Marshall Paints Bold Picture In 'State of the Borough'

Borough President Helen Marshall held court at Queens College Tuesday morning to give her annual report on the state of the borough.

Marshall, despite tough times for the city and state budget, painted a rosy picture of the future ahead, and said Queens County will be marching forward into 2011 with new possibilities around every corner.

“Unemployment in Queens is slowly declining, and our faith in the economic recovery is rising,” Marshall said. “Queens is building, growing and getting greener. Hundreds of millions of dollars are expanding and building new libraries, schools and new housing units. All of this is taking place with a constant eye on the need for infrastructure improvements.”

Marshall broke down her speech, addressing several topics important to borough residents.

Education

One of the most important elements of Marshall’s speech was her focus on education. Marshall revealed that new Schools Chancellor Cathie Black will be meeting with Queens’ Parental Advisory Board later this year to address the needs of parents and schools in the area — notably concerns of overcrowding, something many students in the area know all too well.

Marshall also touted the opening of new schools, including the in Forest Hills.

The campus in Forest Hills is likely , as well. All of these schools were created with the goal of increasing the borough's seat count and ease overcrowding.

Libraries

Going hand in hand with education, Marshall pointed to the drastically underfunded public library system in the borough, and showed a graphic to the crowd that drew gasps from several in the audience.

Queens libraries, she said, receive far less funding than their counterparts in other borough’s and Marshall revealed that along with several city council members, she will be spearheading a legislative effort to correct the inequity.

“Using a fair funding formula, Queens was short-changed by more than $11 million last year,” Marshall said.

Hospitals

While Marshall tried to put a positive spin on many of the changes in the borough this year, one area where she was unashamedly upset was the state of hospitals in Queens. With the closure of four hospitals in the last five years, and the possible closure of more on the horizon, the borough president characterized Queens as a county in the midst of a health care crisis.

While she touted expansions at Elmhurst Hospital and New York Hospital Queens, she couldn’t deny the challenges that lay ahead.

“We now have only 10 hospitals to serve more than 2.3 million residents,” Marshall lamented. “Our remaining hospitals need more beds, space, and equipment.”

At the end of the speech, Marshall handed out accolades and promised hope for the future, despite the troubled economic climate.

“We’ve spoken today about so many things that give us faith and belief in the future of Queens. I have great faith in the human spirit,” Marshall said, adding with a smile, “and speaking of the human spirit, I still believe in the Mets.”