Press Releases

NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to Rename the Pavilion Building as “Claire Shulman Pavilion” in Honor of the Late Queens Borough President Claire Shulman

Decades-long public servant began her storied career as a nurse at Queens Hospital

Shulman was the first woman to serve as Queens Borough President

Mar 27, 2025

Queens, NY — Following a vote by the health system’s Board of Directors, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens is proud to announce that it is officially renaming The Pavilion building as the “Claire Shulman Pavilion” in honor of the late former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman. Shulman was the first woman to serve as Queens Borough President, a role she held from 1986 to 2002. Her staunch dedication and advocacy began early in her career as a nurse at Queens Hospital in the late 1940s, when she developed a lifelong commitment to improving healthcare services for her constituents. Throughout her tenure as Borough President, she made significant contributions to enhancing healthcare services and resources for Queens County, resulting in securing more than $150 million in capital funding for the extensive modernization of Queens and Elmhurst Hospitals in the early 2000s. This major modernization project included the introduction of the Queens Cancer Center of Excellence, one of the first of its kind in the borough. She passed away on August 16, 2020. The renaming of The Pavilion is intended to acknowledge Shulman’s lasting legacy and unwavering commitment to accessible healthcare for all New Yorkers. 

“Claire Shulman’s lifelong dedication to quality healthcare and love of nursing led to her fight to preserve our public hospitals from the threat of privatization in the mid-1990s,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and Chief Executive Officer Mitchell Katz, MD. “Her rugged determination and tireless perseverance secured more than $150 million in capital funding for a major modernization project and upgrading of both Queens and Elmhurst Hospitals. A longtime ally and ceaseless champion of NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, she enabled the fulfillment of a dream: a newly modernized facility that would meet the demands of the 21^st century. I want to thank the Shulman family for allowing us to honor her legacy and Borough President Donovan Richards for leading the charge.”                 

“Claire Shulman built her entire career around contributing to the betterment of the borough of Queens for the past half-century,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Chief Executive Officer Neil J. Moore, MBA, MPA, FACHE. “Claire began her career as a nurse working right here in what was formerly known as Queens General Hospital, where she met her husband, Dr. Melvin Shulman, a psychiatrist, and went on to raise a talented and industrious family. Beginning her time in politics as chair of a local community board, she became deputy borough president and eventually landed the job of first female Queens Borough President – remaining in the position for the next sixteen years, and paving the way for the two dynamic borough presidents, Helen Marshall and Melinda Katz, who succeeded her.”    

“Claire Shulman was much more than one of my predecessors. She was my friend, my mentor and one of my heroes whose career in public service was born at Queens Hospital,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “Whether it was as a healthcare worker or as the chief executive of our borough, Claire served Queens residents with dignity, grace and determination. She deserves our eternal gratitude and I’m proud to have pushed for this renaming in her honor, as we celebrate her work to both save Queens Hospital during her tenure in office and all she did to make our borough a stronger, healthier place.”

“Our mother was deeply committed to the hospital and the critical role it plays in providing excellent healthcare for the people of Queens,” said Ellen Baker and Larry Shulman, Claire Shulman’s children. “And while she never felt the need to be honored in this way, we feel it is a fitting acknowledgement of her commitment to the hospital and her commitment to quality healthcare for everyone. Thank you so much for honoring her in this way.”

“Queens Hospital held a special place in Claire Shulman’s heart,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Chief Nursing Officer Abbi-Gail Baboolal, DNP, FNP, MSN. “One could feel the genuine affection she had for Queens Hospital when she spoke of her days as a student at the Queens Hospital School of Nursing – her first professional job at Queens, where she met her husband, Dr. Melvin Shulman. It was obvious that she was grateful for the role Queens Hospital played in her life, but she gave back to the people of Queens much more than she received.”

“Claire Shulman was larger than life: a hero, a fighter for so many underdogs, and always for the just cause,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Chief Medical Officer Dave Holson, MD. “I will be forever proud and appreciative to have known her and to have witnessed her in action.  She made it possible for us to pursue our mission-driven approach to healthcare with dignity and respect for all those we serve. More than any other civic leader, Claire was a major player in our hospital’s history.”

“Claire’s fierce dedication in promoting expanding quality, comprehensive healthcare and her tenacious efforts paved the way for Queens Hospital to become one of the premier healthcare providers in the borough, serving some 400,000 patients annually,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens Community Advisory Board Chair Robin Hogans. “Throughout her borough presidency she always regarded the early years of her career, when she worked as a nurse in Queens Hospital’s School of Nursing, as an important blueprint for the way in which she elevated the borough forward, playing a key role in delivering more healthcare options to an expanding population of new immigrants.”

In 2021, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens held the Claire Shulman Donor Wall Unveiling in the main building atrium. The donor wall is intended to honor the lifetime achievements of a courageous leader and nurse who fought to protect the hospital’s mission to extend healthcare services of the highest quality equally to all New Yorkers in an atmosphere of humanity, dignity, and respect. The “Claire Shulman Pavilion” official renaming will further pay tribute to her countless contributions and enduring legacy for years to come.

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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
A member of NYC Health and Hospitals, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens is a major health care provider in the borough of Queens. Its foremost mission is to provide quality, comprehensive care to all members of the public regardless of their ability to pay. The year 2015 marked its 80th anniversary of serving the communities of central and southeastern Queens, having first opened its doors as Queens General Hospital in 1935. Encompassing 360,000 square feet, it comprises 253 licensed beds, spacious ambulatory care suites featuring both primary and specialty services, and cutting-edge equipment. It also houses four Centers of Excellence: Cancer Care, Diabetes Management, Women’s Health, and Behavioral Health.  The hospital has recently added a fully expanded Emergency Room, a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence accredited by the American College of Radiology, and a Total Hip and Knee Replacement Center, with plans underway to build the Health System’s first Dialysis Center to train patients to perform their own at-home dialysis. To learn more about NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/queens/.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation. We are a network of 11 hospitals, trauma centers, neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, and post-acute care centers. We are a home care agency and a health plan, MetroPlus. Our health system provides essential services to more than one million New Yorkers every year in more than 70 locations across the city’s five boroughs. Our diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.