By Nathan Duke
Astoria community leaders turned out last week to dedicate a Long Island City post office to Geraldine Ferraro, who became the first woman to be nominated for vice president of the United States in 1984.
The post office, at 46-02 21st St. in Long Island City, was renamed the “Geraldine Ferraro Post Office Building” last Thursday. Ferraro, who lived in Forest Hills Gardens, was first elected to Congress in 1978 and later served as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights under former President Bill Clinton.
In 1984, she was chosen as the vice presidential nominee for Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale, but the ticket was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan running with George H.W. Bush.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) and a bevy of Queens elected officials paid tribute to Ferraro.
“She has been our friend, our congresswoman and, to many women, our heroine,” Maloney said. “She has inspired and empowered so many of us. She didn’t just make history — she shaped it.”
The event was held in conjunction with Ferraro’s 75th birthday.
Ferraro said her candidacy paved the way for numerous women in politics, including Hillary Clinton, who ran for president in 2008 and currently serves as the U.S. secretary of state.
“In 1984, we took down the door at the White House that said women can’t come in,” she said. “When Hillary ran in 2008, no one questioned her credentials because she was a woman.”
Prior to being elected to Congress, Ferraro worked for the Queens district attorney’s office, where she headed up the special victims bureau.
A number of other leaders attended the post office ceremony last week, including U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Barbara Kennelly as well as Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, Queens DA Richard Brown, state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) and City Councilmen Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside).
The bill to rename the post office was sponsored by Maloney and signed into law Aug. 19 by President Barack Obama.
“When you’re in, you’re in and when you’re out, you’re out,” Ferraro told the crowd. “I’ve never felt out and that’s because of my friends. I’m not finished yet.”
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
