By Ivan Pereira
City Councilman Thomas White (D-South Ozone Park) died Friday morning, after a battle with cancer, city officials said. He was 71.
White’s office informed the Council and Community Board 12 Friday morning that he had died but gave no further details on the cause of his death or where he spent his final moments, according to the board’s chairwoman, Adjoa Gzifa.
“I was apprised of it yesterday that he was not doing well, and that it was a matter of days,” she said in a phone interview Friday.
The chairwoman said she believed he died of lung cancer. There was no one in White’s office available for comment Friday afternoon.
White is survived by his mother, two children and several grandchildren. Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed his condolences in a statement released after the announcement of his death.
“He served as Chair of the Council’s economic development committee, and because of his efforts, we were able to create programs that range from providing loans to help small businesses stay afloat and grow to helping New Yorkers avoid foreclosures. Tom’s legacy will live on in the results of his work, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones,” Bloomberg said.
The councilman, who was serving his second consecutive term in office after an earlier stint in the 1990s, was also the co-founder and executive director of J-CAP, a drug rehab center in southeast Queens.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) praised White’s work both in and out of City Hall.
““He searched for ways to break the cycle of poverty and violence. He fought for job training and placement programs, and investments in long-term economic growth. He had a particular soft spot for women and minority business owners, pushing for additional resources to help them stay afloat and create good jobs for their neighbors,” she said in a statement.
White served as the Council member for 10 years until he was term-limited out of office in 2001. He returned to the post after defeating incumbent Allan Jennings in the 2005 Democratic primary.
City Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton) said he was saddened by White’s death because he helped to change the political scene in southeast Queens.
“The passing of my friend and colleague Tom White is truly a changing of the guard. Tom represents one of the pioneers in southeast Queens politics and opened the door for us to come through. His sense of humor and good manners will surely be missed,” he said.
State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) also remarked on how White helped revitalize the neighborhood during his tenure.
“His support for the commercial revitalization of economically distressed areas, and expansion of opportunities for minority and women owned businesses created countless jobs and helped families struggling to get by put food on their tables and pay their bills,” he said in a statement.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected since publication to reflect the fact that Thomas White is survived by his mother, two children and several grandchildren.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
