Community Board 14 Members Announced for 2025-2027 Term

On Thursday, April 3, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. announced his 2025 class of community board appointees — a tremendously diverse group of public servants who will serve on their respective boards for the next two years.

According to a press release, of Borough President Richards’ 361 total appointees across Queens’ 14 community boards, 119 are new members who are not currently serving on a board already — breaking last year’s Richards Administration record of 117 new members.

The 361 appointees were chosen out of this year’s pool of 916 applicants. In the five community board appointment cycles that Borough President Richards has presided over, 2025 is the third year his office has received at least 900 applications.

“Now more than ever, our communities need individuals who are willing to step up, serve and lead us toward a stable and prosperous future,” Borough President Richards said. “To the 361 individuals who are beginning their terms of service on their local community boards this month, including our historic 119 new members, I’m excited to partner closely with you in strengthening our neighborhoods. Now let’s get to work.”

Borough President Richards’ appointments for the 2025-2027 term to Queens Community Board 14 (Rockaway Point, Breezy Point, Roxbury, Neponsit, Belle Harbor, Rockaway Park, Seaside, Broad Channel, Hammels, Sommerville, Edgemere, Arverne, Bayswater, Wavecrest, Far Rockaway, Rockaway Beach) include: Danielle Barker, Ebony Beaty, Beverly Childs, Kimberly Comes, Lisa Cooper, John Cori, Gerald David, Rose Marie Duggan Gulston, Iona Folkes, Jeanette Garramone, Yitzchok Goldstone, Jacqueline Gutierrez, Samuel Jaroslawicz, Amanda Johnson, Patrick Kelly, Paul King, Richard Knott, Damara Lee, Sharon Lewis-Williams, Nancy Martinez, Alexa Roberts, David Rood-Ojalvo, Aaramiam Sacnite, Jose Santana, Karen Sloan-Payne, Monice Small, Israel Tavera, William Tietjen and Christina Torres.

Upon taking office in December 2020, Borough President Richards emphasized the importance of correcting longstanding demographic inequities across each of Queens’ 14 community boards. Tremendous progress has been made to diversify the boards to ensure they look, sound and feel like the neighborhoods they represent, including with this year’s historic class.

Prior to the Richards Administration, just 43 percent of board members identified as female. But of the 119 new community board members this year, more than 51 percent identify as female. When combining all five of Borough President Richards’ community board application cycles, 52 percent of his new appointees have identified as female.

People of color were also strongly represented amongst the 119 new members. People who identify as Hispanic/Latino — a demographic that has historically been severely underrepresented across the city’s community boards — made up 29.4 percent of that group. Meanwhile, those who identify as East Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander or South Asian made up 23.5 percent of new members, while African Americans made up 22.7 percent of that group.

Broken down by age, over half of new members — 55.5 percent — appointed this year are under the age of 40 and nearly 20 percent are under the age of 30. The youngest new appointee is just 17 years old, reflecting continued growth in interest among young people in community board membership. Prior to the Richards Administration, less than 25 percent of community board members were younger than 45.

Additionally, 24.4 percent of new members are parents or guardians of a school-age child while 19.3 percent are immigrants. In terms of LGBTQIA+ representation, 10.1 percent of new members identified as such, up from 3.2 percent of community board members as of 2020 prior to Borough President Richards taking office.

There are 59 community boards citywide, and each hold monthly full membership meetings. The boards also hold hearings and issue recommendations about the City budget, municipal service delivery and numerous other matters that impact their communities.

All Queens community board members are appointed by the Queens Borough President, pursuant to the City Charter, with at least half of the appointments nominated by the City Council Members representing their respective community districts. Each board has up to 50 unsalaried members, with each member serving a two-year term. All community board members who wish to continue serving on a board are required to reapply at the conclusion of their two-year term and are subject to review and reconsideration.