Council Member Nantasha Williams, who represents District 27 in southeast Queens (left), and Linda Lee, who represents District 23 in eastern Queens (NYC Council)
Feb. 8, 2022 By Allie Griffin
Council Members Nantasha Williams and Linda Lee will be leading the Queens Council Delegation.
Williams and Lee were elected co-chairs of the delegation by their Queens council colleagues Friday.
As co-chairs, Williams and Lee will advocate for funding for Queens during the council’s discretionary budget negotiations. They will serve as the unified voice for the 14-member Queens delegation in the negotiations with the speaker and mayor.
The Queens delegation, under their leadership, is also tasked with how additional borough-wide funds are distributed.
Williams and Lee are the first pair to co-chair the delegation. Queens council members have historically elected just one chair, while Brooklyn and Manhattan council members have long elected two co-chairs for their respective delegations
The pair said they were honored to serve alongside one another on behalf of Queens.
They will succeed former Council Member Karen Koslowitz, who chaired the delegation from 2015 to 2021. Prior chairs include Mark Weprin and Leroy Comrie.
The Queens delegation, under Koslowitz, secured more than $20 million in discretionary funds in Fiscal Year 2022. The money funded various capital projects across the borough.
Williams, who represents District 27 in southeast Queens, said she will ensure that all districts across Queens get their fair share of funding in her new role.
“I believe in an equitable distribution of funds for all districts and finding common ground within the delegation while respecting our differences and respective decisions,” she said in a statement.
Likewise, Lee said she is dedicated to leading with equity and collaboration in mind.
“Throughout the borough we have so many different communities, priorities, and needs, yet we recognize that we can only achieve these things by working together,” Lee, of District 23 in eastern Queens, said in a statement. “As Co-Chair of this delegation, I promise to lead with fairness, open-mindedness, and equity for all, and will cherish the trust placed in me by my colleagues.”
Queens may well benefit in budget negotiations from Council Speaker Adrienne Adams also being a borough representative.
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