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It's not often that an FDNY firefighter looks to depart the world of emergency response for City Hall, but that's exactly what Ben Chou, a firefighter with Engine 298 in Jamaica, is hoping to do.
The northeast Queens native won June's Democratic primary for the District 19 City Council seat and he now faces controversial Republican Council Member Vickie Paladino in next month's general election contest to see who gets to represent Bayside, College Point, Douglaston, Little Neck, Whitestone and parts of North Flushing on the 51-member body.
Chou has raised more than $55,000 and received over $334,700 in public funds according to the city's Campaign Finance Board. But the 11-year firefighter faces an uphill battle against an entrenched incumbent with an estimated $132,983 on hand. The district has far more registered Democrats than Republicans but voted for Donald Trump in last year's presidential election and is made up of a plurality of white voters, along with a growing Asian population.
Paladino, bidding for her second term, has been criticized by her colleagues in the Council for, among other controversies, calling for the Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani, a U.S citizen, to be deported. In a race centered on local issues, such as property taxes, airplane noise from LaGuardia airport and the construction of a waterfront greenway — which Chou supports and Paladino opposes — Chou emphasizes his working-class roots and lifelong ties to northeast Queens.
The son of Chinese-Burmese immigrants, Chou grew up in Douglaston, attended the Bronx High School of Science and is president of the FDNY's Phoenix Society, the fraternal organization of the department’s personnel who are Asian. On Wednesday, the firefighter spoke by phone with The Chief from his firehouse, saying that he's a "working class man" seeking to "represent the everyday working-class" in Queens.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Chief: Firefighting is a pretty different job from lawmaking and politicking. What pushed you, and how did you decide to run for this seat?
Ben Chou: I've been a firefighter for the past 11 years now. I've been actively involved in community events as president of the FDNY Phoenix Society as well as various roles with community affairs, fire safety and recruitment and I just see how much good can be done proactively in prevention and on the legislative side.
TC: I noticed on your website at the top of your platform you have a statement on hate crime prevention and how District 19 is "no place to hate." What inspired you to have that at the top of our platform?
BC: We actually have seen an increase in the district in hate crimes. Something that we've experienced maybe because of the [political] climate of what's going on, how polarizing things are and how highlighted differences are. And that difference is separating us rather than bringing us together, which may correlate to more hate crimes. But it's 2025, this is something we should be able to overcome.
TC: Does your experience in the FDNY and as president of the Phoenix Society have anything to do with that emphasis on hate crimes?
BC: Absolutely. I believe so. Especially because most of the members who join the organization are first-generation firefighters with barely any friends or family on the job. Just hearing a lot of their concerns when they reach out, their questions about the culture and traditions of the fire department, you see how there's a learning curve. Even with the Phoenix Society this year we did our first cultural collaboration event with the Emerald Society, we did the Whiskey and Wontons event, and you can just see how the atmosphere — when you collaborate rather than highlight differences, when you bring cultures together — how big of a celebration that was.
TC: Do you see that as a contrast to the rhetoric of your opponent? In the past she's called for Zohran Mamdani's deportation, she said that drag queen story hours are "child grooming," does that also have to do with you emphasizing this point?
BC: I definitely don't agree with most of her statements. We sign up with this job to help people, you know, and any rhetoric that causes any divide is something that we shouldn't be promoting, definitely not something coming out of, you know, a district I grew up in. I firmly believe a lot of my fellow district residents feel strongly about this as well.
TC: And you also have a position on your website calling for FDNY EMS workers to get a raise and for their equipment to be modernized. What has responding to emergencies alongside them shown you about their working conditions?
BC: Oh it's rough. I'm not sure if you're aware of [Engine] 298 — we're the busiest company in Queens. Whenever we go on EMS runs you see some of the conditions and the hours. As Phoenix Society president we also represent, we take members from all three bureaus including EMS. So hearing a lot of the concerns with pay parity and livable wages, I mean, they're stuck with some terrible situations.
TC: You said on your website that you support a City Council bill aimed at protecting retiree healthcare. Why is that? Why do you support that bill and retiree choice in that way?
BC: Well a big thing is empathy, I'm already a little halfway through my career. After decades of service to the city, the last thing you want is to have to worry about your healthcare. You sacrifice so much to serve the city and now you have to worry about healthcare? It's something that I can relate to. So if I was in that boat, I'd be just as infuriated.
TC: What do you think the City Council's top priorities should be next year?
BC: Public safety is always at the precipice of my mind. Things you notice, things that you see on runs and how so much can be prevented with legislative [action]. On top of that right now, definitely affordability and rebuilding a sense of community within our city from issues that are polarizing and we can come together. It's the residents of this city, the people of this city that suffer.
TC: And there's currently a fight going on because much of the City Council is opposing two ballot measures that New Yorker's will vote on this fall that proponents say would make it easier to build affordable housing. But I'm wondering, do you agree with Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and others in Council leadership that these changes would cut out community input and spur gentrification?
BC: I do, I think the power should still hold with the City Council. To put a blanket [policy] over the entire city is not something I agree with. Every neighborhood is different, from Bayside to the Upper East Side, these are two different neighborhoods and to have one set of rules, we're trusting one person to make a decision when they don't come from that neighborhood seems unrealistic to me.
TC: I've noticed in your campaign you've relied on social media to get the word out, including videos on extending the 7 train, and you did a tour of Douglaston, both of those got tens of thousands of views. I'm wondering what your strategy is behind that messaging and outreach.
BC: A big thing that's important to me is to show local politics has always been meant to be a position for the people. A lot of these videos and this outreach I'm showing that I am a working-class man, I'm in the trenches with everyone. I'm not one of the disconnected, established politicians that have [big] donors, that can take a whole year off from work and still manage to survive. Who better to represent the everyday working class than someone in the working class?
TC: Have you run into any challenges campaigning while working as a firefighter?
BC: There's definitely been (laughs). It definitely has taken a toll, there's been some personal sacrifices that have to be made. I get off the 24 [hour shift] and I go hit the doors, I go to events and try to schedule my twenty-fours around it. It's been rewarding though, you see different aspects. Coming from the job you see people in an emergency sense, you know, frantic or they need help. This is more like being able to hear people's concerns before the fact is a completely different avenue that I've grown to appreciate.
TC: Who do you want to win the mayor's race this fall?
BC: Currently I'm still undecided.
TC: That's pretty much all of my questions, is there something I didn't ask you about that you wanted to mention?
BC: Back on the rhetoric, I forgot to mention that any rhetoric of deporting American citizens is something that we can't tolerate, I almost forgot to mention that.
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