8 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 11, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
‘Queens will rise:’ BP Richards outlines vision for the
future of Queens in virtual State of the Borough address
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
“Th e 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.
“Th e 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.
“Th ose deaths were preventable. Th ose
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.
Th ough 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 colleagues —
Richards said it’s not enough.
Th e 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.”
“Th is means pushing for more community
based health centers, off ering
preventative medicine and keeping nonemergencies
out of our crowded emergency
rooms,” Richards said. “Th is 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.
“Th ese 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 Boardand 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.
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.
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