Hundreds of local residents, community organizers and elected officials packed into Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc. on Northern Boulevard on Jan. 16 to celebrate the inauguration of Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry.
Thomas-Henry, who took office earlier in January after winning a hotly contested race to succeed former Council Member Francisco Moya in 21st District last year, spoke of her deep ties to the community during Friday night’s inauguration and vowed to fight for immigrant communities, protect small businesses and advocate for stable housing during her term in office.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Attorney-General Letitia James, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Comptroller Mark Levine, and dozens of City Council Members, State Assembly Members and State Senators joined the inauguration Friday as Thomas-Henry transformed Elmcor’s “basketball court into a ballroom.”
The inauguration also featured cultural performances from a number of local organizations, including the Mount Horeb Baptist Church Eternal Praise Dance Ministry, the Antioch Church of Corona Mass Choir and youth trumpeters of the Louis Armstrong House Museum Trumpet Players.
Thomas-Henry, a former Elmcor board member, won a hotly contested open primary last June to replace Moya in the 21st District, which includes parts of East Elmhurst, Corona, Jackson Heights and LeFrak City.
Elmcor CEO Saeeda Dunston, former Assembly Member and local icon Jeff Aubry and former Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland, who presented Friday’s program, also spoke at the packed inauguration.
Dunston pointed to Thomas-Henry’s roots as a board member at Elmcor and her love for the local community during a rousing speech to kick off the inauguration.
“What we have with this Council Member is someone who will fight for everybody in the district, and she’s going to make sure that this neighborhood, which sometimes gets overlooked, doesn’t get missed,” Dunston said.
Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, said Thomas-Henry knows here neighbors “like the back of her hand” from her roots growing up in the local community.
“She has taken that experience and transformed it into advocacy. From serving on boards of organizations like Elmcor… to launching youth scholarship and job programs, Shanel has dedicated herself to improving and bettering the lives of working families that call Queens home,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Menin, who appointed Thomas-Henry as chairperson of the Council’s Small Business Committee, predicted that Thomas-Henry would be a “rock star” for the local community while serving as a City Council Member.
“There’s no small business too big or too small that you are going to be helping, and I know that through your leadership, through your experience, you are going to make sure that our small businesses have the support that they need,” Menin said. “The pride that you have for this community is incredible. We are so lucky to have you in this position.”
James, on the other hand, called on Thomas-Henry and other City Council Members to stand alongside her and show “backbone” to help protect all New Yorkers. James called on the City Council to “speak truth to power” and stand up to federal immigration authorities.
“At a time when people are scared to go to church and their houses of faith, to go to schoolto go to work and to go to court, I’m going to need this City Council and this City Council Member that I’m about to inaugurate,” James said. “I’m going to need their activism, their commitment.”
She added that Thomas-Henry has always understood that “real change” always starts by showing up for her neighbors.
Speaking shortly after her inauguration, Thomas-Henry said her “North Star” is to keep families rooted in the community, protect immigrant neighbors and ensure that “opportunity reaches every block of the district.”
“My role is to meet our community where it is, to speak the language of our neighbors,” Thomas-Henry said at Friday’s inauguration. “To listen, build coalitions and make District 21 the first in line for resources, investments and opportunities.”
She stated that her job is not to simply hold a council seat but to bring City Hall to every road inside District 21 to ensure that families can afford to stay in the neighborhood amid rising gentrification as well as ensuring that small businesses have the support they need to thrive.
Thomas-Henry, who served on Community Board 3 and the $8 billion LaGuardia Redevelopment Program as well as her role in Elmcor, said the 21st Council District has always been a “safe haven for dreamers” and a “land of opportunity” for neighbors who dream of moving communities forward together.
“Our district is the heart of the world,” she said. “We have always shown that if we want to go fast, we can go alone. But if we want to go far, we must go together.
“When we build neighborhoods that nurture our children and keep them safe, when we develop real opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow and when we ensure that public safety is a priority, we can go far together.”
She added that the district is home to over 130 languages and people who come from “every corner of the world” with difference origin stories, faith and traditions. But she also asserted that residents in the district share the same goals and values.
“We share the same schools and the same hopes for our families,” Thomas-Henry said. “Our past is different, but our purpose is the same… District 21 has always been a place where people don’t just arrive. We build.”
