Richards names transition team ahead of move to Queens Borough Hall
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Queens Borough President-Elect Donovan Richards. Photo by Jeff Reed/City Council Photography
By David Brand
Queens Borough President-elect Donovan Richards on Sunday unveiled the diverse group of local leaders who will help guide his transition to Borough Hall — a move that could take place sometime in the next few days.
In a normal election year, Richards would have to wait until Jan. 1, 2021 to take office. But this has been anything but a normal election year. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of a March special election to replace ex-Borough President Melinda Katz, who left to become Queens district attorney. Acting Borough President Sharon Lee was initially supposed to serve for under three months, but has held the office since the beginning of the year.
Richards could take office any time after the Board of Elections certifies his victory over Republican candidate Joann Ariola. He said he did not have a specific swearing-in date, but people familiar with Richards’ plans say it could take place in early December.
“I’m eager to get started,” Richards said. “Without a doubt, this has been a tough time in the borough, and I am eager to get to work and honored that we have such a diverse set of individuals who are representative of this borough, and who will help us come up with the blueprint for our borough to succeed.”
As he prepares to take office, Richards will receive counsel from a transition team with more than 120 members. The team, shared exclusively with the Eagle, features two assemblymembers and two term-limited councilmembers serving alongside a host of policy advocates, union chiefs and nonprofit directors.
The three co-chairs include Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, and Queens Public Library President Dennis Walcott, an ex-Schools chancellor. Attorney Rhonda Binda, head of the organization South Asian American Voice, will serve as executive director overseeing the 14 committees focused on immigration, economic development, community boards and various other issues.
The members reflect diverse perspectives within the Democratic Party. The Education Committee, for example, features Kat Brezler, the co-founder of the leftwing organization People for Bernie. The Economic Development Committee includes Queens Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Grech, a political moderate.
Richards, a Far Rockaway councilmember, said he sought to assemble people of various backgrounds and ideologies from across Queens to provide assistance and help shape policy priorities.
“As we look towards the future of Queens, it’s so important that we have community input from every corner of our borough,” Richards said. “There’s no question we have a tough road ahead, but with this diverse team of advocates, community leaders, and policymakers I know that we will start off on the path to success.”
Richards has tapped two colleagues in the Council to help him prepare for his new office.
Councilmember Costa Constantinides — Richards’ rival in the Democratic primary for borough president — leads the five-member Planning Committee. Councilmember I. Daneek Miller, a former city bus driver and transit union boss, co-chairs the Transportation Committee alongside Transportation Alternatives Queens organizer Juan Restrepo.
Newly elected officeholders frequently stock their administrations with members of their transition teams, but Richards said he has not yet hired his permanent staff. Constantinides and Miller, two second-term councilmembers with just over a year left in office, did not immediately respond to messages asking whether they would consider leaving the council to take a permanent role under Richards.
A fourth elected official, new District 31 Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson, serves on the transition team, as well. Anderson is a member of the Youth Committee, chaired by political strategist Martha Ayon, and the Personnel/Appointments Committee. That committee is led by Ibrahim Khan, the chief of staff for Attorney General Letitia James; and Franck Joseph, the deputy commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights and Richards’ former chief of staff.
The transition team also includes LGBTQ+ Advisor Cecilia Gentili, the principal/owner at Transgender Equity Consulting; Disability Advisor Mike Schweinsburg, the president of 504 Democratic Club; and Technology Advisor Mark Gold, partner at Acronym Venture Capital.
Asian American Federation Executive Director Jo-Ann Yoo chairs the Immigration Committee, Center of Hope Senior Pastor Bishop Taylor helms the Community Affairs Committee and media diversity consultant Juana Ponce de Leon leads the Communications Committee.
The Black Institute Executive Director Bertha Lewis heads up the the External Affairs Committee; Queens College Communications and Marketing Vice President Jay Hershenson chairs the Education Committee and Community Voices Heard Executive Director Afua Atta-Mensah leads the Policy Committee.
The Economic Development Committee is led by Chhaya Executive Director Annetta Seecharran; the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports, or TAPES, Committee by Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning Executive Director Cathy Hung; and the Seniors and Veterans Affairs Committee by Vets Inc. Executive Director Major Sharon Sweeting-Lindsey.
Michael Mallon, a spokesperson for Councilmember Daniel Dromm, will chair the Community Boards Committee — a group that could help Richards uphold a key campaign pledge.
All 14 Queens community boards have significant racial, ethnic, age, income and gender disparities. Richards has said that he will appoint community boards that better reflect the districts they serve.
