Queens BP Announces New Community Board Members

Queens Community Board 6 office on Metropolitan Ave. in Forest Hills (Google Maps)

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

Younger, less white and more reliant on public transportation. This is what the newly appointed members of community boards across the borough look like. 

Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards Jr., announced the appointees for 2023-2025 term in a press release on April 5. In an effort to make the boards more representative of the communities they represent, new appointees are more diverse than in previous terms, especially in age. 

Half of new members are under the age of 45 and close to a quarter are between the ages of 16 and 35. Before Richards took office in November 2020, almost three quarters of board members were over the age of 45. 

An investigation conducted by The City found that community board members are often whiter, more male and older than the neighborhoods they represent. Some argue that older members who remain on their respective board after serving countless terms should make room for members of younger generations. 

“I would say that the new board is pretty diverse. I saw it at the first meeting,” said David Aronov, a first time member at 26-years old. 

Some boards which meet early in the month, like Community Board 6 — which represents the Forest Hills area — already had new members present at their April meeting. 

Aronov, a long time Forest Hills resident, is no stranger to the community board. He attended CB6 meetings as a representative while working for former council member Karen Koslowitz’s office in District 29, for over seven years. Then he ran for her council seat in 2020, and attended the meetings as a political candidate. 

“It’s just the way to continue advocating for the community, for my neighbors,” said Aronov, a Russian-speaker part of the Bukharian Jewish community. “And making sure that people’s voices, who have felt for quite some time that they were underrepresented, will be heard on the board.”

As a board member, he hopes to help support small businesses in the community emerging from Covid related strains. And work towards increasing access to public transportation. 

Out of a pool of 938 applicants, Richards selected 366 individuals to represent 14 community boards in Queens — 116 are new members. Members are unsalaried and serve in two year terms with each board having a maximum of 50 members.

“Now I get to be a part of impacting change and in fighting for equity right here in my home, and I get to do it alongside like minded individuals,” said Marcelle Lashley-Kabore, 45, after attending her first CB6 meeting as a board member. 

Lashley-Kabore is the founder and CEO of Girls with Knowledge, a nonprofit that provides girls in marginalized communities with education, support and resources through female leadership. She is also the CEO of Xposure Foundation, which provides financial literacy initiatives and a range of after school programs  for youth across the city and in Westchester county. 

While she is engaged strongly in improving communities through her nonprofit career, Lashley-Kabore said she felt disconnected from her own community in Forest Hills, where she has lived for over a decade. Before that, she graduated from China Europe International Business School and lived in Kew Gardens for a decade while working in the corporate world. 

“I’m really excited about joining with a collective, to be able to help advise our leaders in government on things that they can do to help make sure that all of us have a better life,” said Lashley-Kabore. “I’m excited to bring my culture, my perspective, my gender, I’m excited to bring all of that.”

She began attending CB6 meetings during the early days of the pandemic. Shortly after she also ran for city council in District 29.  

“The historic 2023 class of community board appointees represent the best of Queens. I’m immensely confident in this diverse, dedicated and determined group of public servants and I look forward to the great work they will do on behalf of their neighborhoods over the course of their term,” said the Borough President in a release. 

Another diversity factor in consideration was mode of transportation. Slightly more than half of appointed members reported they “mostly” or “often” navigate the borough by using the subway. Nearly a third said that they “sometimes” used a bicycle or other form of micro transport to get around. 

“It’s important for young people to be involved because we are now able to make decisions for our generation and our future instead of other people making those decisions for us,” said Aronov. 

To continue serving on the board, members are required to reapply at the end of their two-year term and are subject to reconsideration. 

 

Seven Spots to See the Bloom in Queens

By Iryna Shkurhan | ishkurhan@queensledger.com

With each unfurled petal and new splash of color, we settle into the new spring season. All across the city, cherry blossom trees are making a statement. Luckily you don’t have to leave Queens to take in their beauty. They won’t be here for long, so check out one, or all seven, of our recommendations for where to witness the best blooms. 

According to the NYC Parks Department, there are three main varieties of cherry blossom trees in the city: Okame, Yoshino and Kwanzan. They bloom at separate times so if you miss Okame cherry trees, with tiny pink petals and red centers that bloom in mid to late March, don’t fret. Yoshino trees, with light pink and white petals, and fluffy pink Kwanzan Cherry Trees, reach peak bloom in mid to late April. But remember, any strong storms, rain or wind can shorten the peak bloom season, which already only lasts about two weeks. 

Flushing Meadows Corona Park 

You won’t miss the Okame blossoms in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, especially since they are right near the towering Unisphere. Experts say that they are some of the first trees to bloom in NYC. As the bloom fades, you can marvel at the thousands of petals that coat the ground.

Hunter’s Point South Park

This newly constructed waterfront park in Long Island City with skyline views of Manhattan also has a strong lineup of cherry blossom trees. They’re already blooming, so don’t wait too long before paying the area a visit. While you’re there you can check out the picnic areas, bikeway, adult fitness equipment and a designated area for dogs. 

Hunter’s Point Park in Long Island City. Photo by David Avila/NYC Parks.

Lewis Latimer House Museum

This historic home commemorates Latimer’s legacy as an electrical inventor who played a significant role in the invention of the telephone with no formal education. Cherry blossoms pop right in front of the colorful Queen-Anne style wood-frame home that is also open to the public with pay-as-you-wish admission. The house is open Fridays and Saturdays 11am- 5pm, but you can stop by to see the bloom out front anytime. 

Queens Botanical Garden 

Conveniently located near the Main Street entrance of the Queens Botanical Garden, Cherry Circle is lined with a variety of blossom trees. According to QBG, several of the trees have been adopted in memory of a loved one. The Four Seasons Border, installed in 2007, is only steps away and has its own blooms. If you’re trying to see a large bloom, this should not be your first destination. But access to other notable plants will make it worth the visit.

Kissena Park

While you’re at QBG, visit Kissena Park right next door for even more blooms. This expansive park has a lake and several exotic tree species aside from cherry blossoms. For seasoned and budding cyclists, the park’s 400-meter velodrome, coined as the “track of dreams,” is one of the smoothest rides around. 

Rainey Park in Astoria. Photo by David Avila/NYC Parks.

Rainey Park 

Another waterfront park alongside the East River, right across from Roosevelt Island, is Rainey Park promenade in Astoria. Take in the views of Manhattan’s Upper East Side from a bench with Okane cherry blossoms towering alongside the promenade. Soon enough, Kwanzan cherry trees will bloom on the park’s lawn.

Cunningham Park 

In one of the largest parks in the borough, 28 cherry blossom trees sit gracefully just outside the park along 193rd Street. They were planted in 2005 following the dedicated effort of Friends of Cunningham Park to raise funds from city officials and grants. Donations of labor and mulch from a Brooklyn  landscaping company made the project possible. Without the efforts of local citizens, the park would be bloomless today.

Porcelli: The Other Side of Education (4/12)

CTE Shop Class: Now It’s High-Tech

CTE & Career Opportunities

Graduation season is right around the corner. Which graduates have the best employment opportunities? For decades to come, graduates of all levels of CTE programs will enjoy some of the greatest job choices, and wages, for their newly acquired skills.

As discussed here continuously, the reduction of trade education programs in most school districts has created a tremendous shortage of skilled workers in all trades, causing a classic problem of supply and demand. Employers in every industry cannot find enough workers to fill their needs. This nationwide shortage will likely continue for decades to come… Unless we act now!

Despite this commonly accepted truth, even schools that recognize the growing need for CTE programs, and are beginning to expand them, so far do not have enough available resources to keep up with the economy’s demand for workers.

The most experienced skilled workers are retiring from trade jobs at much higher rates than current training programs can replace them. In addition, more skilled workers than ever before will be needed to fill growing demand as the economy expands. The combined effect of growing job demand, shrinking numbers of entry level workers, and rapidly increasing levels of skilled worker retirements, has created a “perfect storm” of virtually unlimited career opportunities for graduates of all CTE programs from high schools, community colleges, and universities.

This phenomenon is again amply demonstrated this week at the New York International Auto Show, where every display is focused on the growing demand for, and availability of, electric vehicles. One point that’s stressed by every presenter is the growing need for workers qualified to build and maintain EV’s and the charging-station infrastructure that they will require. There is a growing realization that with the current shortage of electricians, and other trade workers, we do not have the available workforce needed to implement the transition to electrically powered transportation.

The Auto Show not only illustrates the need for workers in the electric auto industry, but visitors should recognize that the show is made possible through the work of hundreds of skilled workers in every trade.

From the workers who constructed the space, the carpenters who build the displays, the audio and video technicians who animate them, the artists who make everything enticing, the culinary specialists who feed the crowd, and the countless other skilled trade workers involved, such grand events could not be possible without the skills they acquired from CTE.

Perhaps the current mandate to promote zero-emission electric vehicles can be the force necessary to make the public, government, and education officials realize that we must devote more resources to career and technical education everywhere – and we must do it NOW!

Congratulations to all new CTE graduates. Be thankful you chose to learn skills that can provide you with almost unlimited opportunities for career success – with little or no debt!

 

 

CTE is Respectable Again!

Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin.

This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.

Mike Porcelli: life-long mechanic, adjunct professor, and host of Autolab Radio, is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porcelli-master-mechanic-allasecerts/

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