By Michael V. Cusenza
With one eye on the future of Queens, and the other on the investments in affordable housing, economic development, clean energy, education and more that his administration has made over the past year, Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. delivered the 2024 State of the Borough address on Friday at the Claire Shulman Theatre within Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s iconic Queens Theatre.
In his address, the borough president put forth an admittedly bold vision to root out those inequities in housing, education, employment, the environment and more. Some of the speech’s major highlights included:
- The announcement of a diversity tech and innovation center — to be constructed in Long Island City — with the goal of connecting historically marginalized Black and brown entrepreneurs to the borough’s blossoming tech ecosystem.
- A call on city government to fund the construction of hydroponics labs in every New York City public school, building on Richards’ efforts to dramatically scale up the number of such labs in Queens schools.
- A celebration of historic affordable housing and community development projects at Willets Point in Northern Queens, the Creedmoor campus in Eastern Queens and across Far Rockaway, as well as a comprehensive neighborhood plan to rezone much of downtown Jamaica.
- Richards’ allocation of more than $30 million to Queens schools, $20.2 million to borough parks, $14.4 million for Queens healthcare institutions and more this year.
- A comprehensive look at Richards’ efforts to transform Queens into the nation’s leading clean energy hub through the reimagining of the Ravenswood Generating Station, the development of the Champlain Hudson Power Express and other climate-related projects.
“My friends, I have faith in you. I have faith in us. The state of our borough is stronger than ever because I have faith in our shared mission: To create a borough rooted in justice for all 2.4 million of us,” Richards said. “To overcome the cruelty and hardship of our world and build a borough that transcends our divisions. To not be prisoners of fate, but pioneers of a future worthy of our families.”
In concluding his 6,000-word speech, Richards noted, “We’ve talked a lot about injustice today, and the work we’ve done together to root it out. I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made, but that progress is under threat like never before.
“We are The World’s Borough. One-hundred ninety countries are represented here. More than 350 languages and dialects are spoken on our streets. The political and religious ideologies sprinkled throughout our communities are infinite.
“That diversity is our strength, but it can be our downfall if we’re not careful. Because we live in a world that is more divided now than at any other point in my lifetime.
“Pandemic-fueled bigotry threatened thousands of our AAPI neighbors in Queens. But we stood shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in that community to stop Asian hate.
“Our Sikh and LGBTQ communities have come under attack repeatedly, but never will we stop pushing back against prejudice.
“Most recently, the brutality that Hamas brought to Israel on Oct. 7, and the needless suffering in Gaza in the months after, has fanned the flames of distrust and disgust here in Queens.
“But we will not allow ourselves to be divided.”
