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Queens Community Board 6 Elects New Chair, Executive Committee

Queens Community Board 6 elected Heather Beers-Dimitriadis as chairperson earlier this month (Courtesy of Queens Community Board 6)

Jan. 28, 2022 By Allie Griffin

Queens Community Board 6 elected a new chairperson and executive committee earlier this month.

Heather Beers-Dimitriadis, a community organizer and political consultant, was elected the new chairperson of CB6, which serves Rego Park and Forest Hills, at its Jan. 12 meeting.

Beers-Dimitriadis, who has lived in Rego Park for more than two decades, has been a CB6 member since 2019 and has served as the board’s secretary of finance.

“This is a wonderful community and I’m ever so grateful to have this opportunity to give back to them what’s been given to me and my family in living here,” Beers-Dimitriadis told the Queens Post of her new position.

She beat one other member, Jean Silva, to take the chair position, and will replace Alexa Weitzman, who led the board for two years. Weitzman didn’t seek re-election but will remain a CB6 board member.

Beers-Dimitriadis first became involved in community volunteerism when she joined the school leadership team at her children’s public elementary school. She has since served on the school leadership teams at various schools and has also volunteered her time as a member of the city’s participatory budgeting committee and the nonpartisan Central Queens Redistricting Coalition.

Her main goal in the role is to ensure that the work the community board does has a positive impact on all of Forest Hills and Rego Park. She said it’s her responsibility as chair to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard — whether conservative or liberal — and is reflected in board decisions.

Beers-Dimitriadis also wants to engage and educate residents on local issues the board is tasked with, such as zoning and land use recommendations.

“I feel sometimes that a lot of things that occur in communities and in government seem rather mysterious and I think the more that we can do as a board to provide context and explanation, it will help us function better as a community,” she said.

In addition to Beers-Dimitriadis, six additional members were elected to positions within the executive committee — including four who didn’t previously hold roles.

Architect Keith Engel was voted second vice chair; communications specialist Tania Padgett was voted secretary of administration; workforce development specialist Kevin Ly was voted secretary of finance; and human resources administration manager John Dereszewski was voted parliamentarian.

Attorney Peter Beadle was elected first vice chair after previously serving as second vice chair and Mark Laster, a licensed clinical social worker, was elected to third vice chair after having served as secretary of administration.