Diana Richardson

Last updated

Zellnor Myrie
​
(m. 2024)​
Diana Richardson
MTA Officially Renames Two Brooklyn Subway Stations - 50405873471 (cropped).jpg
Deputy Borough President of Brooklyn
In office
January 1, 2022 –October 17, 2022
Children1
Residence(s) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Education Medgar Evers College (BA)
Baruch College (MPA)

Diana Richardson (born January 16, 1983) is an American former progressive Democratic politician who served as a member of the New York Assembly. [1] She was elected on the Working Families Party line in a 2015 special election to replace Karim Camara in the 43rd district, which comprises the Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhoods of Brooklyn. [2] She also served as the deputy Brooklyn borough president for ten months in 2022, until she was fired.

Contents

Early life and education

Richardson was born in Brooklyn, to immigrant parents who came to the US from Aruba in the Caribbean in the 1960s, [3] [4] and raised in Crown Heights. [4] She attended Edward R. Murrow High School. [5]

Richardson has an undergraduate degree in public administration from Medgar Evers College ('08), and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, both campuses of the City University of New York. [3] [4]

Career

Richardson was a Brooklyn Community Board 9 member when the Crown Heights Tenant Union, an advocacy organization for tenants that organizes, educations, and helps residents in housing court cases, [6] [7] convinced her to run for an open New York Assembly seat on an anti-gentrification platform. [8]

2015–20

She won the May 2015 special election with just over 50% of the vote, [9] on the progressive Working Families Party (WFP) ballot line, the first to do so in the state legislature. [9] [10] She also won the general election the following November, on both the Democratic Party line as well as the WFP. [4]

In 2016, Richardson was arrested for hitting her 12-year-old son with a broomstick, leaving bruises on his arm, and was charged with second-degree assault (a felony), endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon, and menacing. [11] [12] [13] [14] She was released from police custody with a temporary order of protection against her, and her son was staying with a relative. [15] The felony charge was dropped in April 2017, though she still faced six misdemeanor charges. [16] Four years later she wrote on social media: "I’ll just call it what it is. I beat him." [11]

In 2018, she allegedly threw a significant temper tantrum at a meeting, verbally attacking New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie during a meeting. [17]

In 2020, Richardson was pepper-sprayed by the New York City Police Department while marching at a demonstration over the murder of George Floyd. [18]

Richardson faced a primary challenge in the 2020 elections from Jesse Hamilton. [19] She defeated Hamilton in a landslide. [20]

2021–present

In January 2022, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso selected Richardson to be the deputy borough president. [21]

On October 17, 2022, Richardson was fired by Reynoso for creating a toxic work environment, following a string of staff and constituent complaints about her behavior while she was working at Borough Hall. [22] [23] She had reportedly berated and cursed staff, had to be pulled away from a fight with a Crown Heights anti-violence program director before it became violent, set off smoke alarms in her Borough Hall office, refused to use email, and ignored COVID-19 precautions. [11]

In November 2022 she became engaged, and she is now married, to New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie. [24] [25]

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References

  1. ↑ "Assemblymember Diana Richardson named Deputy Borough President," Brooklyn Paper.
  2. ↑ VIVIAN YEEMAY 5, 2015 (May 5, 2015). "Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 "New York State Assembly | Diana C. Richardson". nyassembly.gov.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 6, 2016). "Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ↑ "Medgar Made: Diana Richardson’s lifelong journey spurred by Medgar Evers College," Medgar Evers College.
  6. ↑ "Crown Heights Tenant Union gains ground in landlord disputes". The Real Deal New York. April 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ Rosenberg, Eli (April 29, 2014). "Disparate Forces Align Over Affordable Rents (Published 2014)" . Retrieved February 19, 2021– via NYTimes.com.
  8. ↑ "The tenant movement's giant killer". The Real Deal New York. September 19, 2019.
  9. 1 2 Bellafante, Ginia (May 15, 2015). "Running on Rent, and Winning" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ↑ "Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post," The New York Times.
  11. 1 2 3 "Crown Heights Pol Diana Richardson Booted From Brooklyn Borough Hall," Patch.
  12. ↑ Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 7, 2016). "Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son (Published 2016)" . Retrieved February 19, 2021– via NYTimes.com.
  13. ↑ "NYC assemblywoman charged with beating son, 12, with broomstick". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Relativizing Discipline; When is child abuse not really child abuse? When it’s part of your heritage, apparently," City Journal.
  15. ↑ "Crown Heights Assemblywoman Arrested After Allegedly Hitting Son With Broomstick," Gothamist.
  16. ↑ CARREGA, CHRISTINA. "Brooklyn assemblywoman accused of beating son with broomstick sees felony assault charges dropped". nydailynews.com.
  17. ↑ "Brooklyn Borough Deputy President Diana Richardson Fired," Little Africa News.
  18. ↑ Troutman, Matt (May 29, 2020). "NYPD, Protesters Clash At Rally Over George Floyd Killing". Prospect Heights NY Patch.
  19. ↑ "Former Senator Jesse Hamilton is running for Assembly". BK Reader. June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  20. ↑ King, Nelson A. "Richardson thanks supporters for resounding victory - Caribbean Life". www.caribbeanlife.com.
  21. ↑ "Assembly Member Diana Richardson named Brooklyn deputy borough president - City & State New York". Cityandstateny.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso fires deputy Diana Richardson over toxic work environment". www.nydailynews.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Zellnor Myrie and Diana Richardson are engaged". City & State NY. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Zellnor Myrie and Diana Richardson are engaged," City & State.
  25. ↑ "Myrie delivers stump speech, but isn’t running for mayor (yet)," City & State.
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