Quantcast

Claire Shulman Queens Borough President

In 1986, Claire Shulman became the first woman to be elected Borough President of Queens County. As the highest-ranking elected official in a Borough of almost two million people, Ms. Shulman plays a major role in a wide range of land use issues, the development of the City’s expense and capital budget’s and makes recommendations to the Mayor and other city officials that are in the interests of the people of the Borough.
Ms. Shulman is a graduate of Adelphi University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. In 1993, she received an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the College of Aeronautics. In 1998, CUNY Law School presented her with the Dean’s Medal. She is also the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Queens College Medal and the LaGuardia Community College Medal. She is also a member of Lambda Alpha International, an honorary professional land economics society.
She began her professional career as a registered nurse at Queens Hospital Center, where she also met her future husband, Dr. Melvin Shulman. While raising a family, Ms. Shulman was active in a variety of civic and charitable organizations and eventually was elected in 1968 as Chairperson of Community Board 11 in Bayside.
In 1972, Ms. Shulman was appointed as Director of Queens Community Boards, a post in which she served until Aug. 18, 1980, when she was appointed Deputy Borough President. She served as Deputy Borough President for more than five years. On Jan. 28, 1986 she assumed the post of Acting borough President, and on March 12, 1986 was designated Borough President by a unanimous vote of the Queens delegation of the City Council. Later that year, she was elected to a three-year term as Borough President and was re-elected in 1989 to a full four-year term after garnering 86 percent of the vote. In 1993, she was re-elected to a third term.
Ms. Shulman’s major accomplishments as Borough President have included: the rezoning of dozens of neighborhoods to create appropriate zoning restrictions that generate reasonable and responsible development, while preserving the character of existing neighborhoods; the economic revitalization of many communities, particularly downtown Jamaica and western Queens; expansion of the Borough’s economic base; record capital construction programs to improve the Borough’s infrastructure; increased funding for senior citizen centers and activities, cultural programs and libraries. She has also been largely responsible for the passage of legislation to reform the co-op/condo conversion process.