JH Times: "Dromm Touts Activist Past"

From Jackson Heights Times: by Jeremy Walsh
"Dromm Touts Activist Past"
When Daniel Dromm launched his bid for the City Council last year, he did not expect to be the underdog. But when Mayor Michael Bloomberg succeeded in extending term limits, the public school teacher and Democratic district leader found himself pitted against incumbent Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights).

“It does change my strategy,” he said. “But that’s going to be a problem for her, because I disagree with her a lot.”

Dromm said as a councilman, he would focus on overcrowding in schools, traffic congestion and health care.

He criticized Sears for not bringing additional school seats to her Council district, noting that Districts 24 and 30 are two of the most overcrowded in the city.

“We’ve got to build up [on existing sites] or we find other places to do it,” he said. “Just saying that we can’t do something is not acceptable.”

To alleviate traffic congestion, Dromm proposed redirecting and extending some one-way streets in the Jackson Heights Historic District, as well as commissioning a traffic impact study for the LeFrak City area, which he fears will be overwhelmed by vehicles traveling to and from the new shopping center along Junction Boulevard in Rego Park.