{{short description|American politician}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Diana Richardson | image = MTA Officially Renames Two Brooklyn Subway Stations - 50405873471 (cropped).jpg | caption = <!--Current office--> | office = Deputy [[Borough President]] of [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]] | leader = [[Antonio Reynoso]] | term_start = January 1, 2022 | predecessor = [[Ingrid Lewis-Martin]] | successor = Kimberly “Kim” Council | state_assembly1 = New York | district1 = [[New York's 43rd State Assembly district|43rd]] | term_start1 = May 6, 2015 | term_end1 = March 30, 2022 | predecessor1 = [[Karim Camara]] | successor1 = [[Brian A. Cunningham]] | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|01|16}} | birth_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S. | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | other_party = [[Working Families Party|Working Families]] | spouse = {{marriage|[[Zellnor Myrie]]|2024}} | children = 1 | education = [[Medgar Evers College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Baruch College]] ([[Master of Public Administration|MPA]]) | website = | footnotes = | term_end = October 17, 2022 }}
'''Diana Richardson''' (born January 16, 1983) is an American former Democratic politician who served as a member of the [[New York Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brachfeld |first=Ben |date=2022-01-10 |title=Assemblymember Diana Richardson named Deputy Borough President |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/central-brooklyn-pol-diana-richardson-named-deputy-bp-by-reynoso/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Brooklyn Paper |language=en-US}}</ref> She was elected on the progressive [[Working Families Party]] line in a 2015 [[special election]] to replace [[Karim Camara]] in the [[New York's 43rd State Assembly district|43rd district]], which comprises the [[Crown Heights, Brooklyn|Crown Heights]] and [[Prospect Lefferts Gardens]] neighborhoods of [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yee |first=Vivian |date=2015-05-06 |title=Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/nyregion/working-families-candidate-diana-richardson-wins-brooklyn-assembly-post.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She also served as the deputy Brooklyn borough president for ten months in 2022 before she was fired following a string of staff and constituent complaints for creating a toxic work environment.
==Early life and education== Richardson was born in Brooklyn, to immigrant parents who came to the US from [[Aruba]] in the Caribbean in the 1960s,<ref name="NYS Assembly page">{{cite web|url=https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Diana-C-Richardson|title=New York State Assembly | Diana C. Richardson|website=nyassembly.gov}}</ref><ref name="NYT 16">{{cite news |last=Foderaro |first=Lisa W. |date=November 6, 2016 |title=Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/nyregion/support-and-dismay-for-brooklyn-assemblywoman-after-charges-she-hit-her-son.html |work=The New York Times |via=}}</ref> and raised in [[Crown Heights, Brooklyn|Crown Heights]].<ref name="NYT 16"/> She attended [[Edward R. Murrow High School]].<ref>[https://www.mec.cuny.edu/campus-news/medgar-made-diana-richardsons-lifelong-journey-spurred-by-medgar-evers-college/ "Medgar Made: Diana Richardson's lifelong journey spurred by Medgar Evers College,"] Medgar Evers College.</ref>
Richardson has an undergraduate degree in [[public administration]] from [[Medgar Evers College]] and a [[Master of Public Administration]] from [[Baruch College]], both campuses of the [[City University of New York]].<ref name="NYS Assembly page"/><ref name="NYT 16"/>
==Career== 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://therealdeal.com/2014/04/29/crown-heights-tenant-union-gains-ground-in-landlord-disputes/|title=Crown Heights Tenant Union gains ground in landlord disputes|date=April 29, 2014|website=The Real Deal New York}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/nyregion/disparate-forces-align-over-affordable-rents.html|title=Disparate Forces Align Over Affordable Rents (Published 2014)|first=Eli|last=Rosenberg|date=April 29, 2014|accessdate=February 19, 2021|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> convinced her to run for an open [[New York Assembly]] seat on platform of "expanding tenants’ rights and rejecting real estate money."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kromrei |first=Georgia |date=2019-09-19 |title=The tenant movement's giant killer |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2019/09/19/the-tenant-movements-giant-killer/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=The Real Deal |language=en}}</ref>
===2015–2020=== She won the May 2015 special election in the [[New York's 43rd State Assembly district|43rd State Assembly district]] with just over 50% of the vote,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bellafante |first=Ginia |date=2015-05-15 |title=Running on Rent, and Winning |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/nyregion/up-from-crown-heights.html |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> on the progressive [[Working Families Party]] (WFP) ballot line, the first to do so in the state legislature.<ref name="NYT 15">{{cite news |last=Bellafante |first=Ginia |date=May 15, 2015 |title=Running on Rent, and Winning |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/nyregion/up-from-crown-heights.html |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/nyregion/working-families-candidate-diana-richardson-wins-brooklyn-assembly-post.html "Working Families Candidate Diana Richardson Wins Brooklyn Assembly Post,"] ''The New York Times''.</ref> She also won the [[general election]] the following November, on both the Democratic Party line as well as the WFP.<ref name="NYT 16"/>
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]].<ref name=dn/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/07/nyregion/support-and-dismay-for-brooklyn-assemblywoman-after-charges-she-hit-her-son.html|title=Support, and Dismay, for Brooklyn Assemblywoman After Charges She Hit Her Son (Published 2016)|first=Lisa W.|last=Foderaro|work=The New York Times |date=November 7, 2016|accessdate=February 19, 2021|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/diana-richardson-nyc-assemblywoman-charged-with-beating-son-12-with-broomstick/|title=NYC assemblywoman charged with beating son, 12, with broomstick|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=November 7, 2016 |accessdate=February 19, 2021}}</ref> She was released from police custody with a temporary [[order of protection]] against her, and her son was staying with a relative.<ref>[https://gothamist.com/news/crown-heights-assemblywoman-arrested-after-allegedly-hitting-son-with-broomstick "Crown Heights Assemblywoman Arrested After Allegedly Hitting Son With Broomstick,"] ''Gothamist''.</ref> The felony charge was dropped in April 2017, though she still faced six misdemeanor charges.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carrega |first=Christina |date=2017-04-28 |title=Brooklyn assemblywoman accused of beating son with broomstick sees felony assault charges dropped |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/04/28/brooklyn-assemblywoman-accused-of-beating-son-with-broomstick-sees-felony-assault-charges-dropped/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref> Four years later she wrote on social media: "I'll just call it what it is. I beat him."<ref name=dn/>
In 2018, she reportedly threw a "serious temper tantrum, verbally attacking" Assembly Speaker [[Carl Heastie]] during a meeting."<ref>[https://www.littleafricanews.com/brooklyn-borough-deputy-president-diana-richardson-fired/ "Brooklyn Borough Deputy President Diana Richardson Fired,"] ''Little Africa News''.</ref>
During her reelection run for New York State Assembly in 2020, Richardson accused the leader of the [[Brooklyn Democratic Party]], [[Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn]], and the other members of the Brooklyn Democratic Party of supporting her opponent in the primary, former State Senator [[Jesse Hamilton]].<ref name=":0" />
In 2020, Richardson was pepper-sprayed by the [[New York City Police Department]] while marching at a demonstration over the [[murder of George Floyd]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Troutman |first1=Matt |title=NYPD, Protesters Clash At Rally Over George Floyd Killing |url=https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/brooklyn-joins-protests-over-george-floyd-killing |work=Prospect Heights NY Patch |date=May 29, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
Richardson faced a primary challenge in the 2020 elections from [[Jesse Hamilton]], whom she ultimately defeated.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Nigel |date=June 22, 2020 |title=Former Senator Jesse Hamilton is running for Assembly |url=https://www.bkreader.com/2020/06/22/jesse-hamilton-tries-to-hit-the-reset-button-on-his-political-career/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221014347/https://www.bkreader.com/2020/06/22/jesse-hamilton-tries-to-hit-the-reset-button-on-his-political-career/ |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |accessdate=February 19, 2021 |website=BK Reader}}</ref>
===2021–present=== In January 2022, [[Brooklyn Borough President]] [[Antonio Reynoso]] selected Richardson to be the deputy borough president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2022/01/assembly-member-diana-richardson-named-brooklyn-deputy-borough-president/360560/ |title=Assembly Member Diana Richardson named Brooklyn deputy borough president - City & State New York |publisher=Cityandstateny.com |date= January 10, 2022|accessdate=2022-01-10}}</ref>
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 [[Brooklyn Borough Hall]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-10 |title=Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso fires deputy Diana Richardson over toxic work environment |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2022/10/10/brooklyn-borough-president-antonio-reynoso-fires-deputy-diana-richardson-over-toxic-work-environment/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=New York Daily News |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name="dn">{{Cite web |last=Senzamici |first=Peter |date=2022-10-10 |title=Crown Heights Pol Diana Richardson Booted From Brooklyn Borough Hall |url=https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/toxic-crown-heights-pol-diana-richardson-fired-report |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Patch |language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== In November 2022, ''[[City & State NY]]'' reported that Richardson was engaged to New York State Senator [[Zellnor Myrie]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Rebecca |date=2022-11-16 |title=Zellnor Myrie and Diana Richardson are engaged |url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/personality/2022/11/zellnor-myrie-and-diana-richardson-are-engaged/379804/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=City & State NY |language=en}}</ref> In February 2024, Myrie announced they had married, though he did not disclose the wedding date.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sterne |first=Peter |date=2024-02-20 |title=Myrie delivers stump speech, but isn't running for mayor (yet) |url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2024/02/myrie-delivers-stump-speech-isnt-running-mayor-yet/394311/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=City & State NY |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongLinks|votesmart=156404}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Karim Camara]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[New York Assembly|New York Assembly, 43rd District]]|years=2015–2022}} {{s-aft|after=[[Brian A. Cunningham]]}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Diana}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Politicians from Brooklyn]] [[Category:Medgar Evers College alumni]] [[Category:Baruch College alumni]] [[Category:African-American state legislators in New York (state)]] [[Category:Working Families Party politicians]] [[Category:Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly]] [[Category:Women state legislators in New York (state)]] [[Category:21st-century American women politicians]] [[Category:American people of Aruban descent]] [[Category:1987 births]] [[Category:21st-century African-American women politicians]] [[Category:21st-century African-American politicians]] [[Category:20th-century African-American politicians]] [[Category:20th-century African-American women politicians]] [[Category:20th-century American women politicians]] [[Category:21st-century members of the New York State Legislature]]