Hundreds gathered at Terrace on the Park for the inaugural Queens Power List, an event which recognizes the borough’s most influential people across several industries.
On Wednesday, Oct. 3, The Queens Courier and Power List Committee honored the top movers and shakers in business, the arts, education and politics for their accomplishments in their respective fields. Honorees at the first-ever Queens Power List were determined after months of deliberations and included CEOs, politicians, company presidents and nonprofit leaders.
The Queens Power List event is an offshoot of the Long Island Power List, which has been honoring individuals from Long Island for the past 15 years. Back in April, the annual award’s gala was held at The Mansion at Oyster Bay for its “crystal” anniversary.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz was invited to provide opening remarks, during which she congratulated the VIPs and honorees of the night.
SCNG Publisher Victoria Schneps expressed her excitement to honor “the best and the brightest from Queens” for the first time ever and invited each of the Power Listers to introduce themselves. The general consensus among the crowd was that they were honored and humbled to be recognized.
Kevin Alexander, CEO of the Rockaway Development and Revitalization Corporation Inc., was one of the honorees from the inaugural batch of Queens’ most influential people. For the past 13 years, Alexander has worked to improve the lives of people from the Rockaways, providing them with the resources to find jobs, become homeowners and manage their money.
“I’m flattered to receive the honor on behalf of the organization, but there’s more work to be done,” said Alexander.
President of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo was also among the honorees of the inaugural event. DeVivo began her career at Vaughn in 1996 and became president in 2014. She credits her staying power to the “incredible students” at the school.
“I’m 1,000 percent committed to giving students the best possible education,” DeVivo said. She added that students telling her that they got a job or internship is part of “what makes the job meaningful.”
The 2018 Queens Power List honorees were as follows:
KEVIN ALEXANDER
President & CEO
Rockaway Development and
Revitalization Corporation, Inc.
ANA MARIA ARCHILA
Co-Executive Director
Center for Popular Democracy
GINA ARGENTO
President & CEO
Broadway Stages
JOANN ARIOLA SHANKS
Director of Intergovernmental Affairs
MediSys Health Network
Chairwoman, Republican Party of Queens County
ERIC BENAIM
CEO
Modern Spaces
SETH BORNSTEIN
Executive Director
Queens Economic Development Corporation
JOHN BRUCKNER
NY President
National Grid
JOHN BURAN
CEO
Flushing Bank
CAROL CONSLATO
Director of Public Affairs
Con Edison
RICK COTTON
Executive Director
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
JOHN “SEAN” CROWLEY
Partner
Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP
SHARON DEVIVO
President
Vaughn College
RICHARD K. DZWLEWICZ
Regional Vice President/SVP
TD Bank
FRED ELGHANAYAN
President
TF Cornerstone, Inc.
THOMAS ELGHANAYAN
Chairman
TF Cornerstone, Inc.
PHILLIP ENG
President
Long Island Rail Road
JOSEPH FICALORA
President & CEO
New York Community Bancorp
HECTOR FIGUEROA
President
32BJ Service Employees International Union
FLOYD FLAKE
Senior Pastor
Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral
CONRADO “BOBBY” GEMPESAW
President
St. John’s University
MICHAEL GOLDBERG
Executive Director
LIJ Medical Center
CARL GOODMAN
Executive Director
Museum of the Moving Image
AHMED HEGAZY
Executive Director
EIHAB Human Services
Dr. MARGARET HONEY
President and CEO
New York Hall of Science
DENNIS IFILL
President
DC37 Local 1359
PATRICK B. JENKINS
Founder
Patrick B. Jenkins and Associates
HOPE KNIGHT
President
Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
JACK KOPNISKY
President & CEO
Sterling National Bank
GARY LABARBERA
President
Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
JEFFREY E. LEVINE
Founder & Chairman
Douglaston Development
DOROTHY LEWANDOWSKI
Queens Borough Commissioner
NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation
ELIZABETH LUSSKIN
President
Long Island City Partnership
JOSEPH MATTONE
Founder, Chairman & CEO
The Mattone Group
STEVEN MENDELSON
President & CEO
Zwagner-Pesiri Radiology
SCOTT MOLINA
President
Resorts World Casino NYC
FRANK MONTERISI
Senior Vice President
Related Management Company
TYLER MORSE
CEO, Managing Partner
MCR Development
SATEESH NORI
Attorney-in-Charge
Queens Neighborhood Office
of the Legal Aid Society
DEIRDRE O’CONNELL
CEO
Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty
ELLIOT PARK
CEO
Shine Electronics
LESTER PETRACCA
President & CEO
Triangle Equities
AUDREY PHEFFER
Queens County Clerk & Commissioner of Jurors
ISRAEL ROCHA
CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/OneCity Health
Vice President, NYC Health + Hospitals
MICHAEL ROSENBLUT
President and CEO
Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation
THOMAS RUDZEWICK
President and CEO
Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Association
CARYN A. SCHWAB
Executive Director
Mount Sinai Queens
CLAIRE SHULMAN
President and CEO
Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC
LEONARD STEKOL
Chairman, President and CEO
Ridgewood Savings Bank
ALAN SUNA
CEO
Silvercup Studios
STUART SUNA
President
Silvercup Studios
TRAVIS TERRY
Chief Operating Officer
Capalino+Company
TONY UTANO
President
Transport Workers Union Local 100
DENNIS M. WALCOTT
President and CEO
Queens Library
MARK S. WEPRIN
Shareholder
Greenberg Traurig
FRED WILPON
NY Mets Chairman of the Board
JEFF WILPON
COO
NY Mets
MICHAEL WOLOZ
Partner
Connelly McLaughlin & Woloz
ELECTED OFFICIALS
MELINDA KATZ
Queens Borough President
HAKEEM JEFFRIES
Congressman, 8th District
CAROLYN MALONEY
Congresswoman, 12th District
GREGORY MEEKS
Congressman, 5th District
GRACE MENG
Congresswoman, 6th District
TOM SUOZZI
Congressman, 3rd District
NYDIA M. VELAZQUEZ
Congresswoman, 7th District
2018 Queens Power List Cocktail Sponsors:
National Grid
Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology
2018 Power Sponsors:
Northwell Health
NYC Health + Hospitals | Elmhurst
EIHAB Human Services
Triangle Equities
Ridgewood Savings Bank
EASCO
Zwanger-Perisi Radiology
Photos by Corazon Aguirre and Allen Ngai