Former Congressman Joseph Crowley donated some history to Queens College. His history.
A Queens College alumnus of the class of 1985, Crowley donated his congressional papers to the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library in a deed signing even at the school on Thursday, Feb. 7.
The collection, comprising items donated or loaned the the college, includes background on legislative issues, official correspondence, strategy and planning documents, speeches and memorabilia. The papers and material will be arranged and described by Queens College archivists and made available to researchers as one of the school’s growing number of Special Collections. Among the collections currently housed in the library are the papers of Congressmen Benjamin S. Rosenthal and Gary Ackerman, New York State Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, and Queens Borough President and Queens College alumna Helen Marshall.
“Queens College was a bedrock of my education and young life,” Crowley said. “I’m honored that my alma mater will house documents and materials from my three-decade career in politics. It is my hope that students, faculty, and the public will benefit from an inside view of how Washington D.C. works on behalf of all Americans. I want to sincerely thank Queens College for its assistance in making these documents public for all to interact with.”
Crowley was the fourth-rated Democrat in the House leadership when he was upset by current Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary in June. The Woodside native spent 20 years in Congress and was elected chairman of the Democratic Caucus twice.
Among the items in the collection are framed copies of the Affordable Care Act with the original signatures of President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, featuring a handwritten note from Pelosi and a commemorative pen used in the digning; the Senate Good Friday Agreement signed by Hillary Clinton, with a handwritten note from her; the U.S. and India Nuclear Cooperation Bill, with commemorative pen; framed photographs of Crowley with President Bill Clinton, Governor Hugh Carey, Mario Cuomo and George Pataki, and Secretary Clinton; over 25 photographs, dating to Crowley’s days in the New York State Assembly, in which he appears with prominent New York politicians, including several New York City mayors.
“We are so proud and thankful to our friend Congressman Joseph Crowley for formally donating his congressional papers to his alma mater Queens College,” Queens College president Felix V. Matos Rodriguez said. “No matter where life took him, he found ways to remain connected to the college and to higher education to make sure that the needs of the college were met. What better embodiment of the Queens College motto, We Learn So That We May Serve, than Joe Crowley, who has dedicated his life to service, and what a great gift to our students for whom these materials will hopefully serve as inspiration for careers of great distinction.”
