The Democratic Candidate is Endorsed by Bukharian Jews
Hiram Monserrate is no stranger to Queens politics — or to controversy. The 58-year-old Democratic district leader, a former City Councilmember and State Senator who was expelled from the legislature he now hopes to re-enter, launched his campaign for Senate District 13 back in January, and it has been in full swing ever since. The June 23 primary — with early voting running June 13 through June 21, polls open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day — sets up one of the borough’s most charged races of the cycle.
Monserrate is challenging incumbent Senator Jessica Ramos, a former staffer of his own, and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who entered the race against Ramos last year. He launched with something notably different from his previous comeback bids: a frank accounting of his past.
“While serving in public office, I committed serious personal and professional failures,” he wrote upon entering the race. “I was convicted of crimes. I lost my seat, my reputation, and my freedom. Those consequences were deserved, and I take responsibility for them.”
It is a harder admission than he has offered before. Whether voters in Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst accept it is another question — but Monserrate has spent the months since January making his case on the streets, not just in letters.
Public safety has been central to his campaign. After a violent bar brawl on Northern Boulevard near 74th Street in Jackson Heights left a 30-year-old man shot multiple times and two others slashed with broken bottles on Sunday, Monserrate took to social media to address the community directly. “Public safety remains a paramount issue for our community,” he said, calling for legislation to crack down on gun traffickers he says are bringing thousands of illegal firearms into the neighborhood every day.
That kind of street-level urgency has defined his tenure as district leader. He was a driving force behind Mayor Adams’ Operation Restore Roosevelt, which targeted prostitution and illegal activity along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor, helped shutter illegal brothels in the area — including one operating near a local school — and pushed for state troopers to intervene. He also filed a federal civil rights complaint with the Department of Justice over antisemitic vandalism in Jackson Heights, including swastikas on scaffolding and a defaced menorah in Travers Park. That effort has earned him notable support from the Bukharian Jewish community of Queens, a significant constituency in the district.
Editor-in-Chief Rafael Nektalov said, “We know him very well and deeply respect him. He sets an example for other politicians. Hiram fights antisemitism not merely with words, but through actions, and that speaks highly of his character. We are always grateful for his principled stance.”
His opponents are formidable. Ramos carries statewide name recognition from her mayoral run, and González-Rojas has consolidated support from the left and the party establishment. Ramos has been blunt in response to his campaign: “Voters have consistently declined to send him back to government.”
But Monserrate nearly won an Assembly seat in 2024, pulling 40 percent against now-Assemblymember Larinda Hooks in a low-turnout race. In a three-way primary, where the vote splits unpredictably, those margins matter.
The choice before District 13 voters is genuinely difficult: a man asking for redemption, with a record of real community work alongside a deeply troubled past, running against two well-known women in a district that has moved left. Early voting begins June 13. Election Day is June 23.
With reporting by Queens Eagle
By The Bukharian Times Editors
