New York City

Helen Marshall, First Black Queens Borough President, Dies

Helen Marshall, the former borough president of Queens, has died. She was 87.

Marshall died in hospice care in Palm Desert, California, her daughter told Newsday

Agnes Marie Marshall said her mother "loved Queens and always did everything she could to take care of everybody."

Helen Marshall was the borough's first black president. She served from 2002 to 2013. She had a long career in politics, as a State Assembly member and City Council member. In 1969, she founded New York City's Langston Hughes Library.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said she was bighearted, dynamic and brave. Queens Library President Dennis Walcott said Queens Library would not be the world-class system it is without her.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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