Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. announced his 2024 class of community board appointees on Thursday, Apr. 4.
Out of 848 applicants, 355 public servants have been chosen to serve across the borough’s 14 community boards for the next two years, marking the largest influx of new members during Richards’ tenure.
The borough president lauded the new class of appointees for their dedication and willingness to serve, emphasizing the importance of their roles. “It takes dedication and a true love of one’s neighborhood to apply to serve on a community. That’s what each member of this historic 2024 class signed up to do,” said Richards.
The initiative represents an ongoing effort to correct long-standing demographic imbalances within the community boards. An increase in female representation is evident, with nearly 55% of the 117 new members identifying as female.
The composition of the new appointees also highlights strides in ethnic diversity, with notable representation from historically underrepresented groups. Hispanic/Latinx, African American and East Asian/Pacific Islander members have all seen increased numbers.
The appointment process also highlights a growing engagement among younger Queens residents in civic matters, with over half of the new members being under 45 years of age.
Community boards play a critical role in shaping city policy at the local level, addressing issues from the city budget to municipal services. They serve as a vital link between the community and the city government, making their composition critically important to ensuring that diverse voices are heard and considered.
Appointments to Queens’ community boards are curated by the borough president, in accordance with the City Charter. The process is designed to ensure a broad representation of the community’s voice, with at least half of the appointments originating from nominations by City Council Members from the respective community districts. Serving on a community board is a voluntary commitment, with each of the boards comprising up to 50 unsalaried members who volunteer their time for a term of two years.
The commitment to service doesn’t end automatically at the conclusion of their term; members who wish to extend their two-year tenure are required to reapply.
Borough President Richards’ 2024 appointments span across all 14 Queens community boards. The new appointees for the 2024-2026 term are as follows:
Community Board 1 (Astoria, Old Astoria, Long Island City, Queensbridge, Ditmars, Ravenswood, Steinway, Garden Bay, Woodside):
Daniel Aliberti, Cristian Batres, Kian Betancourt, Gerald Caliendo, Adam Fisher-Cox, Tyrone Gardner, Shahenaz Hamde, Evie Hantzopoulos, Amy Hau, Corinne Haynes, Jacqueline Ibarra, Vanessa Jones-Hall, Richard Khuzami, Huge Ma, Raga Maddela, Patricia Mahecha, Amin Mehedi, Andreas Migias, Juliet Payabyab, Rose Marie Poveromo, Thomas Ryan, Marie Torniali, Rod Townsend, Judy Trilivas, Mario Vergara, Kathleen Warnock and Quinella Williams.
Community Board 2 (Maspeth, Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City):
Amparo Abel-Bey, John Laurence Bahia, Thalia Karesia Batan, Nicholas Berkowitz, Lisa Charles, Tannia Chavez, Osman Ali Chowdhury, Stephen Cooper, Lisa Deller, Morry Galonoy, Alexandra Gonzales, Kenneth Greenberg, James Kim, Chhemang Lama, Sheila Lewandowski, Benjamin Lucas, Patrick Martinez, Thomas Mituzas, Andrea Olivares, Reilly Owens, Jolly Patel, Norberto Saldana, Ryan Smith, Caroline Spitzer, Lauren Springer, Akello Thomas, Mai Tran and Michael Zoorob.
Community Board 3 (Jackson Heights, North Corona, East Elmhurst):
Pat Beckles, Ann Brown, Mark Buhrmester, Deborah Chang, Sonya Davis-Roberts, Vivian Dock, Margaret Dozier, Oscar Escobar, Kevin Hughes-Noboa, Michael Johnson, Stephen Kulhanek, Marta LeBreton, Richard Gregory Mullings, Dorothy Phelan, Potrirankamanis Queano Nur, Jairo Rodriguez, Diana Rodriguez Davila, Leoncio Romero, Jessica Rosario, Edmund Rosenbaum, David Rosero, Jasmine Taveras, Shanel Thomas Henry and Arssath Uthumalebbe.
Community Board 4 (Elmhurst, Corona, Corona Heights):
Eduardo Arias, Rownoka Ashakhan, Michelle Calderon, Brianna Cea, Indira Chongbang, Kathy Corona, Andrea Cumberbatch, Ioannis Demopoulos, Mohammed Ismail, Adam Lee, Moe Liu, Carol Machulski, Matthew McElroy, Marilyn Mendoza, Mac Merchan, Camila Noguera, Jennifer Ochoa, Israel Rosario, A. Redd Sevilla, Alton Smith, Morgan Taylor, Marcello Testa and Louis Walker.
Community Board 5 (Ridgewood, Maspeth, Glendale, Middle Village, South Elmhurst):
Eric Butkiewicz, Robert Cermeli, Elizabeth Chen, Patricia Crowley, Dmytro Fedkowskyj, Mati Gonzalez, Gail Grabowski, Fred Haller, Daniel Heredia, Christopher Herman, Fred Hoefferle, Naho Matsuzawa, Charles Ober, Margaret O’Kane, Michael O’Kane, Melissa Rebecca, Luis Antonio Rodriguez, Enriquez Rosa, Dennis Stephan and Jasmine Valle.
Community Board 6 (Forest Hills, Rego Park):
Edgar Alfonseca, Robert Ashe, Julieth Avila, Anisa Ayon, Samir Charaibi, L.T. Ciaccio, Kandra Clark, John Dereszewski, Tamara Gavrielof, Karen Imas, Sarina Jain, Mark Laster, Kevin Ly, Sabah-un-nasr Munawar, Natalie Pienkowska, Jessica Pooran, Joi Pratt, Diana Rachnaev, Pedro Rodriguez, Shari Rolnick, Herbert Schonhaut, Amit Pratap Shah, Eugene (Yevgeniy) Shvartsman, Jean Silva and Brently Winstead.
Community Board 7 (Flushing, College Point, Whitestone, Bay Terrace, Malba, Beechhurst, Bayside, Queensboro Hill, Willets Point):
Charles Apelian, Michael Cheng, Nicholas Corrado, Fred Fu, Doreen Gatanas, Pablor Hernandez, Chun-Hsiung Jeff Huang, Lawrence Hughes, Eugene Kelty Jr., Esther Lee, Betsy Mak, Barbara McHugh, John Park, Vipul Patel, Yacov Pshtissky, Maureen Regan, Paul Rifino, Warren Schreiber, Kevin Shields, Matthew Silverstein, Saleem Syed, John Tsavalos, Clarissa Wong, Dian Song Yu and Rachel Zhang.
Community Board 8 (Kew Gardens Hills, Utopia, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Briarwood, Jamaica Hills Jamaica Estates, Holliswood, Flushing South):
Dilafroz Ahmed, Saaif Alam, Heather Bennett-Idels, Kenneth Cohen, Maria Deinnocentiis, Marva Dudley, Allen Eisenstein, Kevin J. Forrestal, Howard Fried, Martha Fulton, James Gallagher Jr., Joshua Glikman, Michael Hannibal, Mohammed Islam Delwar, Neeta Jain, Elke Maerz, Jennifer Martin, Caitlin Marziliano, Nikolas Michael, David Mordukhaev, Dilip Nath, Alan Ong, Tamara Osherov, Hersh Parekh, Frances C. Paterson, Israel Peskowitz, Jesse Rosenbaum, Aliyah Salim, Seymour Schwartz, Harbachan Singh, Mohammed Tohin, Amy Tse and Steven Villaran.
Community Board 9 (Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Kew Gardens, Ozone Park):
Inderpaul Ahluwalia, Sherry Algredo, Dulal Bhattacharjee, Kamal Bhuiyan, Visnoonand Bisram, Swapan Chakraborty, Rick Chetram, Daniel Chu, Marylin Custodio, Steve Esposito, Alicia Hassin, Orazio Iaboni, Carmella Isabella, Christian Orellana, Jonathan Rodriguez, Regina Santoro, Himmat Singh, Jarnail Singh, Mohinder Singh, Alexandria Sumpter-Delves and Stacey Yearwood.
Community Board 10 (Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, South Richmond Hill):
Sonnya Acuqui, Luis Amorim, James J. Caruso, Brina Ciaramella, Anthony S. Cosentino, Frank Dardani, Anoop Dhanpat, Irene Dimoh, Karen Edwards, Edna Fraylon, Peter Granickas, Frank P. Gulluscio, Gary Hewitt, Anthony Hill, Romeo Hitlall, Pierre Kishun, Dorothy Mitchell, Fazlurrahman Mohamed, Rohan Narine, Jose A. Quijano, Amar Rajnauth, Amanda Sancler, Nellie Santiago, Asheley Siewnarine, Jody Stahl, Ashley Vital and Linda Walker.
Community Board 11 (Bayside, Auburndale, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck, Douglaston, East Flushing, Hollis Hills):
Adriana Aviles, Lana Bind, Sharon Chin, Victor Dadras, C. Omarr Evans, Leanne Michelle Fields, Albert Galatan, Joan Garippa, Rosemarie Guidice, George Hadjiconstantinou, Laura James, Mohan Jethwani, Karen Mazza, Kenneth O’Keefe, Stephen Pivawer, Gunjan Rastogi, Ralph Ruiz, Amesh Sarecha, Jyothi SriRam, John Sullivan, Eileen Taylor, Sam Wong, Jiao (Athena) Wu and Mina Youn.
Community Board 12 (Jamaica, South Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans, South Ozone Park, Addesleigh Park, Springfield Gardens):
Sophia Abel, Pamela Bluford, Jacqueline Boyce, Maxine Brannon, Kenny Carter, Manuel Caughman, Jennifer Delatour, Jonnel Doris, Marcia Francis, Glenn Greenidge, Nurul Haque, Frankco Harris, Crystal Isaac, Khondokar Islam, Audrey Lee Jacobs, Leonard Jacobs, Sharmayne Jenkins, Chantel Johnson, Bernadette Logan, Benjulkys Martinez, Akther Rahman, Jean Randolph-Castro, Fitzroy Searles, Amit Shivprasad, Christopher Smith, Toni Totten, Linette Townsley, Khari White, Andrew Wilkins, Jeanette Wilson and Patricia Wooden.
Community Board 13 (Queens Village, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Floral Park, Springfield Gardens, Bellaire):
Angela Augugliaro, Corey Bearak, Loleta Beckett-Nicholson, Sheila Beverly-Skinner, John Boyd, Ella Caynes, Latanya Collins, Sequoyah Douglas, Charles Farruggia, Lorraine Gittens-Bridges, Robert Glover, Vernal Holder, Leonard Hookum, Michael Mallia, Sophia Mighty, Kangela Moore, Laura Morand, Michael O’Keeffe, Cinnamon Paltoo, David Pecoraro, Nagassar Ramgarib, Anup Ramnauth and Ashok Satkalmi.
Community Board 14 (Rockaway Point, Breezy Point, Roxbury, Neponsit, Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park, Seaside, Broad Channel, Hammels, Sommerville, Edgemere, Arverne, Bayswater, Wavecrest, Far Rockaway, Rockaway Beach):
Brittny Chong, Amber Clinkscales, Jack Epter, Maria Foreman, Wayne-Neisha Fowles, Menashe Friedman, Josephine Gonzalez, Avionne Gumbs-Cummings, Dave B. Heffernan, Betty Leon, Annette Lord Cohen, Sonia Moise, Helen Montero, Zina Moratti, Josmary Ochoa-Cruz, Dolores Orr, Harold Paez, Shannel Parker, Eric Rasmussen, Vernell Robinson, David Shelborne, Nichole Smith, Christopher Tedesco and Jose Velez.
