Brooklyn political club to honor 19 women
Ready to take over 45th CD: Rickie Tulloch
Caribbean L BQ ife, April 5–11, 2019 3
By Nelson A. King
After dedicating himself to the community,
through activism, legacy and
public service, Jamaican-born L. Rickie
Tulloch says he’s ready to take over representation
in the 45th Council District
in Brooklyn.
Tullock is among a crowded field of
eight other candidates vying to succeed
newly-elected New York City Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams in the special
election on May 14.
The candidates include a significant
number of Caribbean-born and Caribbean
Americans, who all claimed that
they are best suited to represent the
district that comprises East Flatbush,
Flatbush, Flatlands, Marine Park and
Midwood.
More than 188,000 people live in the
district, of which about 61 percent are
either Caribbean American or African
American, according to reports.
Besides Tullock, the candidates are:
Trinidad and Tobago-born, Anthony
Alexis; Monique Chandler-Waterman,
the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian
immigrants; Jovia Radix, the daughter of
Barbadian and Grenadian immigrants;
Farah Louis, the daughter of Haitian
immigrants; Louis Cespedes Fernadez,
the son of Cuban immigrants; Anthony
Beckford; Xamayla Rose; and Adina Sash.
“This is my fourth campaign for office,
and I believe we will be successful,” said
Tullock in an exclusive Caribbean Life
interview on Sunday.
“In addition to my 2007 campaign,
I also ran for City Council in 2009 and
State Assembly in 2014,” he added. “I
have worked my entire life to serve my
community, and I believe I have the experience
and commitment to be a strong
leader for the people of the 45th Council
District.”
Tulloch, who was born in Connors, in
the parish of St. Catherine in Jamaica,
said that he has been living in East Flatbush
since his migration in 1976.
He said, when he first ran for City
Council in 2007 and lost, he “learned
some valuable lessons about campaigning
and engaging the community.
“Similar to now, I ran for office because
I wanted to deliver results for my community
and empower everyone that lives
here,” he said.
By Nelson A. King
The Brooklyn-based Progressive
Democrats Political Association (PDPA)
will on Sunday honor 19 outstanding
women during its 27th Annual Women
Celebrating Women gala at Tropical
Paradise Ballroom on Utica Avenue in
Brooklyn.
The event — headed by former New
York City Council Member, Dr. Una
S.T. Clarke — will bestow honor on the
remarkable women, whose professions
range from nursing to entrepreneurship
and business to law to child and family
advocacy to community activism.
The honorees are: Irma Gibb,
Naeemah Senghor, Danielle Jones,
Rhonda Binda, Gisselle Rice, Cynthia
Smith, Dionne Bailey, Vaughan Danvers,
Elka E. Roberts-Riley, Julia James
and Pamela Griffin.
The others are: Coleen Babb,
Annmarie Adamson, Jennifer Jones Austin,
Michelle Randall Williams, Stephanie
Myers, Dorensa Roberts, Joan Alexander
Bakiriddin and Ella Frederick.
“PDPA has been an institution that
educates the community for civic
engagement,” Dr. Clarke told Caribbean
Life on Monday. “Over the past 27 years,
we’ve selected women who quietly made
contributions to the development of the
community — many of whom are civic
leaders who help to educate the community
and know what involvement in
the community is all about.
“This year’s group is significant as
any other for the contributions they
have made,” she added.
Among the distinguished honorees,
Registered Nurse Riley-Roberts,
a Brooklyn native, is the daughter of
James and Claudette Riley (deceased),
and wife of Damian Roberts.
After receiving her New York State
Nursing license in the winter 2005,
Riley-Roberts applied and was accepted
as a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital
(MSH), where she cared for patients with
brain and spine surgeries on GP8W.
Riley-Roberts holds the title of nurse
manager of the Neurological / Neurosurgical
Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) at
MSH, where she leads a team of 60-odd
nurses and ancillary staff.
“I love people, and I always want
to help people to heal and get better,”
said Riley-Roberts when asked why she
chose to be a nurse, reaffirming her
commitment to serve others as a nurse,
nurse-practitioner and nurse manager.
Crichton-Bailey, a native of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, is also a Registered
Nurse.
After her early education at the Kingstown
Preparatory School and the Girls
High School, she entered the St. Vincent
and the Grenadines School of Nursing,
graduating as a registered nurse, with a
certificate in midwifery.
Crichton-Bailey progressed in her
career and became a district nurse and
midwife.
She then worked at the Kingstown
General Hospital, now known as The
Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, where
she became supervisor of the 60-bed
Pediatric Ward.
In 1982, Crichton-Bailey accompanied
three children to New York for
open heart surgery at North Shore University
Hospital. The trip was sponsored
by the Rotary Club of St. Vincent and
the Grenadines.
Later in 1982, Crichton-Bailey
migrated to New York. Driven by her
passion for taking care of children and
the elderly, she worked at the Peninsula
Hospital Center as a pediatric nurse for
29 years.
She also performed pediatric private
duty nursing with St. Mary’s Community
Care Professionals, and worked
at several nursing homes in Brooklyn,
including Crown, River Manor and Bensonhurst
Rehabilitation Center.
Crichton-Bailey has been a longstanding
member of the Brooklynbased
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Nurses’ Association of New York, Inc.
She currently serves as president.
In her role in the nursing group, she
has been instrumental in organizing
several health fairs, and making donations
of supplies to many nursing facilities
and group homes.
In addition, Crichton-Bailey is very
active in her community, volunteering
her services, among others, with the
Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals
(CCMP) and Ebenezer Missionary
Chapel, where she worships.
Smith, who was born on Sept. 17,
1959, said she is “very proud to be of
Caribbean descent.”
She graduated from Adelphi University
in 1980 with a degree in Business
Administration.
In the late 1980s, Smith said she
returned to school, completing a diploma
program in cosmetology.
She then immediately opened a beauty
spa, where she managed and worked
as a licensed esthetician for several
years until she took up employment
as an executive manager for L.U. 608.
After working several years at L.U. 608,
she retired.
Elka E. Riley-Roberts.
Rickie Tullock with supporters at
launch of campaign for 45th City
Council. Rickie Tullock