Claire Shulman
| Claire Shulman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shulman in 2012 | |
| 17th Borough President of Queens | |
| In office January 28, 1986 – January 3, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Manes |
| Succeeded by | Helen Marshall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 23, 1926 (age 89) Brooklyn, New York |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Dr. Melvin Shulman |
| Children | one, Dr. Ellen S. Baker |
| Residence | Beechhurst, Queens, New York |
Claire K. Shulman (born February 23, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American politician. She was the borough president of Queens, New York City from 1986 until 2002; the first woman to hold this position in Queens history.
Career
Shulman was a registered nurse before getting into politics. She met her future husband, Mel Shulman, a doctor, while both were working at Queens Hospital Center. She was active in Queens community affairs and was appointed to a community board in 1966. She became Queens borough president Donald Manes' director of community boards in 1972 and his deputy in 1980. She took office initially as acting Borough President on January 28, 1986 after the scandal-tarred Manes, who later committed suicide, resigned. She was designated Borough President by a unanimous vote of the City Council on March 12.[1] She was elected to a full term later that year and again in 1989, 1993 and 1997. She was term-limited in 2001 and was succeeded by Helen Marshall on January 3, 2002.
Affiliations
Shulman currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of New York Hospital Queens and St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children.
She also assisted the Queens Zoo in obtaining its first bald eagle. The zoo's current bald eagles, Mel and Claire II, are named after Shulman and her husband.[2]
Personal life
She and her husband, Dr. Melvin Shulman, reside in Beechhurst, Queens, New York. They have one daughter, Dr. Ellen S. Baker, an astronaut [3] and a veteran of three Space Shuttle voyages, including one that docked with the Russian space station Mir. Their son, Dr. Lawrence Shulman, a renowned medical oncologist, is Chief Medical Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Their adopted son, Kim Shulman, who worked as an assistant director on television series including Party of Five and films including Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, died from a cerebral brain haemorrhage on June 2, 2001.[4]
A breast cancer survivor, Shulman lost both breasts in separate mastectomies.
References
External links
| Preceded by Donald Manes |
Borough President of Queens 1986–2002 |
Succeeded by Helen Marshall |
| ||||||