BY JACK DELANEY
jdelaney@queensledger.com
FLUSHING — One of the borough’s most iconic institutions has a new captain at the helm — and it’s getting a major upgrade as it looks to expand its reach.
Last month, Queens Public Television (QPTV) named Roslyn Nieves as its president and CEO, making her the first woman to occupy the top position at the nonprofit.
Nieves brings broad experience to the job: spent 20 years at the NYPD, first as a police officer and crime prevention specialist and later as a media liaison. Next came 17 years within QPTV’s Community Development Department, producing over 400 original programs highlighting everyone from small business owners, to local artists, to politicians — including power players like then-Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. (“What I love about Queens is it’s so authentic,” Hochul told Nieves. “The people are real, the neighborhoods are real, and they embrace their diversity.”)
“Queens is one of the most diverse and creative communities in the world,” said Nieves, echoing that earlier interview. “My vision is to transform Queens Public Television into a place where creativity meets opportunity — where television, podcasting, livestreaming, education, and emerging technologies come together under one roof to serve our community in new and innovative ways.”
QPTV was founded in 1982, during public access television’s golden age. In the 1970s, New York City had required cable companies to set aside channels for use by the community, a model soon adopted nationwide by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Equipped with a franchising agreement, QPTC took the unusual approach of creating a third party corporation to manage its allotted channels, rather than the norm of it being run by the city. The station’s first — and for a brief time, only — program was called “Slovak Sunshine,” but it would soon grow its array of shows while also offering thousands of Queens residents the opportunity to learn audiovisual production skills.
Nieves hasn’t wasted any time in modernizing the storied nonprofit, starting with its headquarters off Kissena Blvd in Flushing. Alongside veteran producers James Faber and Steven Williams, Nieves has already overseen a renovation of QPTV’s first-floor space, which has been transformed into a freshly-painted classroom outfitted with dozens of computers.
Upstairs, the office’s central scrum of cubicles will be cleared to make way for a cozy lounge; the largest meeting room is set to become a “Presidential Suite” for hosting multiple guests, and workers have started renovating a constellation of smaller rooms that will eventually be open to community members as podcasting or streaming studios.
Much, much more is in the works, and many details are still being discussed — after all, it’s been less than two months since Nieves took the reins. But local leaders across the borough, many of whom Nieves has interviewed herself, are confident that QPTV is in good hands.
