| Office: | 20th Borough President of Queens |
| Termstart: | January 1, 2020 |
| Termend: | December 2, 2020 |
| Predecessor: | Melinda Katz |
| Successor: | Donovan Richards |
| Education: | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| Party: | Democratic |
Sharon Lee is an American Democratic politician from New York City. From January 2020 until December 2020, she served as the borough president of Queens through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] [2] Lee is the first person of Asian descent to serve as a borough president in the City of New York.
As the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the borough, Lee managed[3] the distribution of tons of pounds of food and support for small businesses,[4] a dozen virtual job fairs[5] for out-of-work New Yorkers, 2020 presidential election amidst the pandemic, funding for hospital services including doubling the number of SANE nurses across Queens hospitals,[6] championed racial justice[7] in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, and helped boost Queens County's count in the 2020 United States Census.[8]
Some of her signature public investments included a $1 million allocation to fully fund the FDNY's Decontamination Specialization Unit[9] in Corona, Queens to purchase and install new equipment necessary for cleaning firefighters' equipment, and a $5.4 million allocation to fully fund cutting-edge cancer treatment technology at the oncology unit of Elmhurst Hospital, one of Queens' two public hospitals.[10] Lee also weighed in on key land use issues—including a recommendation opposing the 2020 Flushing Waterfront rezoning plan.[11]
Lee was an early outspoken leader amidst the scourge in anti-Asian hate,[12] especially in the wake of the Atlanta spa shootings.[13] [14]
Previously, she served as Deputy Queens Borough President from November 2018 through December 2019.[15]
Lee was appointed deputy borough president in November 2018.[16] Lee took over as borough president from Melinda Katz in January 2020, who was elected Queens District Attorney in November 2019.[17] Lee oversaw the borough's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.[18]
Prior to that, Lee served as the Executive Director of the Transition Committee for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz from November-December 2019, and as Communications Director for the Queens Borough President from November 2014-October 2018.
Previously, Lee served as Senior Advisor and Press Secretary to former New York City Comptroller John Liu from September 2009-December 2013. Lee was instrumental in innovative priorities such as the Pension Investment Reform Proposal[19] of 2011 between Comptroller Liu and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Retirement Security Initiative NYC in 2011 between Comptroller Liu and the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis.[20] Lee helped develop and execute strategies for award-winning transparency initiatives such as Checkbook NYC in 2010[21] that launched unprecedented access to information about the City’s expenditures, and MWBE Report Card NYC in 2021, a performance measurement tool to publicly track City agencies’ progress in achieving their MWBE goals.[22] She was also an integral member of the team that identified and exposed the fraud and mismanagement of the infamous CityTime case in 2010, which ultimately led to the recoupment of an historic $500 million for the City of New York.[23] [24]
She served as Policy Director and Press Secretary to former New York City Councilmember and Transportation Committee Chair John Liu from 2006-2009.
Lee opposes cuts in healthcare spending.[25] She did not run for reelection.[26]