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COVER STORY: Remembering Claire Shulman
COVER STORY FORMER QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENTS PASSES AT 94
BY SARA KREVOY
Claire Shulman, who became the first woman to hold the office of Queens borough president in 1986 following a corruption scandal concerning her predecessor, died on August 16 while at her home in Beechurst. She was 94 years old.
A longtime friend of Shulman’s told the New York Times the cause of her passing was lung cancer. Shulman, a survivor of breast cancer, was also battling pancreatic cancer at the time of her death.
Born Claire Kantoff on February 23, 1926, in Brooklyn, Shulman was a graduate of Adelphi University and a registered nurse before beginning a career in politics. After becoming active with the Bayside Mother’s Club, she first ventured into public service in the 1960s, serving on the neighborhood’s community board, of which she was eventually appointed chairwoman.
Over the years, Shulman worked her way up to director of community boards under former Queens Borough President Donald Manes, and subsequently became his deputy in 1980. Manes, who later committed suicide, was implicated in one of the biggest municipal corruption rings in New York City, soliciting bribes in exchange for influence over contracts at the Parking Violations Bureau.
When he resigned in February 1986, Shulman was chosen to finish out the year as interim borough president by a unanimous vote of the City Council’s Queens members. She then proceeded to win both the primary and general election to finish out the remaining three years of Manes’ term. Shulman achieved victory in three more popular votes, leading the “World’s Borough” for 16 years.
As Queens borough president, Shulman was known for her passionate advocacy
for issues including economic development, airport disputes and the environment, as well as for championing the borough’s cultural institutions. Throughout her tenure, she secured funding for construction on Queens Hospital Center, in addition to creating 30,000 school seats for Queens students.
In 1987, Shulman notably mediated a compromise while sitting as a member on the Board of Estimate – which was abolished by the city two years later - when it voted to adopt a rezoning proposal that would spur the construction of middleincome apartments across the five boroughs. Advocating for her constituent neighborhoods comprised mostly of single-family detached homes, Shulman was able to reach a negotiation that exempted a dozen neighborhoods in Queens that opposed the development plans.
Even in the last year of her tenure as borough president, Shulman fought back against a proposal to build an Olympic Village on land that had been allocated for permanent housing and updating the lakes in Flushing MeadowsCorona Park.
Shulman may have been the first female Queens borough president, but she set the tone of the office for the nearly two decades following her departure. She was succeeded by the late Helen Marshall, and next by now-Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Upon ending her career in politics, Shulman continued to be active in Queens affairs. She established the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation, aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods in northern Queens, and acted as its president and CEO. Shulman also served on the board of directors of both New York Hospital Queens and St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children.
She also helped the Queens Zoo obtain its first bald eagle. In return, the
zoo named its current bald eagles after Shulman and her husband.
Most recently, Shulman influenced this year’s race for her former office, endorsing Councilman Donovan Richards in a special election for Queens borough president. Richards later won the Democratic nomination.
“I lost a good friend last night,” Richards tweeted the morning after Shulman’s passing. “Queens lost a true gem last night. Claire Shulman was one of a kind. Her commitment to building institutions and fostering opportunities for people from all walks of life in Queens can’t be overstated.”
Shulman’s is survived by her sister Ruth; daughter Ellen Shulman Baker, a physician and retired astronaut who was a veteran of three Space Shuttle flights; son Lawrence, an oncologist and chief medical officer at Boston’s Dana–Farber Cancer Institute; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Her husband, Dr. Melvin Shulman, a psychiatrist whom she met while working at Queens Hospital Center as a nurse, died in 2015. Their adopted son Kim, a film and television director, died in 2001 of a cerebral hemorrhage.
In a statement, Acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee referred to Shulman as “larger than life.”
“She did not waste time, and lived every single minute fully and with purpose,” said Lee. “In a borough known for its trailblazers, few have led a life of dedicated public service as robust and as effective as Claire Shulman. She transformed the landscape of the city’s largest borough, and so much of what we see and enjoy today are the results of her extraordinary vision and decisions made over 18 years ago. “No one loved Queens more than Claire Shulman,” she went on, “and in turn, she was widely respected and deeply loved.”
ALL PHOTOS: MICHAEL O’KANE
COVER STORY QUEENS LEADERS REFLECT ON SHULMAN’S LEGACY
BY BENJAMIN FANG
Tom Santucci, chairman of the Queens Chamber’s Board of Directors, had lunch with Claire Shulman six months before she passed away.
Santucci, who is also president and CEO of Gateway Investments, picked Shulman up at her home and went to a nearby restaurant. After they sat down, he recalled that several customers came by to greet the former borough president.
During their meal, they spoke about the recent primary election and other issues in the borough.
“She was a vibrant 94 years old,” Santucci said. “She was sharp as can be.”
When he heard about Shulman’s passing last month, Santucci said he was saddened by the news. She had been a friend of his family for several decades. Santucci is a former district leader, and his father, John Santucci, served as a state senator and Queens district attorney.
Reflecting on Shulman’s legacy, Santucci called the former borough president an accessible and pragmatic politician.
“Her heart and soul was always in the community and what she could do better for Queens,” he said. “It’s rare that I went to a Queens event where she wasn’t there.
“She steered us in a great direction,” Santucci added. “She helped make Queens what it is today.”
The Queens Chamber chairman said Shulman was a “terrific mentor and colleague” who had a lasting impact on the borough.
“I feel as though I’ve lost a dear friend,” he said. “I truly enjoyed being with her every time.”
Howard Graf, a member of the Queens Chamber board, also felt a sense of loss after Shulman passed away.
“We just lost an incredibly smart, gifted person who has always had Queens in her first thoughts,” he said.
Graf, an architect, served as president of the board at the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts when Shulman was borough president. She helped arrange for the organization to move into Flushing Town Hall, as well as allocating $7 million to renovate the decrepit Northern Boulevard building, Graf said.
He met with Shulman several times a year to provide updates on the project. Graf said the former borough president provided constant feedback and always knew how to solve problems.
“The amazing thing about Claire always was, if I thought there was an issue, she always understood within 30 seconds all the complications and involvements,” Graf said. “She was quick, understood how to solve problems and work with people.
“She never wasted time,” he added. “She was a delight.”
For Michelle Stoddart, vice president of public affairs and community development at Resorts World Casino New York City, Shulman was always accessible and approachable. Stoddart said she marveled at how generous she was with her time.
“Any event you went to, she was always a steady presence,” she said. “She always focused on you and made you feel important, always had advice for you. I will miss that.”
Stoddart, a Queens Chamber board member, said she looked up to Shulman as a strong woman leader, someone who always championed the borough and had Queens’s best interests at heart. She learned from Shulman to be bold, forceful and passionate.
“Those of us who follow in her footsteps were emboldened by her passion,” she said. “That’s her legacy to me.”
Tom Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber, said he considered Shulman a mentor. He said she took him under her wing, taught him the ropes and helped him navigate the intricacies of Queens, the business community and the borough’s politics.
Grech said her impact on the Queens business community can be felt throughout the borough, from Jamaica and Flushing to Long Island City. Nothing got done between 1986 and 2002, her tenure as borough president, if Shulman wasn’t involved, he said.
One of Shulman’s most important legacies, Grech said, is working collaboratively but never losing sight of her goal.
“She got things done, she was tenacious and never gave up,” he said. “We can all take a page from that playbook and do what she did all those years.
“She was one in a million,” Grech added. “She will definitely be missed.”
Someone who followed in her footsteps was Melinda Katz, the former borough president and current Queens district attorney. She said the day that Shulman passed away was “a sad day for Queens.” Katz worked for Shulman for three years as director of community boards, an experience for which she’s grateful. The DA said
she learned a lot under Shulman’s leadership.
“I was amazed at how she was able to navigate this system that we lived in so long ago,” Katz said, referencing Shulman’s trailblazing status as the first woman to serve as Queens borough president. “I’m not sure she was given enough credit for that.”
Shulman knew how to run a meeting, Katz said, and how to get the best out of everyone at that moment. She interpreted the information she was given and effectuated a plan. “She was truly a master at that, there was always a goal from her,” she said. “She never dropped the ball.” Soon after Katz was elected borough president, she saw a tweet that posed the question: “can Katz out-Claire Claire Shulman?” Katz said the fact that Shulman was used as the standard “was a real compliment to her leadership.”
“She was an amazing leader,” she said. “She showed what impact one person could have on the city.”
