A Torch Passed: Vivian E. Cook Hands Southeast Queens’ Future To Nathaniel Hezekiah III

By Edwin Freeman, Black Star News Photos: Edwin Freeman For thirty-five years, Vivian E. Cook has been Southeast Queens in Albany, the voice in the room when the room forgot who it was supposed to serve. She was the first Black woman to represent the 32nd Assembly District, and in a political era that often rewards noise over substance, she built a legacy on something quieter and harder: showing up, year after year, for Jamaica, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, and the working families who call this corner of Queens home. Now, as she prepares to step away from the seat she has held since 1991, Cook has made her choice clear. She is endorsing Nathaniel Hezekiah III to carry her work forward, and that endorsement alone is reshaping a crowded, closely watched Democratic primary. It is not a small thing for an outgoing assemblywoman of Cook’s stature to hand the baton to a single candidate. In Southeast Queens, where institutional memory is currency, her support functions less like an electoral nicety and more like a passing of trust. Hezekiah has said as much himself, describing his campaign as one that stands on Cook’s shoulders rather than around her shadow. A Candidate Built From the Community He Hopes to Serve Hezekiah’s story is not the story of an outsider parachuting into a district for political opportunity. Born and raised in South Jamaica, he carries nearly two decades of public service into this race, including years spent as Deputy Chief of Staff to Congressman Gregory Meeks, work that placed him squarely inside the machinery of constituent advocacy long before he ever sought office himself. His path into that work was shaped early by personal loss, including the death of his father to gun violence, an experience he has cited as the reason he chose service over silence. That record has translated into a campaign built around the issue residents raise most: affordability. Hezekiah has centered his platform on protecting and expanding affordable housing, defending Mitchell-Lama protections, fighting deed theft, demanding overdue NYCHA repairs, strengthening Medicaid and public benefits, and expanding workforce and education pathways for the next generation of Southeast Queens families. A Coalition That Speaks for Itself What makes this campaign notable is not just who is at the center of it, but who has gathered around it. Hezekiah enters the final stretch before Election Day backed by an unusually broad coalition of elected officials and labor organizations, the kind of unified support that signals confidence from people who know this district best. Alongside Assemblywoman Cook’s endorsement, Hezekiah has earned the backing of Congressman Gregory Meeks, State Senator Leroy Comrie, Councilman Ty Hankerson, and Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman, elected leaders who have spent their own careers fighting for Southeast Queens and who are now putting their credibility behind his candidacy. The labor movement has rallied behind him with similar force. His campaign carries endorsements from 32BJ SEIU, the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters, the Hotel Trades Council, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, the Mason Tenders’ District Council, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local #1, the Tile, Marble & Terrazzo Union Local #7, NYSUT, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), LiUNA!, and Painters and Allied Trades DC9 of New York. Few candidates in this cycle have assembled union support this deep or this wide, a reflection of a record working people trust. What’s at Stake on June 23 The Democratic primary for the 32nd Assembly District is set for Tuesday, June 23, 2026, and early voting is open now. For a district that hasn’t had to choose a new representative in over three decades, this election is a genuine inflection point — a chance for Southeast Queens voters to decide not just who succeeds Vivian Cook, but how her legacy of accountability and presence continues. Hezekiah’s campaign has framed the choice plainly: experience that has already been tested, relationships already built, and a record of showing up before he ever asked for a vote. With Cook’s endorsement now anchoring a coalition that spans Congress, the State Senate, the City Council, and organized labor, his candidacy enters the final days of the primary with a depth of institutional support few challengers in this race can match. Voters who want to learn more about Nathaniel Hezekiah III, his platform, his record, and his full list of endorsements, can visit the official campaign website at nathanielfornewyork.com. Early voting is open now through Election Day, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Southeast Queens has a decision to make, and a torch, carefully held for thirty-five years, is waiting to see whose hands it lands in next. Edwin Freeman is a community advocate, journalist, and contributor to Black S