Queens Borough President Donovan Richards hosted his inauguration ceremony at Queens College‘s Goldstein Theatre in Flushing on Feb. 8, kicking off his four year term by reflecting on his prior successes and looking ahead to the future.
DJ Tam Jams — a New York-based entertainer — provided entertainment during the program, which featured a diverse array of performances courtesy of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts choir, in Astoria, the Edge School of the Arts dance company, in Jamaica, and the musicians of Joe’s Academy of Music in St. Albans and the Elite Marching Band of Queens.
In attendance was Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, NY Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Chuck Schumer, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and NYC Comptroller Mark Levine, who delivered speeches and expressed gratitude to Richards for the work he’s already done in his first term as borough president.
During the program, Richards noted the rich history of Queens not only as a place where over 2.4 million residents live, but as an integral part of the civil rights movement.
For the next four years, Richards vowed to continue its legacy by standing up to President Donald J. Trump and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers he has unleashed on the world’s most diverse borough.
“Queens chooses not to comply, but to celebrate the fact that 190 countries are represented here in this borough,” Richards asserted. “Queens chooses to say in all 360 languages spoken here that our diversity is our strength, not a weakness.”
Tameeka Richards, a mental health advocate and wife of the borough president, spoke to Richards’ community-centric character and leadership.
“He’s a good leader who listens, fights for our neighborhoods and shows up every single day,” Tameeka said. “I know him simply as Donovan — the man that is always on the job, who carries his community wherever he goes, and the partner that shares the ups and downs of this work with me.”
Richards grew up in Southeast Queens, living in neighborhoods including Jamaica, St. Albans, Hollis and Rosedale. He recalled experiencing housing and economic insecurity during his childhood, although he eventually befriended Darnell Patterson Jr. after bonding over sports.
However, Patterson was shot and killed in March 2003. Richards said the tragic passing of his friend changed him dramatically. From then on, Richards dedicated his life to improving the lives of Queens residents and preventing them from the fate suffered by Patterson.
He launched a campaign for City Council in 2012, winning the seat in District 31 and serving in the role for nearly eight years.
Richards then won a special election in December 2020 after Katz, who was borough president at the time, was elected as district attorney.
While the first year of his leadership was marked heavily by the health and economic consequences of Covid-19, Richards explained, he brought down the unemployment rate in the borough from 25 percent to just 5.4 percent.
He put Queens residents to work on a $20 billion redevelopment of John F. Kennedy Airport, as well as investing in local business start-ups, retaining the JetBlue headquarters in the borough, investing $46 million in healthcare, and investing over $400 million in schools.
“Every time our nation has stumbled and shrunk, Queens has risen to the occasion,” he said.
Katz, who began her career working under the late Queens Borough President Claire Schulman and eventually served in the role from 2014-2019, said a close relationship with the borough president is crucial for her ability to effectively do her job prosecuting criminals in Queens.
Not only does Richards partner with Katz to assist her role as district attorney, she continued, but he works to deliver on important projects that support affordable housing, mental health resources, education investments, drug abuse recovery and veterans in need.
“I’m proud that Donovan Richards succeeded me as the borough president,” Katz said. “I’m more proud of the work that we do together to make sure that our borough goes in the right direction.”
Schumer noted Richards’ deep roots in the community, saying the borough president “wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
Richards graduated from Jamaica High School, studied at Nyack College and eventually earned an associate’s degree in Aviation Management from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in East Elmhurst.
“He climbed his way to the top,” Schumer said. “He got here the old fashioned way — he earned it.”
Sen. Schumer said he knows the funds he secures for Queens in the U.S. Senate will be spent wisely with Richards in charge because the borough president has a deep connection with the community.
“He knows how to talk to everybody and understand their needs and their desires and their hopes and their dreams,” Schumer said. “He’s such a great representative of this borough.”
Jumaane Williams, who served with Richards on the City Council, said leaders like Richards are essential in the country’s current sociopolitical atmosphere because he recognizes the importance of cooperation in delivering public safety.
“I’m proud to be serving with him at a time like this, because we need people who understand what’s going on,” Williams said. “We need people who understand we can’t be divided — we have to be united… We need everybody to be a part of our public safety, and that’s the type of leader that Donovan Richards is.”
As Queens suffers an affordability crisis and continues to experience targeted racism among its diverse communities, Williams explained, Richards also continues to put his time and effort into making it a better place not only for those who grew up in the community like he did, but also for those who immigrated to it.
Mark Levine, who said Richards was a dear friend and colleague to him, echoed Williams’ sentiment and claimed the borough is currently in the crosshairs of the federal government’s anti-immigration actions.
“Thank God we have a borough president who never, ever backs down to defending immigrants — no matter their documentation and no matter how long they’ve been here,” Levine said. “No matter what Donovan is here for you, and we love him for that.”
Richards has secured tens of billions of dollars in investments in the borough, Levine explained, creating thousands of jobs for Queens residents and building thousands of units of affordable housing to support those getting priced out of the borough.
“He is everywhere in this borough, connecting to people of all backgrounds,” Levine stressed. “He is the kind of leader I wish we had more of.”
Letitia James, who said she was proud to swear in Richards to office, emphasized how important it is for the Queens community to stand up against hate and unite under the leadership of the borough president. She said hate of any kind against any group of people — whether Asian, Latino, Muslim or any other targeted group — should not be tolerated by anyone.
“Remember what it’s all about — defending our democracy, defending our liberties and defending our freedom,” James said. “Let us leave here together, connected as one under the leadership of this great borough president, and recognize that we’re all in this together… Love will never separate us.”
Richards said during the next four years, he will work to deliver more affordable housing, education initiatives, community centers and crisis management networks.
“Queens doesn’t quit when adversity strikes,” Richards said. “We break through, overcome and push through.”
