25 Queens influencers you need to know

When a politician takes credit for a major airport overhaul, a new rail tunnel or an expansive housing project, there’s a team of developers and construction companies who actually built it. When elected officials praise the creation of good jobs, there are business leaders and entrepreneurs generating the new opportunities – and a strong union movement that helps keep wages competitive. When government bureaucrats tout the thriving tourism industry, there’s a complex transportation network that gets them here – and plenty of attractions to draw in tourists.

The individuals carrying out these behind-the-scenes tasks are not elected, but often they are just as powerful as the officials that voters put into office. In this list, we put the spotlight on these players – The Influentials.

The third installment of this year’s Influentials list focuses on five of the most important sectors in Queens: real estate and construction, airports and airlines, business, organized labor, and nonprofits. In the coming months, we’ll turn our attention to their counterparts in Staten Island and the Bronx.

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In Queens, you’ll meet some of the city’s most influential union leaders, executives of the borough’s major construction companies and airlines, and civically engaged professionals from a wide range of occupations. We recognize their accomplishments, their drive and their dedication.

– Five Queens business influencers you need to know.
– Five Queens organized labor influencers you need to know.
– Five Queens real estate and construction influencers you need to know.
– Five Queens airports and airlines influencers you need to know.
– Five Queens nonprofits influencers you need to know.