Malliotakis and Melendez exchange views at Ridge debate
A Staten Island social worker is hoping she has what it takes to unseat Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis.
At “the Great Bay Ridge Debate,” sponsored by the Bay Ridge Community Council, and held on September 23 in the auditorium at Our Lady of Angels, Third Avenue and 73rd Street, Democrat Marybeth Melendez, a longtime community activist, made the case for her candidacy against the two-term Republican/Conservative incumbent, who represents the 64th A.D. in Staten Island and Bay Ridge, positioning herself distinctly to the left of Malliotakis – though by no means on the fringe.
In turn, Malliotakis stressed her business bona fides, as well as her efforts on behalf of district commuters (from the return of the B37 and weekend express bus service to ongoing efforts to adjust the Verrazano Bridge toll structure to be more equitable with respect to Brooklyn drivers) and students (her advocacy on behalf of restoring TAP financial aid for graduate students as well as expanding the aid to include more middle-class families).