June Democratic primary will decide who will have the party\u2019s backing for the Assembly seat in the 2026 general election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From left to right: D36 candidates Rana Abdelhamid, Shivani Dhir, Mary Jobaida and Diana Moreno at a recent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,44404,44405,310,29438,2495,42983,22925,9,24,63,29440,44406,129,131,130,82],"class_list":["post-94910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-d36-election","tag-d36-special-election","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-diana-moreno","tag-dsa","tag-mary-jobaida","tag-mayor-zohran-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-rana-abdelhamid","tag-shivani-dhir","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}