Queens Borough President-elect Melinda Katz, right, will replace current Borough President Helen Marshall, left, come January. File Photo
The New Year’s Eve countdown next week will usher in a lot more than just the start of another spin around the sun if you’re Queens Borough President-elect Melinda Katz.
The former eight-year councilwoman has been working with her transition team to establish priorities – both long and short term – before assuming the office of the three-term predecessor Borough President Helen Marshall. And with excitement mounting over the change in leadership, Katz said she was more than ready to live up to the task.
“It’s not necessarily just about the person,” Katz said. “It’s about what the borough president’s office can do, and we are going to be very active with the priorities I’ve laid out. I will work hard and keep this borough a great place.”
Though she has yet to formally roll out her entire new administration lineup, Katz made headlines earlier this month when she announced her former Democratic opponent City Councilman and Land Use Committee Chairman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) as her deputy borough president. She also tapped Jay Bond, her former policy adviser from her days in the City Council, as chief of staff.
The incoming Queens leader said she would announce her entire administration in one block soon after the new year. But until then, her transition team has continued interviewing for other parts of the incoming administration, she said.
“My administration is going to reflect a lot of the issues we talked about in the campaign, said Katz, who bested term-limited Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) in the primary and Republican Tony Arcabascio in the general election. “We are working quickly to have a lot of folks in place so we can really hit the ground running. We are very excited.”
Comrie did not return requests seeking comment on his transition into the deputy role.
Katz, who also once chaired the City Council’s Land Use Committee, said her office would make economic development and tourism two of its top priorities in the long term, with a keen focus on showcasing and celebrating the diversity in Queens. But in the short term, some of her most immediate goals included making sure that ferry service to the Rockaways continues after the Jan. 31 expiration date.
The new administration will also be quick to jump on the city’s 2014 budget discussions to make sure that Queens gets its fair cut of the cash – something that Katz has repeatedly said has not happened throughout recent history.
“We need to make sure that certain budget issues are taken care of straight away,” Katz said. “That’s the only way to make sure we can get funding to Queens for programs that we care about.”
The incoming borough president’s language was in-tune with some of the borough’s civic leaders, including Ed Wendell of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, who said he hoped Katz would keep the Queens economy and development at the top of her list. Wendell, a lifelong Queens resident, said it was time the borough president addressed what kinds of businesses make up its commercial districts and keep development in character with the community.
“We need a Queens borough president who will be part resident, part activist. Someone who will seriously defend the community of Queens,” he said. “She needs to keep an eye on protecting our communities from development and make sure everyone is on board with it.”
Community Board 5 Chairman Vinny Arcuri said much of the same, adding that economic development would be a major task on Katz’s watch.
“We have a lot of people and we need jobs,” he said. “I think there will be a new dynamic with Katz in there. She’s starting fresh and I think she will throw herself 100 percent into everything.”
Michael Krasner, a political science professor at Queens College, was as optimistic as Katz herself when discussing the impact she might have once assuming the new role as Queens’ newest ambassador and advocate. He said her lengthy resume of public service experience should work in her benefit.
Krasner gave Katz the thumbs up and said she connected well with her constituents.
“She has a considerable background on development issues. I think that’s where her focus would be,” Krasner said. “I’m sure she will be active in women’s issues as well. I’m confident she’s going to do a really excellent job as borough president.”
By Phil Corso
