Ideas for a Stronger and More Equitable Queens

*If you have trouble accessing the replay of the event, please contact Sophia at stumolo@nycfuture.org. To view the replay of this forum, you can use the link in the same email you used to access the forum virtually, or request a new link be sent above.

Speakers included:

• Queens Borough President Donovan Richards
• Deputy Speaker Dr. Nantasha Williams
• Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry
• Council Member Julie Won
• Kenneth Adams, President, LaGuardia Community College
• Karesia Batan, Founding Executive Director, Queensboro Dance Festival
• Seth Bornstein, Former Executive Director, Queens Economic Development Corporation
• Lorraine Chambers Lewis, SVP & President, Northwell - LIJ Forest Hills Hospital
• Kevin Cho, Senior Immigration & Policy Advisor, Korean Community Services
• Nilbia Coyote, Executive Director & CEO, New Immigrant Community Empowerment
• Jeehae Fischer, Executive Director, The Korean American Family Service Center
• Thomas Grech, President & CEO, Queens Chamber of Commerce
• William Jourdain, Executive Director, Woodside on the Move
• Pedro Rodriguez, Executive Director, La Jornada
• Annetta Seecharran, Executive Director, Chhaya Community Development Corporation
• Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor, Co-Founder & CEO, Urban Upbound; Senior Pastor, The Center of Hope International
• Ben Thomases, CEO, Queens Community House
• Yanki Tshering, Founder & Executive Director, Accompany Capital
• Dennis Walcott, President & CEO, Queens Public Library
• John Wang, Founder, Queens Night Market

Queens is New York’s borough of opportunity—the city’s largest gateway for newcomers seeking a better life and, arguably, its most important launchpad into the middle class. But while the borough is thriving in many ways, policymakers still have significant work to do to capitalize on the borough’s many opportunities and to ensure that more of its residents can participate in its growing prosperity. Affordability challenges are pushing many residents to flee the borough, transportation options are limited in many neighborhoods, and Queens is uniquely exposed to the risks of climate change. Queens is also home to more older adults than any other county in the state, many of whom are struggling with financial insecurity, and of all the boroughs, Queens also has the highest share of residents without health insurance and the second-lowest college attainment rate.

This unique half-day symposium put forward ideas to address the borough’s biggest challenges, take advantage of its many opportunities, and lay the foundation for a stronger and more equitable Queens. The solutions-focused event built on our May 2024 report, 50 Ideas for a Stronger and More Equitable Queens, which featured ideas for the borough’s future from a diverse mix of 50 leaders from across Queens.

The agenda included:

• A fireside chat with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards;
• Eleven Queens-based community leaders delivering three-minute idea pitches;
• A session where members of the audience shared an idea of their own for Queens' future;
• And two high-level panel discussions with community leaders and elected officials from Queens.

This event was made possible thanks to generous support from the Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation and Verizon. We are also grateful for general support from The Clark Foundation and the Altman Foundation, support from Fisher Brothers Foundation for CUF's Middle Class Jobs Project, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.