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Diana Richardson

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Diana Richardson
Deputy Borough President of Brooklyn
In office
January 1, 2022 – October 17, 2022
LeaderAntonio Reynoso
Preceded byIngrid Lewis-Martin
Succeeded byKim Council
Member of the New York State Assembly
from the 43rd district
In office
May 6, 2015 – March 30, 2022
Preceded byKarim Camara
Succeeded byBrian A. Cunningham
Personal details
Born (1983-01-16) January 16, 1983 (age 41)
Brooklyn, New York
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Working Families
Spouse
​
(m. 2024)​
Children1
Residence(s)Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationMedgar Evers College (BA)
Baruch College (MPA)

Diana Richardson (born January 16, 1983) is an American former progressive Democratic politician who served as a member of the New York Assembly.[1] She was elected on the Working Families Party line in a 2015 special election to replace Karim Camara in the 43rd district, which comprises the Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhoods of Brooklyn.[2] She also served as the deputy Brooklyn borough president for ten months in 2022, until she was fired.

Early life and education

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Richardson was born in Brooklyn, to immigrant parents who came to the US from Aruba in the Caribbean in the 1960s,[3][4] and raised in Crown Heights.[4] She attended Edward R. Murrow High School.[5]

Richardson has an undergraduate degree in public administration from Medgar Evers College ('08), and a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College, both campuses of the City University of New York.[3][4]

Career

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Richardson was a Brooklyn Community Board 9 member when the Crown Heights Tenant Union, an advocacy organization for tenants that organizes, educations, and helps residents in housing court cases,[6][7] convinced her to run for an open New York Assembly seat on an anti-gentrification platform.[8]

2015–20

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She won the May 2015 special election with just over 50% of the vote,[9] on the progressive Working Families Party (WFP) ballot line, the first to do so in the state legislature.[9][10] She also won the general election the following November, on both the Democratic Party line as well as the WFP.[4]

In 2016, Richardson was arrested for hitting her 12-year-old son with a broomstick, leaving bruises on his arm, and was charged with second-degree assault (a felony), endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon, and menacing.[11][12][13][14] She was released from police custody with a temporary order of protection against her, and her son was staying with a relative.[15] The felony charge was dropped in April 2017, though she still faced six misdemeanor charges.[16] Four years later she wrote on social media: "I’ll just call it what it is. I beat him."[11]

In 2018, she allegedly threw a significant temper tantrum at a meeting, verbally attacking New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie during a meeting.[17]

In 2020, Richardson was pepper-sprayed by the New York City Police Department while marching at a demonstration over the murder of George Floyd.[18]

Richardson faced a primary challenge in the 2020 elections from Jesse Hamilton.[19] She defeated Hamilton in a landslide.[20]

2021–present

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In January 2022, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso selected Richardson to be the deputy borough president.[21]

On October 17, 2022, Richardson was fired by Reynoso for creating a toxic work environment, following a string of staff and constituent complaints about her behavior while she was working at Borough Hall.[22][23] She had reportedly berated and cursed staff, had to be pulled away from a fight with a Crown Heights anti-violence program director before it became violent, set off smoke alarms in her Borough Hall office, refused to use email, and ignored COVID-19 precautions.[11]

In November 2022 she became engaged, and she is now married, to New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ "Assemblymember Diana Richardson named Deputy Borough President," Brooklyn Paper.
  2. ^ VIVIAN YEEMAY 5, 2015 (May 5, 2015). "Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "New York State Assembly | Diana C. Richardson". nyassembly.gov.
  4. ^ a b c d Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 6, 2016). "Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son" – via NYTimes.com.
  5. ^ "Medgar Made: Diana Richardson’s lifelong journey spurred by Medgar Evers College," Medgar Evers College.
  6. ^ "Crown Heights Tenant Union gains ground in landlord disputes". The Real Deal New York. April 29, 2014.
  7. ^ Rosenberg, Eli (April 29, 2014). "Disparate Forces Align Over Affordable Rents (Published 2014)". Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  8. ^ "The tenant movement's giant killer". The Real Deal New York. September 19, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Bellafante, Ginia (May 15, 2015). "Running on Rent, and Winning" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post," The New York Times.
  11. ^ a b c "Crown Heights Pol Diana Richardson Booted From Brooklyn Borough Hall," Patch.
  12. ^ Foderaro, Lisa W. (November 7, 2016). "Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son (Published 2016)". Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  13. ^ "NYC assemblywoman charged with beating son, 12, with broomstick". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  14. ^ "Relativizing Discipline; When is child abuse not really child abuse? When it’s part of your heritage, apparently," City Journal.
  15. ^ "Crown Heights Assemblywoman Arrested After Allegedly Hitting Son With Broomstick," Gothamist.
  16. ^ CARREGA, CHRISTINA. "Brooklyn assemblywoman accused of beating son with broomstick sees felony assault charges dropped". nydailynews.com.
  17. ^ "Brooklyn Borough Deputy President Diana Richardson Fired," Little Africa News.
  18. ^ Troutman, Matt (May 29, 2020). "NYPD, Protesters Clash At Rally Over George Floyd Killing". Prospect Heights NY Patch.
  19. ^ "Former Senator Jesse Hamilton is running for Assembly". BK Reader. June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  20. ^ King, Nelson A. "Richardson thanks supporters for resounding victory - Caribbean Life". www.caribbeanlife.com.
  21. ^ "Assembly Member Diana Richardson named Brooklyn deputy borough president - City & State New York". Cityandstateny.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso fires deputy Diana Richardson over toxic work environment". www.nydailynews.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  23. ^ "Zellnor Myrie and Diana Richardson are engaged". City & State NY. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  24. ^ "Zellnor Myrie and Diana Richardson are engaged," City & State.
  25. ^ "Myrie delivers stump speech, but isn’t running for mayor (yet)," City & State.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by New York Assembly, 43rd District
2015–2022 		Succeeded by
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