{"id":270975,"date":"2026-06-18T16:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/270975\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T16:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:16:00","slug":"photos-abny-hosts-reception-celebrating-queens-at-forest-hills-stadium-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/270975\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: ABNY hosts reception celebrating Queens at Forest Hills Stadium \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"abny\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Several community members and business, community and elected leaders were on hand at the ABNY reception at Forest Hills Stadium.<\/p>\n

Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

The Association for a Better New York<\/a> (ABNY) held a special reception celebrating the best of Queens on Wednesday, June 17, at Forest Hills Stadium<\/a>, located at 1 Tennis Pl. in Forest Hills<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This special event featured food from local businesses, a wide variety of drinks and and a behind-the-scenes tour of the venue.
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud\n<\/p>\n

The reception made for a great opportunity to connect with local leaders on hand, including\u00a0Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Queens Borough President Donovan Richards was at the ABNY reception. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me, the greatness of this venue is not what happened yesterday, it\u2019s what happens here every summer weekend, when people from all walks of life come together to enjoy the show, especially during a time when we see relentless division across our city and country,\u201d Richards said. \u201cEvery time these doors open, you see what makes Queens great. You see people of all races, all backgrounds, all gender identities and all sexual orientations uniting as one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Richards addresses attendees of the ABNY reception. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

Host committee members for the gala included Queens Chamber of Commerce<\/a> President and CEO Tom Grech, Forest Hills Stadium General Manager Jason Brandt, Lemma Strategies<\/a> Founder and President Anthony Lemma and Vice President Facia Class, Queens Public Library President<\/a> and CEO Dennis Walcott, Queens Night Market<\/a> Founder John Wang, Queens Economic Development Corporation<\/a> Executive Director Ben Guttman, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey<\/a> Deputy Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs Hersh Parekh, Rubenstein Communications<\/a> Senior Managing Director Annette Juriaco, Aigner Chocolates<\/a> Co-Owner Rachel Kellner, Delta Airlines<\/a> Managing Director Patty Ornst, Queens Theatre<\/a> Executive Director Julia del Palacio, Weprin Public Affairs<\/a> President Mark Weprin, L+M Development Partners<\/a> Vice President of Government and Community Relations Connor Martinez, YMCA of Greater New York<\/a> Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Sharon Levy, Resorts World New York City<\/a> Senior Vice President of Community Development Michelle Stoddart, LaGuardia Community College<\/a> President Kenneth Adams, Immortal Strategies<\/a> Founder and CEO Travis Terry, New York Hall of Science<\/a> Associate Vice President of Government Affairs Frances Escano, former New York City Council Member Francisco Moya and Madison House Presents<\/a> Co-President Mike Luba.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud
\n\"\"<\/a>Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n

\u201cReal work of building a stronger New York happens every day in the boroughs and in each neighborhood. It happens when the Queens Night Market, who\u2019s here tonight, creates opportunity for immigrant entrepreneurs. It happens when the YMCA, who\u2019s here tonight, helps families access critical services like child care. It happens when the New York Hall of Science inspires young workers with the power of play and discovery,\u201d ABNY CEO Emma Pfohman said. \u201cIt happens when the building trades and local labor leaders create pathways to the middle class, and it happens when corporate partners like Delta invest in people and institutions across the boroughs, and it happens when educators at St. John\u2019s and Queens College prepare the next generation of New Yorkers. It happens when all of our members across the private sector, nonprofit and labor show up for their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>ABNY CEO Emma Pfohman speaks at the reception. Photo by Ramy Mahmoud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Several community members and business, community and elected leaders were on hand at the ABNY reception at Forest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[104492,53853,31689,9,24,63,122,124,123,104493],"class_list":["post-270975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-abny","tag-association-for-a-better-new-york","tag-forest-hills-stadium","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-reception"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}