Special election to fill northern Queens Assembly seat is set for Sept. 12

Former Queens Assemblyman Dan Rosenthal

NY Daily News | By Tim Balk

A special election to fill the northern Queens seat of former Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal has been scheduled for Sept. 12, Gov. Hochul’s office said Monday.

Rosenthal, a Democrat who represented the Assembly’s 27th District from 2017 until this summer, gave up his seat to take a post at the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York.

His final day in the Assembly was July 14.

Rosenthal has endorsed a recent graduate of St. John’s University School of Law, Sam Berger, to fill his seat in the left-leaning district, which curls south from Whitestone through Flushing into Kew Gardens Hills.

On Monday, Berger, 25, was preparing to take the bar exam on Tuesday, Rosenthal said.

The district has more than three registered Democrats for every registered Republican, according to state Board of Elections records.

Still, Rosenthal cautioned that it is “not a district where you take anything for granted.”

He won the district by about 16 points in last November’s midterm election. Hochul’s struggles atop the ticket seemed to hamper Democratic candidates down the ballot in the fall. Her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin, won the district.

The race for Rosenthal’s seat does not have a primary election. Berger is expected to get the nod from district leaders as the Democratic Party’s candidate.

Politico previously reported Rosenthal’s endorsement of Berger.

It was not clear who would run on the GOP line. The Queens Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

With Hochul on a trip to California, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado on Monday issued the proclamation scheduling the special election.

In a statement, Hochul said, “I’m grateful for Daniel’s service to New York State as he embarks on a new journey, and I look forward to working with the next representative to deliver for New York.”