8 MARCH 11, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
‘QUEENS WILL RISE’
Richards outlines vision for the future of Queens
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Nearly one year to the day aft er Queens’ fi rst
case of COVID-19 was confi rmed in Far Rockaway,
Queens, Borough President Donovan
Richards on Wednesday, March 3, delivered his fi rst
State of the Borough address virtually. He detailed
his administration’s accomplishments within the
fi rst 100 days, and presented an outline for Queens’
path out of the COVID-19 pandemic off ering a bold
vision for a borough freed of systemic inequities.
“Our message today to all, hear it loud and hear it
proud: Queens will lead the way out of this pandemic.
Queens will lead eff orts to address health disparities,
economic disparities and racial and gender disparities,”
Richards said. “We will create a more just society,
a more just borough, and together we will improve
the quality of life for all who call Queens home.”
Filmed at the Museum of the Moving Image
(MoMI) in Astoria, the hourlong cinematic program
included the Presentation of Colors by the New York
Police Department Law Enforcement Explorers’ color
guard, a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”
by students from Astoria’s Frank Sinatra School of
the Arts High School, remarks from Deputy Borough
President Rhonda Binda, and a performance
by renowned Cambria Heights saxophonist Ashley
Keiko, founder of music academy Keiko Studios in
Queens Village.
Richards’ State of the Borough address outlined
a comprehensive vision of a borough freed of the
long-standing injustices in healthcare delivery,
housing, transportation, environmental policy
and more.
“The state of our borough is not where it ought
to be, for we have been decimated by the health
pandemic, the economic crisis and racial injustices,”
Richards said. “We, as a borough, as a people, have
an opportunity to choose how we defi ne ourselves.
As a borough, we will not stay down. Queens, we
will rise.”
In the past year, the U.S. has lost over 500,000
people nationwide due to COVID-19, with about
7,500 of them from Queens, according to Richards,
who noted it is the most deaths of any borough in
New York City.
“Those deaths were preventable. Those deaths
were systemic failures, not the science or the challenges
of the crisis alone. We were not prepared,”
Richards said.
As the city continued its eff orts to vaccinate as
many New Yorkers with the distribution of Moderna
and Pfi zer vaccines, while awaiting the newly
approved Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Richards
highlighted the lack of vaccination sites across
Queens.
Predominantly immigrant neighborhoods like
Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park, Richards said,
have few testing sites other than the mobile units
his offi ce helped bring to the area. Also, neighborhoods
in northeast Queens went for a long time
without having any vaccination sites nearby.
Though he is grateful for the opening of mass
vaccination centers at York College, Aqueduct
Racetrack, Martin Van Buren High School and
Citi Field — which he advocated for alongside his
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards delivers his fi rst State of the Borough address
virtually from the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Astoria on Wednesday, March 3.
colleagues — Richards said it’s not enough.
The borough president’s offi ce will continue to
work tirelessly with the city, state and the Biden
administration to immediately expand testing
and vaccine networks, Richards said, in addition
to hosting regional vaccination town halls to better
educate families on the importance of getting
vaccinated.
With nine hospital campuses in Queens, and with
the closure of four hospitals in the last 12 years,
Richards said the removal of more than 840 beds
and thousands of medical professionals and leaving
communities like Far Rockaway with even less
access to healthcare is “unacceptable.”
“This means pushing for more community-based
health centers, off ering preventative medicine
and keeping non-emergencies out of our crowded
emergency rooms,” Richards said. “This means
advocating for new hospital construction and increasing
funding to our existing hospitals — which
are already doing so much with far less than they
need.”
During his time in offi ce, Richards has off ered
assistance to Queens residents through a number
of initiatives, and has vowed to to bring forth transformative
opportunities to rebuild the borough’s
economy from the ground up.
To achieve these goals, Richards has pledged
to establish an Immigration Welcome Center at
Queens Borough Hall; create at least 2,000 units
of truly aff ordable housing; invest in upgrades
across Queens’ New York City Housing Authority
(NYCHA) housing developments; overhaul the
community board appointment process; establish
workforce training programs and other job creating
initiatives; ensure sustainability is at the heart
of all new land use projects subject to his review;
and more.
As highlighted in the address, these eff orts will
augment the numerous reforms Richards has
already put into motion over his fi rst two months
in offi ce, including the creation of the $17.5 million
Queens Small Business Grant program, which targeted
minority-owned businesses in communities
hardest hit by COVID-19 and in low-income areas
that needed help the most.
In the program’s fi rst month, according to Richards,
126 small businesses across Queens — from
Nepali restaurants in Jackson Heights to cosmetic
stores in Jamaica — have already been approved
for up to $20,000 in funding. Richards continues
to urge small business owners who are eligible to
receive the grants to contact his offi ce, and they will
receive help with the application process.
“These are the businesses that were too oft en
left empty-handed in the mad dash for the federal
Paycheck Protection Program loans last year. But
these are also businesses that together employ
thousands of Queens residents, with thousands
of families relying on the job opportunities they
create,” Richards said. “Helping just one storefront
keep the lights on and the doors open is worth it.
Other reforms Richards has launched include
digitizing the community board application to
greatly increase interest in membership, establishing
the Queens Solid Waste Advisory Board and
hosting an ongoing series of virtual job recruitment
fairs, a tradition that began last year under Sharon
Lee. More than 1,400 connections have been made
between Queens residents and employers in a wide
variety of industries, according to Richards.
Additionally, the borough president’s offi ce will
continue to promote tourism to Queens, support
cultural institutions, stimulate neighborhood economies
and demonstrate the “resilience, vibrancy
and richness of our borough,” Richards said.
“We will work diligently to secure a responsible
budget that works for all Queens residents, designating
funds towards healthcare, supporting career
training, combating food insecurity, providing
services to domestic violence survivors, aiding our
veterans, protecting our youth and our borough’s
most vulnerable, and so much more,” Richards
said.
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