Queens Borough President Donovon Richards Jr.

Donovan Richards Jr. is the President of the  Borough of Queens.

He was born and raised in Queens and grew up to be a community leader.

He grew up in Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, St. Albans, and visited his grandparents

in the Rockaways. He had a normal childhood but after the death of his childhood friend

Darnell Patterson, Richards pursued a career in politics and civil service. Through his knowledge

​of Queens, he secured his seat in the city council in 2013 and his position as borough president in 2020.

Richards attended  Jamaica High School and Redemption Christian Academy, a private school in Troy, New York. Mrs. Sandra Luraas, known as Sister Luraas to her students, was Mr. Richards’ English teacher and the head of the English Department at Redemption Christian Academy. In her words Richards was “Extremely pleasant.” She says. “He was optimistic, always had a friendly attitude… and, [was] very thoughtful…, [and] he picked up things quickly.” Mrs. Luraas went further to say, “He would help anybody with anything.”

Considered an “ideal student,” Richards was also an integral part of his school’s newspaper. According to Luraas, officially he was an editor for the newspaper, but his role seemed more complex: “He wrote articles [and], he cut and pasted other student’s articles into the layout of the newsletter.” Luraas states proudly that “He really went above and beyond.” “If we had a deadline… he wouldn’t care if school was out, he would stay on just to make sure that job got completed… so he’s very committed.”

Sister Luraas states that he was able to take initiative and learn on his own. An example of this is how Mr. Richards learned to use Photoshop. “I did not train him on Photoshop but he used it to… put together our newspaper.” It seems this skill helped Richards with more than just the school newspaper. “And then a few [years] after he left he called back to thank us because that’s how he initially got his job at City Hall in Queens, because he knew how to work with Photoshop and he was able to do the newsletters there; So something he did in high school… was his step into politics because that got him a summer job as an intern at City Hall and then after the internship the next step was to politics.”

However, Richards was not always interested in politics. After finishing high school he actually attended Nyack College where he studied Communications, Radio, and TV. He mused “… my journey into public service wasn’t immediate. I actually thought I would get into the music business.” But the shooting of his childhood friend changed the trajectory of his life.

From 2003-2013 Richards worked within the City Council in numerous positions learning as much as he could about the community. Through his decade of service he developed a hands-on approach to helping constituents that ultimately helped him get elected as councilman of District 31 in 2013. “Thanks to that decision, and a lot of hard work and perseverance, I had the honor of serving in the City Council for more than seven years,” he states.

He not only fought against gun violence. He also advocated for affordable housing and environmental protection following SuperStorm Sandy. In addition, Richards served as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises during his first City Council term. During this time, he pushed for rezoning in the Rockaways which increased residential availability, as well as commercial and community space. Through his efforts, the Rockaways were able to establish a new library. He also served as Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection after the devastating impact of SuperStorm Sandy. Through his position, funding for flood protection for Rockaway communities was secured.

Although he worked on housing and environmental protection, the most important issue for Borough President Richards is gun violence and criminal justice reform. A steadfast advocate for criminal justice, Richards has acted as the Chair of the Committee on Public Safety. This committee has overseen the New York Police Department and the Civilian Complaint Review Board from the beginning of January 2018. In his position he held numerous hearings on New York Police Department protocols. These protocols surrounded protests, marijuana laws, and school safety. He championed the police reform legislation, which included the creation of a disciplinary matrix. This would establish clear guidelines for internal discipline within the New York Police Department. Borough President Richards was able to secure $70 million in funding for a new police precinct. However those funds were repealed in the following year’s budget.

In November of 2020, Richards was elected as the Queens Borough President. As Borough President he is responsible for the lives of the people of the Queens Community. “Now, as Queens Borough President I have the privilege of leading a diverse borough of 2.4 million residents.” he says. Richards is focused on establishing a $17.5 million program to fund small businesses. His effort to modernize the community board process has led to great success, as it resulted in a 58% increase in applications.

Richards states that, “It is how we handle the bad times that dictates how our lives turn out.” For the past two years many of us have faced more adversity than ever before. “My advice to today’s young people is to not let the bad times make them bitter,” he says. He believes you should let these bad times and adversities fuel you, be the change you wish to see in the world and “get to work on fostering constructive change in the world.”

Finally, Queens Borough President Richards has some advice

and words of encouragement for the students of Queens Preparatory Academy.

​
“The students of Queens Preparatory Academy
are smart, talented, and fully capable of making a positive
impact on the lives of others,” he declares. “So I say to them, ‘get out
there and show the world  what you’ve got!’ I look forward to seeing all the contributions
that the Queens Preparatory Academy’s students will make toward making the world a better place.”

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Now after learning about our Borough President Donovan Richards, would you consider pursuing a career in civil service or politics? If so, how would you give back to your community and make it better for those who reside there? How do you give ack to your community now as a student? if you don’t already, how can you make a positive difference in your community going forward?