By Dr. Ashford Maharaj
City Councilor Adrienne E. Adams, who represents District 28 in the New York City Council, was honored by Trinidadians & Tobagonians USA, the Queens-based social organization that seeks to collaborate and advance the Trinbagonian population here in the NY Tri-State area.
The councilwoman was honored for her profound dedication and unprecedented commitment to incorporate Trinidadians & Tobagonians and indeed the wider Caribbean community into the civic affairs of Queens and indeed New York City as a whole. The representative remain committed to her canvassing platform of an open door policy with constituents and inclusiveness and participatory budgeting with all and sundry in her district.
The councilwoman was honored for her profound dedication and unprecedented commitment to incorporate Trinidadians & Tobagonians and indeed the wider Caribbean community into the civic affairs of Queens and indeed New York City as a whole. The representative remain committed to her canvassing platform of an open door policy with constituents and inclusiveness and participatory budgeting with all and sundry in her district.
Since winning the contest to represent District 28 cataloged as a historic win in that she was the first female to represent the district that includes South Jamaica, Rochdale Village, Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park Councilwoman Adrienne Adams sought for and obtained some $22 million to advance the welfare and wellbeing of her constituents. Most important of all the councilwoman has secured cash for some 41 organizations that were never funded in the past. Additionally, she secured millions of dollars for the Baisley Pond Park’s new track, soccer field and fitness equipment, according to her ‘State of the District 28’ presentation at the High School for Construction Trades Engineering & Architecture held earlier this year. The Jamaica Playground received $4.65 million for basketball and handball courts and general upgrade of this major central playground for southeast Queens. Ms. Adams is also working assiduously to allocate funds to upgrade the basketball and tennis courts at Police Officer, Edward Byrne Park in South Ozone Park, a playground that is in this writer’s backyard.
A lifelong resident of this part of Queens, Council Woman Adams was raised in that cultural mecca of Queens – Hollis, a community that has the honor of housing perhaps the sole hip hop museum in the world to show for its contribution to the hip hop art form. Additionally, Hollis was the hometown of world renown Run DMC and business magnate Russell Simmons. Council member Adrienne Adams is a graduate of St. Pascal Baylon Elementary School, Bayside High School; and she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a minor in Childhood Development from Spelman College, that elite school that attracts so many outstanding women of color. The Councilor was a three-term chairperson of Community Board 12, a corporate trainer of business executives and several other expertise. As for ‘blazing a trail’ and excelling in her many city council roles, there are some firsts that she can lay claim to:
- First women to be elected to represent our district – District 28. (Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, and South Ozone Park).
- First council member to have an active and futuristic social development platform.
- First Council member to fully engage with and by her district not only via the electronic media, but in person to person (P2P). Oh yea, she is very much everywhere!
- The first council member of our district to fully incorporate all & sundry. We, as members who hail from the islands and making New York our home, do appreciate the unprecedented wisdom and fortitude of this council member, who seeks include us fully as equals (both born and naturalize). To this we owe her a debt of gratitude and she does demonstrate a profound understanding of the shifting demographics of District 28.
- The first council member to nominate so many members of our community to CB 10 in particular and I am sure other boards and other NYC agencies within her sphere of influence.
- The first council woman perhaps in all of Queens and may be NYC to have such and enlighten city residents after her own making. She tells us everything and for that we are eternally grateful to the Madam Councilwoman.
- The first Council member to be honored by Trinidadians &Tobagonians, USA.
Despite there being a tendency for women to increase their participation in the competitive democratic process as is evident form the 2018 national elections there is still a wide gender gap in the views about women in leadership in that, about seven-in-ten women say there are too few women in high political offices and about half of the men folks say the same. And women are far more likely than men to recognize the structural barriers and uneven expectations holding women back from these positions according to Pew Research Center research data (2018).
Councilor Adams shows a collaborative leadership style and if anyone would attend an event hosted by herself or her office one cannot help but notice the constellation of biological, ociological cultural plurality among participants both as hosts of the event and the underlying attendees. She knows she cannot do it alone and so a collaborative effort brings about synergy and networking of opportunities so that informed constituents will redound to the power of good and to build bridges as others seek to build walls. So the ball is in Councilwoman Adams’s court – to seek a higher office run in the near future?
We of T&T, USA would want to volunteer a help-in-hand to the councilwoman assuming she answers in the affirmative.
