Barnwell promises to be a transparent pol

Brian Barnwell doesn’t want to be known simply as the guy who took down longtime incumbent Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Maspeth) in September’s primary.

The Woodside attorney wants the constituents of the 30th District to know that — should they vote for him on Nov. 8 — they will have arguably the most open and transparent representative in Albany.

“I plan on keeping my cell phone number that I’ve given out as long as people aren’t calling and threatening to kill me or something like that,” Barnwell said in a Monday interview with the Chronicle editorial board. “I was on the phone last night for a half hour until 10:30 p.m. with a constituent. This is a full-time job for me, personally.”

Barnwell, a former staffer with Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), was a relative unknown in Queens political circles until he thrashed Markey by 28 points last month.

But he’s been campaigning for more than a year across the district, attending various civic meetings, knocking on doors and distributing handwritten letters instead of generic mailers five days a week.

Barnwell said he hasn’t changed his campaign strategy at all once he disposed of Markey, he’s just brought on a few more paid staffers and volunteers to help him reach more district residents.

“I’m running my campaign like I ran the previous one, making calls, knocking on doors and interacting with voters,” he said. “Every minute, every day.”

In addition to campaigning, Barnwell has spent much of the last two months protesting the Maspeth Holiday Inn’s conversion into a homeless shelter for 110 adult families — alongside his Republican opponent, Tony Nunziato, and countless neighborhood residents.

Markey’s perceived lack of leadership on the issue certainly contributed to her defeat, and Barnwell said the community’s anger at her and the evolving plan has inspired him to make addressing the state’s homelessness crisis one of his top priorities.

The attorney specifically said he will fight New York’s right-to-shelter law should he win next month, something many in Maspeth have been calling for.

“You can’t take people from Oklahoma or Utah. You need an actual residency requirement,” he said. “You want to help that person, but you have to draw the line. Every time we take in people from out of state, we’re screwing over people in-state.”

When asked how he would accomplish a presumably daunting legislative task — which he admitted would most likely involve amending the state Constitution — Barnwell said he would be willing to challenge the controversial law in court.

“It would be hard, yes, but it’s worth a shot,” he said. “We have a crisis and we need to solve the crisis. It seems like politicians just want to throw their hands in the air and complain.”

If he wins in November, Barnwell said, he is also interested in challenging the federal government’s area median income formula in court, as it pertains to affordable housing in New York City.

The equation, which eligibility standards in affordable housing units are based on, includes income levels in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, in addition to the five boroughs.

That AMI formula, Barnwell says, should be based on ZIP code, not median income levels across eight counties, where some communities are wealthier than various Queens neighborhoods.

“What’s affordable in Astoria or Woodside is not what’s affordable in Westchester,” he said. “Make it a state formula, ZIP code by ZIP code, so what’s actually affordable in Astoria can be deemed affordable in Astoria.”

When asked about solutions to school overcrowding throughout his district, Barnwell proposed that developers of luxury residential buildings be forced to first build a school before moving on to their own plan in exchange for a hefty tax break.

He acknowledged the proposal had not been fully fleshed out yet when pressed about the exact size of the tax incentive, but said there needs to be more unconventional thinking in Albany.

“It’s just an idea. Is it going to work? I don’t know,” he said. “Thinking outside the box, unlike what we usually do.”

On a more local level, Barnwell said he wants to involve his constituents in government as much as possible.

The attorney said he would consider bringing an informal participatory budgeting process to the district, where he may hold public town halls to help determine what organizations should receive state funding.

“Accountability but also accessibility,” he said. “That’s key.”

Should he be elected, Barnwell would also ask his constituents to report any community issues directly to his office and not bother with calling 311. That way, he said, he could learn and take action on problems much quicker.

“That will be a big difference you’re going to see,” he said. “You are going to be able to use your representative’s office to help you solve local problems.”

When asked about running against someone he is friendly with, Barnwell was nothing but complimentary of Nunziato, saying the district will have a motivated leader no matter who wins.

“Tony has been a voice for the community for a long time,” he said.

But at the end of the day, Barnwell said electing a lawyer to craft and challenge the law would be in the district’s best interest come Nov. 8.

“Markey and Tony have both been in the community longer, but my advantage has always been being an attorney,” the upstart Democrat said. “I can highlight solutions to problems legally and can solve problems that other individuals may not know how to solve.”

The 30th District includes most of Maspeth and Middle Village, parts of Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City and Astoria and two blocks of western Rego Park.