A Queens District 28 community delegation met with outgoing New York City Speaker Adrienne Adams on December 18, 2025, at her office in South Ozone Park to express the Caribbean community’s appreciation for her representation of the community and the district for the past eight years as its Council Member. Speaker Adams’ term expires on December 31, 2025. Her district is among the most ethnically and culturally diverse in the city and in the country with one of the largest Indo Caribbean concentration in USA. The newly elected Council Memberto represent the District 28) is Tyrel Hankerson, who is currently the Chief of Staff of Speaker Adams.
Speaker Adams is saluted for representing the most diverse and the first women-majority Council in New York City history as the first-ever African American Speaker. Elected to the City Council in November 2017, she is also the first woman to represent City Council District 28, which encompasses the Queens neighborhoods of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, and South Ozone Park. The concentration of Indo-Caribbean population in District 28 is the highest in New York City, often referred to as “Little Guyana”.
The meeting was organized by prominent District Leader Richard David and Ashook Ramsaran, Queens’ civic leader and president of Indian Diaspora Council. Attendees were: Richard David; Rhonda Binda, Executive Director of Smart Regions Initiative and former Queens Borough President; Faiuze Ali, community leader; Imam Safraz Bacchus of Masjid Al Abidin; Jeany Persaud, community advocate and philanthropist; Dr. Nicole Bissessar, Queens General Assembly member and educator; and Lakshmee Singh, well known Indo-Caribbean talk show host.
After the presentation of a bouquet of flowers by Dr. Nicole Bissessar and a plaque of appreciation by the delegation, all members expressed gratitude to Speaker Adams for her support of many significant projects benefiting the community. These include the opening of the South Ozone Park office, several street namings including Little Guyana Avenue, and funding for many charitable causes. Of particular note was Speaker Adams making it possible for the District 28 community west of the Van Wyck to become more visible and recognized.
Speaker Adams graciously expressed that it was her honor and privilege to represent the community and acknowledged the support of many civic, religious, community, and political leaders who enabled her to make progress on behalf of those she represents.