Rob Basch - president
Rob Basch moved to Long Island City in 2009 from Manhattan, and immediately discovered this community was a special place with special people. Rob became involved with the Conservancy when Hunters Point South Park opened and became President in 2014. He believes Parks and Green Spaces are essential to the health of any community and works tirelessly to make sure our waterfront parks continue to be a special place for all to visit. Rob loves the outdoors and enjoys running, biking, hiking, skiing and anything else in the fresh air.
Leonard Klipper - Vice president
Leonard Klipper Leonard believes that “Active, clean, and accessible parks are vital to the health of Long Island City. Hunters Point Park South and Gantry State Park serve as the lifeblood of the community and provide Queens a world class destination enjoyed by thousands. However, great public spaces do not just happen by accident. They are nurtured through partnerships between public agencies and the focused efforts of a committed group of volunteers like the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy Board.”
Leonard loves walking with his wife in the park as they walk their dog Eva. He loves taking advantage of all of the programming that HPPC offers, especially summer music concerts and the dance programming in the parks.
Leonard is the Managing Director of Development and Facility Assets at Posillico, a heavy civil contractor that builds infrastructure in the tri-state region. Leonard oversees the company’s Engineering Services Department that design and build facilities that clean and recycle contaminated construction material for reuse. Leonard received a Masters in City Planning and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a certified urban planner from the American Planning Association
MICHAEL KOENECKE - Treasurer
Michael moved to the Long Island City community a few years ago and instantly fell in love with the park and all that the park has to offer to the community. Being a lifelong Queens resident, Michael was very interested in ways to give back to the community.
Active in the Queens community, Michael is also an independent director for the Queens College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation/Kuperberg Center Fund and is a member of the Stewardship Council of the recently launched Queens College Business School - Blackstone Launchpad.
When Michael is not enjoying the park with his family and dog, Michael works to provide audit, tax and advisory services to the not-for-profit/private foundation sector and has specialized in providing back-office CFO/COO administration services to family foundations, corporate foundations, and private operating foundations for the past decade. Michael is a trusted advisor to boards and executives alike and is a frequent speaker at private foundation training sessions and regularly contributes to monthly thought leadership bulletins.
A graduate of both Baruch College and Queens College, Michael is a certified public accountant (CPA), licensed in the states of New York and Florida and is a member of several professional organizations. Michael currently serves on the Not-For-Profit Organizations Committee for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Sumantro das - Secretary
Long Island City resident, runner, cricket player and cricket bat maker, and member of the Google Chrome Advisory Board.
Hossein Aleyasin
Ian Chin
Kelly Craig
Kelly Craig has proudly called the beautiful Long Island City waterfront home for the past decade. She resides with her son Ethan, whom you can often find playing in our lovely Hunters Point parks, and their adopted rescue cat, named Wednesday, from Astoria Cat Rescue.
In addition to being a Board Member for HPPC, Kelly is Co-Founder of LIC Relief, President of P.S./I.S. 78Q PTA, Queens Borough President Appointee to the Community Education Council D30 (CEC) and on the Board of Directors for The Shoebox Project. Kelly was honored with the 2020 Woman of Distinction award by the New York Senate. She was also named City and State magazine’s NYC COVID Crisis Hero for her work on the frontlines during the pandemic crisis.
Kelly is a crisis management expert and app developer. She is also a sought-after consultant on the areas of nonprofit fundraising and startup business development.
Lindsay Deller
Barbara etzel
Since moving to Long Island City in 2009, Barbara has watched the waterfront grow into this amazing oasis for the residents of Queens. In addition to respite, the waterfront is a place to create community and connections. The movies, yoga, exercise and art classes HPPC offers provides an opportunity to meet neighbors and experience the great outdoors.
Barbara’s nonprofit activities include the New York Junior League where she served two terms as a board member including Treasurer. In 2023 she was named an Outstanding Sustainer by the New York Junior League. She currently is a member of the board of directors of Culture Lab LIC.
She enjoys participating in bike rides, gardening, golfing, traveling and live music performances. In 2021 she biked 400 miles from Buffalo to Albany. She has completed two New York City marathons and the Big Sur marathon.
Andre Galan
Andre and his wife Iulia moved to LIC in 2008, and his two daughters were born and raised here. He has watched the parks grow with his family, and has appreciated the important role that they play as center of community. Ensuring that the parks continue to thrive for generations to come is something that he is very passionate about.
Andre is an Executive Vice President at Dentsu International; a multinational marketing services company. He has been deeply involved in the community over the past 16 years, serving on the P.S./I.S. 78 School Leadership Team for 6 years, sitting on the board of the Gantry Parent Association, and currently serves as the PTA Co-President at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education.
He feels strongly about ensuring that LIC continues to grow as a diverse and thriving community, and hopes to give back to the parks that he sees as so central to making that possible.
Allie haake
Having been a resident of Western Queens for nearly a decade, Allie enjoys the incredible cuisines, culture, green spaces, art, and history that her homes of Astoria and, more recently, Long Island City offer residents and visitors alike.
Allie is a publicist and communications strategist with nearly 15 years of experience across lifestyle and business media in New York City and beyond. She has a passion for sharing great stories, fostering relationships that last, and making connections that put her clients ahead. In 2019, she launched her public relations firm, Allie Haake Communications, as a way to make waves for the brands that she loves and build buzz with the consumers they serve. Today, Allie and her team work with local entrepreneurs and businesses, global household names, community non-profits, and more.
When she’s not at her desk or cooking up a new recipe at home, Allie is typically found frequenting her favorite neighborhood restaurants, antique shopping for her next rare find, taking care of her plants, painting, and all things interior design. She often starts her day with a walk along the waterfront parks, pausing to capture photos of seabirds, flowers, and plant life.
Rebecca Hornstein
Rebecca Hornstein is a native New Yorker who moved to Long Island City in 2009. It’s the only home her two children, Henry and Evelyn, have ever known. While they take for granted the beautiful landscaping and jaw-dropping views of the parks that they treat as their back yard, their mother does not. In fact, she credits their existence with her decision to make Hunters Point the family’s home.
Rebecca works in Risk Management at Morgan Stanley. She received a JD and an MBA from Columbia University, and a BA in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania. Rebecca is a retired member of the New York State Bar.
Nina Kantcheva Tushev
Ann Margaret O’Connor
Ann Margaret O'Connor is locally grown in Queens. As a lifelong Queens resident, Ann has advocated for and advanced local art, talent, wellness initiatives, environmental conservation and adult and youth education/interventions.
As a founding board member of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, Ann utilizes her wide array of contacts and inventory to identify community needs to curate hundreds of vibrant family-friendly (and pet-friendly) events. They include classes and workshops for painting, yoga, meditation, sound baths, dance parties and dance instruction, film, pop-up markets and nature-based activities, live performance, experimental dance and star gazing.
Ann is passionate about building community and engaging local businesses, leaders, New Yorkers and visitors with all that the park, waterfront and City has to offer. She is committed to raising the profile of Queens as "The World's Borough" by seeking the very best talent and work that represents the many cultures and flavors of her hometown and is grateful for this opportunity to serve the people of New York City.
Matthew Quigley
Matt Quigley is a third generation family business owner of Plaxall, Inc. Plaxall has been in Queens for over 75 years: operating as a pioneer in plastics manufacturing business and acquiring commercial, industrial and residential properties in Long Island City to develop and manage. Prior to joining the family business, he was an Attorney for Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington DC. Matt has a JD with High Honors from Duke University School of Law, and a BA in Psychology from Duke University. He is a member of the New York State and District of Columbia Bars.