Sharon Lee | |
---|---|
20th Borough President of Queens | |
In office January 1, 2020 –December 2, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Melinda Katz |
Succeeded by | Donovan Richards |
Personal details | |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of Wisconsin,Madison |
Sharon Lee is an American Democratic politician from New York City. From January 2020 until December 2020,she served as the borough president of Queens through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. [1] [2] . Lee is the first person of Asian descent to serve as a borough president in the City of New York.
As the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the borough,Lee managed [3] the distribution of tons of pounds of food and support for small businesses [4] ,a dozen virtual job fairs [5] for out-of-work New Yorkers,2020 presidential election amidst the pandemic,funding for hospital services including doubling the number of SANE nurses across Queens hospitals [6] ,championed racial justice [7] in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd,and helped boost Queens County's count in the 2020 United States Census [8] .
Some of her signature public investments included a $1 million allocation to fully fund the FDNY's Decontamination Specialization Unit [9] in Corona,Queens to purchase and install new equipment necessary for cleaning firefighters' equipment,and a $5.4 million allocation to fully fund cutting-edge cancer treatment technology at the oncology unit of Elmhurst Hospital,one of Queens' two public hospitals [10] . Lee also weighed in on key land use issues —including a recommendation opposing the 2020 Flushing Waterfront rezoning plan [11] .
Lee was an early outspoken leader amidst the scourge in anti-Asian hate [12] ,especially in the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings [13] . [14]
Previously,she served as Deputy Queens Borough President from November 2018 through December 2019. [15]
Lee was appointed deputy borough president in November 2018. [16] Lee took over as borough president from Melinda Katz in January 2020,who was elected Queens District Attorney in November 2019. [17] Lee oversaw the borough's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. [18]
Prior to that,Lee served as the Executive Director of the Transition Committee for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz from November-December 2019,and as Communications Director for the Queens Borough President from November 2014-October 2018.
Previously,Lee served as Senior Advisor and Press Secretary to former New York City Comptroller John Liu from September 2009-December 2013. Lee was instrumental in innovative priorities such as the Pension Investment Reform Proposal [19] of 2011 between Comptroller Liu and Mayor Michael Bloomberg,and Retirement Security Initiative NYC in 2011 between Comptroller Liu and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis [20] . Lee helped develop and execute strategies for award-winning transparency initiatives such as Checkbook NYC in 2010 [21] that launched unprecedented access to information about the City’s expenditures,and MWBE Report Card NYC in 2021,a performance measurement tool to publicly track City agencies’progress in achieving their MWBE goals. [22] . She was also an integral member of the team that identified and exposed the fraud and mismanagement of the infamous CityTime case in 2010,which ultimately led to the recoupment of an historic $500 million for the City of New York. [23] [24]
She served as Policy Director and Press Secretary to former New York City Councilmember and Transportation Committee Chair John Liu from 2006-2009.
Lee opposes cuts in healthcare spending. [25] She did not run for reelection. [26]
Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east,Jackson Heights to the west,Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south,Elmhurst to the southwest,and East Elmhurst to the north. Corona's main thoroughfares include Corona Avenue,Roosevelt Avenue,Northern Boulevard,Junction Boulevard,and 108th Street.
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north;the Long Island Expressway on the south;Junction Boulevard on the east;and the New York Connecting Railroad on the west.
David Ira Weprin is a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly,representing District 24 in Queens since 2010,when he replaced his brother Mark. In the Assembly he has supported progressive causes,such as a surcharge on millionaires,and granting immediate parole to prisoners who have reached 55 years of age and served 15 years in prison,regardless of their sentence. He was previously a member of the New York City Council,representing the 23rd district. He is also a former Deputy Superintendent of the NY State Banking Commission (1983–87).
East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona,to the north and east by Bowery Bay,and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars Steinway. The area also includes LaGuardia Airport,located on the shore of Flushing Bay,LaGuardia Landing Lights Fields,and Astoria Heights.
John Chun Yah Liu is an American politician in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party,he is a member of the New York State Senate for the 16th district in northeast Queens. He previously served as the 43rd New York City Comptroller from 2010 to 2013,and as a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2009,representing the 20th district in northeast Queens. He was the first Asian American New York City Council member and Comptroller,and one of the first two Asian American New York State Senators,as well as the first elected to legislative or citywide office in New York. He was also a candidate in the 2013 New York City mayoral election.
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William Colridge Thompson Jr. is an American politician who served as the 42nd Comptroller of New York City;sworn into office on January 1,2002,he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1,2006. He did not seek re-election in 2009. Instead he ran for mayor,and he was succeeded as comptroller by John Liu. On June 15,2016,Thompson was appointed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo as chairman of the board of trustees of The City University of New York;his term ended in June 2022.
Melinda R. Katz is an American attorney and politician from New York City,serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1,2020. A Democrat,she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a New York City Councilwoman from 2002 to 2009. She had previously run for City Comptroller in 2009. In June 2019,Katz won the Democratic nomination for Queens County's District Attorney,and won the general election in November 2019.
Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC),also known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst,is a 545-bed public hospital in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is one of the 11 acute care hospitals of NYC Health + Hospitals,a public benefit corporation of the city.
Costa Constantinides is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New York City Council from the 22nd district. The district includes Astoria,East Elmhurst,part of Long Island City,Rikers Island and part of Woodside in Queens.
There are multiple Chinatowns in the borough of Queens in New York City. The original Queens Chinatown emerged in Flushing,initially as a satellite of the original Manhattan Chinatown,before evolving its own identity,surpassing in scale the original Manhattan Chinatown,and subsequently,in turn,spawning its own satellite Chinatowns in Elmhurst,Corona,and eastern Queens. As of 2023,illegal Chinese immigration to New York has accelerated,and its Flushing neighborhood has become the present-day global epicenter receiving Chinese immigration as well as the international control center directing such migration. As of 2024,a significant new wave of Chinese Uyghur Muslims is fleeing religious persecution in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Province and seeking religious freedom in New York,and concentrating in Queens.
Old Town of Flushing Burial Ground is a historic cemetery located in Flushing,Queens,New York City. It was established in 1840 and known as The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground. It was the result of Cholera and Smallpox epidemics in 1840 and 1844,added by town elders north of Flushing Cemetery due to fears of contamination of church burial grounds. Once known as "Pauper Burial Ground","Colored Cemetery of Flushing" and "Martins Field",it was purchased by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation on December 2,1914,and renamed in 2009 to "The Olde Towne of Flushing Burial Ground".
The Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival is the second oldest and second-largest pride parade in New York City. It is held annually in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights,located in the New York City borough of Queens. The parade was founded by Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez to raise the visibility of the LGBTQ community in Queens and memorialize Jackson Heights resident Julio Rivera. Queens also serves as the largest transgender hub in the Western hemisphere and is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.
Tiffany Cabán is an American attorney,politician,and political organizer who has served as a member of the New York City Council for the 22nd District since the 2021 New York City Council election. She won the Democratic primary for the seat after the incumbent,Democrat Costa Constantinides,retired.
The 2019 Queens County District Attorney election was held on November 5,2019,to elect the Queens County District Attorney. The incumbent,Richard Brown,had announced in January 2019 that he would not seek an eighth term;Brown then died in office that May at the age of 86.
The Queens Night Market,also known as the Queens International Night Market,is New York City's first open-air space inspired by the Asian night market phenomenon. The event launched in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens in April 2015,with 40 vendors. Since then,it operates on Saturday nights from April through October. As of 2019,the event averages over 10,000 visitors on Saturday nights.
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