QBP RICHARDS TO CITY OF NEW YORK: PLACE STATUE HONORING BILLIE HOLIDAY IN ADDISLEIGH PARK

(June 28, 2021 at 10am)

QUEENS, NY – Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. sent a letter to Women.nyc Deputy Director Jasmine Baker Taddeo this month asking the City of New York to place the planned statue honoring trailblazing jazz singer Billie Holiday in the famed Addisleigh Park section of Southeast Queens, which Holiday and numerous other iconic jazz musicians of color called home.

The Borough President writes, in part, “As our city and the great Borough of Queens continues to reopen, we are excited to move forward with this meaningful art campaign and the installation of a monument honoring iconic late singer Billie Holiday. We are aware that Queens Borough Hall was suggested as the home of the monument in preliminary conversations. However, in full appreciation of the founding principle of the She Built NYC initiative, which highlights the importance of representation and elevating stories often pushed far from the mainstream narrative, a group of local leaders and our office agree that placing the statue at Queens Borough Hall would be a missed opportunity to honor the community of Addisleigh Park, the historic Southeast Queens neighborhood Billie Holiday called home.”

Read Borough President Richards’ letter to Deputy Director Taddeo here.

Suivez le bureau du président de l'arrondissement du Queens via @QnsBPRichards sur Twitter et @QueensBPRichards sur Facebook et Instagram.

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