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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MARCH 25 - MARCH 31, 2022
Richmond Hill resident becomes fi rst Indo-Caribbean
woman elected as chairperson of Community Board 9
Four years later, Algredo
said she never thought
she would be running to
become chair of CB 9. She
understood the late nights,
sacrifices and responsibilities
that would come with
the leadership position.
Once she spoke to her family
about it, she decided to
take a chance and ran a
campaign.
“There’s not a lot of
Trinidadians and Tobagonians
living in New York
that have been able to step
up to civil service work at
such a high level,” Algredo
said. “It was also a driving
factor of an immigrant
coming to this country, and
picking up a civil service
job that isn’t compensated.
When you see someone doing
this kind of work, it’s
with passion and not about
a paycheck. I saw the responsibility
and said I’m
capable of handling it.”
Algredo says she looks
forward to continuing
working with the board
members on tackling
quality-of-life issues in
the district, among other
things.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Sherry Algredo of Community
Board 9 made
history on International
Women’s Day as the
Richmond Hill resident became
the first Trinidadian
Indo-Caribbean woman
elected to become the next
chairperson of the board.
“I did not win this election
alone. I won because of
18 people who sat there and
believed in my leadership.
I didn’t do it. We did it that
night. It’s gonna be the full
board, working together as
a team,” said Algredo, who
is the first vice chair of CB
9.
During its first in-person
meeting on March 8 at
the Helen Marshall Cultural
Center, located at 120-55
Queens Blvd., board members
voted 19-16 in support
of Algredo, who will succeed
Kenichi Wilson, the
current board chair, on
April 1.
Wilson will assume Algredo’s
role of first vice
chair, while Sandra Datnarain
will serve as second
vice chair, and John Carter
will serve as as treasurer.
Community Board 9
covers the neighborhoods
of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven,
Ozone Park and Kew
Gardens.
When Algredo thought
that Wilson, who had
served three terms, was
ineligible for re-election,
she was shocked to find
out that she was running
against him that night, she
said.
In New York City, community
board chairs may
serve up to four consecutive
two-year terms but
individual boards can enact
bylaws to lessen their
tenure. Algredo was under
the impression that CB 9
restricted chairs to three
consecutive years but due
to an oversight, that bylaw
wasn’t permanently enacted.
Algredo thought she
didn’t stand a chance
against Wilson but kept
faith even though the odds
were stacked against her,
she said.
“I thought for a moment
about giving up. Kenichi
is well respected in the
neighborhood and he’s
been chair for three years,
and has been everywhere
and has the most experience
than anyone else on
the board,” Algredo said.
“I had thought about not
running anymore, but then
I looked at all the people
that came out here hoping
for me to step up and make
some history, especially in
the Indo-Caribbean community.”
Algredo’s inspiration to
run for chair of CB 9 stems
from her father’s career as
president of the Red Cross
in Trinidad for 25 years
and family members in civil
service. When she immigrated
to the United States
in 1994, she settled in Richmond
Hill and became part
of the community, where
she met her late best friend,
Gertrude Rausch, who also
served as an inspiration in
her life.
“She always had faith
in me and thought that if I
wanted to reach for the sky,
that I could make it there.
We were best friends and
she became like a mother
to me. I didn’t have my parents
over here and when
I stopped working to take
care of my kids, I told her
that I had so much knowledge
and wanted to do
something,” Algredo said.
In 2013, Algredo decided
to join the Education Community
Council (CEC). In
2018, she joined CB 9, and
one year later, she became
chair of the Education
Committee.
“I saw how I can use
my position to talk about
education and help the
schools,” Algredo said.
“I have great committee
members that showed up
and were proactive and we
worked very well together.
Some of them have been on
the board for over 20 years,
and even though I was
chair, I was learning from
them.”
/QNS.COM
