In a tribute to a trailblazing figure who was one of his most distinguished predecessors, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will preside over a ceremony Monday declaring “One Claire Shulman Way” as the vanity address of Queens Borough Hall, the building where she served for 16 years as the borough’s first female borough president.
The outdoor ceremony will be held April 26 at 11 a.m. in front of the main entrance, which has an official address of 120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens.
The sign displaying “One Claire Shulman Way” will be unveiled during the ceremony, which will feature remarks from Richards, former Borough President and current Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, and Council members Karen Koslowitz and Barry Grodenchik, who served in Schulman’s administration. Her children will also be in attendance.
“Claire Shulman was a larger-than-life figure who consistently defied expectations with her uncanny ability to get things done,” Richards said. “Her death last year was a huge loss to us all who relied on her friendship and counsel, but we keep her legacy and memory alive by permanently and prominently affixing her name to Queens Borough Hall.”
Shulman served as Queens Borough President from 1986 to 2002 and died on Aug. 16, 2020 at the age of 94.
As the highest elected official for more than two million people, she had a role in a wide range of issues including those related to land use, development of the city’s expense and capital budgets, economic development, and healthcare.
Among Shulman’s accomplishments are: the rezoning of dozens of neighborhoods to create appropriate zoning restrictions; generating reasonable and responsible development while preserving the character of the existing neighborhoods; the economic revitalization of many communities, particularly downtown Jamaica and western Queens; the expansion of the borough’s infrastructure; and increased funding for senior citizen centers, cultural programs and libraries.
“From now on, everyone who visits the people’s house will see the name of Claire Shulman and reflect the great work she did to build a better Queens,” Richards said. “I can’t think of a tribute more fitting that to have Claire’s name attached to the building where she worked so tirelessly on behalf of the borough she loved so much.”
