Queens Borough Director of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit
BY PETE DAVIS
For the past six months, Jennifer Manley has been working as the Queens Borough Director of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit (CAU) where she said her job is to be the eyes and ears of the mayor in the community.
“My job is to really connect with the community through a variety of different ways and bring the message to the community and bring the community back to City Hall,” Manley said.
Manley said there is hardly a typical day at the CAU, but much of the time is spent meeting with different community and civic organizations, listening to their problems or concerns and then trying to come up with ways to get them help. Oftentimes, she has found that many Queens groups do not have access to government, so meeting with them and telling them the services the city offers can often be a great first step.
Currently, Manley’s focus is on areas predominantly in western Queens as Andrew Barnes serves as a CAU Queens Director who covers eastern Queens. However, Manley noted that the abundance of civic, community and business groups in the borough can provide a challenge when there could be three different meetings scattered throughout the borough on a given night.
Prior to joining the Mayor’s CAU, Manley spent nearly two years working as a reporter and editor for The Queens Chronicle where she primarily covered western Queens and the arts beat. There, she developed many relationships with local community board members and civic representatives that have served as a foundation for the work she is continuing.
Manley said that although she could help people as a reporter, the possibilities of doing that with the CAU were even greater.
“There, we can even get results quicker for folks,” said.
