Meanwhile, signs for Republican candidate Lee Zeldin are popping up all over the city — even in the Democratic stronghold of Queens. In fact, when a reporter for The Post knocked on the front doors of homes with “Zeldin for Governor” signs, many of the people inside said they consider themselves Democrats — but still plan to vote Republican on the 8 November. “I feel like the Democratic Party left me, I didn’t leave the party,” said Phil Wong, 56, a longtime former Democrat who has planted a Zeldin sign outside the Elmhurst home he shares with his wife, the children and his elderly mother. “They left me with all these extreme progressive policies that hurt New York and hurt Asians.” Phil Wong of Elmhurst, Queens, says rising crime in the city is leading many of his fellow Democrats to switch sides and vote for Republican Lee Zeldin for governor of New York on Nov. 8. Matthew McDermott Wong, an immigrant from Hong Kong, is president of the Chinese American Civic Alliance of Greater New York and past president of Community Education Board 24 in Elmhurst. He has actively fought to preserve New York’s gifted and talented programs and the SHSAT, the admissions test used by the city’s most selective high schools. He said changing policies in the city’s public schools is what prompted him to vote for Zeldin, a Republican congressman from Long Island. Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t getting the vote of many Queens Democrats fed up with rising crime and falling public school standards. Kevin C. Downs for the NY Post “Now it doesn’t matter how well you do in school because it’s no longer based on merit, it’s based on a lottery,” Wong said. “So all of a sudden, kids don’t even want to work hard anymore, because the chance of going to any school with a 95 average is going to be the same as the kid who’s going to fail. That’s not right, that’s just telling kids that they can just fool around and hang out or hang out and still get into the good schools.” Wong also said he believes the rise in serious crime — which, according to NYPD statistics, is up nearly 36 percent over last year from January to September — is why he’s seeing more of his neighbors and his friends in Queens to show their support for Zeldin. “I’m seeing more and more moderate Democrats come out every day and say they’re going to vote for Zeldin,” Wong told The Post. “We had a great city under Giuliani and Bloomberg, but when de Blasio came in, it went downhill. I used to feel safe, my mom felt safe and my kids felt safe. I felt like they could go out, play in the park, go to school by themselves and come back. And now I don’t feel that anymore.” John and Luz Shaffer are longtime Democrats who will vote for Zeldin. They say Hochul’s lack of concern about rising crime led to their choice. Matthew McDermott Not far from Wong’s home in Elmhurst live John Schaffer, a computer engineer, and his wife, Luz, who works in catering. Luz is Hispanic and a longtime Democrat. Her husband is a white, registered Democrat who also considers himself conservative. Despite voting Democratic in the past, the couple displays a Halloween-themed Zeldin sign in their front yard. “Kathy Hochul, just in the conversation, you could see that crime was not important to her,” said John, who did not give his age. “What he actually said was, why is it important?” John said he drives his wife to and from work if he has to leave very early or come home late because they both fear the rampant subway crime. During her conversation with Zeldin, Shaffer said, it was clear that Hotchul had no interest in crime.AP “It’s just not safe,” he said. “We saw the videos. For that reason alone I vote for Zeldin. But there is much more. The Democratic Party has become so corrupt in every way.” “You can see how the city is going down,” added Luz, who also did not give her age. “You see so many homeless people, so many dangerous people. Everyone is scared and we wish the city would go back to how it was before.” In the nearby Queens neighborhood of Woodside, one-time Democrat Lucy Hensley, 51, who was born in Venezuela, displays a Zeldin sign outside the modest two-story home she shares with her husband, Luis Vielma. Venezuelan-born Lucy Hensley said she fears the left-wing policies of the current Democratic party, which she no longer supports. Matthew McDermott “We came here with nothing,” Hensley said. “We had zero and now we have a nice life without ever having to depend on the government. But what we are seeing in the US thanks to democratic policies is a disaster. Being Venezuelans, we understand more than many others perhaps what is going on. We saw this happen in Venezuela. We know how they start. We really hope Zeldin wins.” Most of the Zeldin signs The Post spotted in Queens are in Richmond Hill, helped in part by retired veteran prosecutor James Quinn, who lives on 112th Street. Quinn, a Republican, said he put up several Zeldin signs in his front yard, and several of his Democratic neighbors stopped by to get some for their own lawns. A registered Republican, James Quinn said many of his Democratic neighbors have taken some of his “Zeldin for Governor” signs to display on their own lawns. Matthew McDermott “I have a feeling there are a lot more people who have always voted Democratic but will vote Republican this year,” Quinn said. “I’m hearing them say they feel like there’s really no hope that Democratic politicians are going to reverse any of these crazy policies or do anything to help solve all the problems we’re seeing in the city.” One of Quinn’s neighbors is a longtime city police officer who has always voted Democratic. He didn’t want to be named publicly, but said he got a Zeldin sign from Quinn to hang outside his house and plans to vote Republican from now on. One of Quinn’s neighbors who got a Zeldin sign was a longtime city police officer who always voted Democratic, but told The Post, “We don’t identify with Democrats anymore.” Matthew McDermott “All the violence we see and all the inflation and corruption is too much for me and my family,” he told The Post. “We no longer identify with the Democrats. They are out of touch with the middle class and community people. Everyone has an agenda, believing that all you need to do is be like a liberal. They think everyone is liberal like that, but we’re not. Our values are much more aligned now with what conservatives want.”
