QUEENS, NY – Borough President Melinda Katz stated the following on the passing of the Honorable Helen Marshall, former President of the Borough of Queens:

Helen Marshall was a larger-than-life figure in the civic life of Queens and the State of New York. During her decades in public life, Helen fought tenaciously to improve our children’s schools, to address seemingly intractable quality-of-life issues and to secure a fair share of City resources for Queens. As the first African American borough president of Queens and only the second woman to be elected to the position, Helen was a trailblazer who inspired many to pursue public service. She was a deeply compassionate person who cared tremendously about the well- being of her fellow Queens residents. Her love of the borough was exceeded only by her love for her family, especially her devoted husband Donald, who passed away recently. Helen will be sorely missed and I extend my condolences and the condolences of the 2.3 million residents of Queens to Helen and Donald’s children, Donald Jr. and Agnes Marie, and to Helen’s entire family.