Five Indian Americans among City & State’s 2025 Queens Power 100

Zohran Mamdani, Jenifer Rajkumar, Shekar Krishnan, Udai Tambar and  Shivani Parikh featured among VIPs of “The World’s Borough”

By Arun Kumar

Five Indian Americans have made it to City & State magazine’s prestigious 2025 Queens Power 100 considered the VIPs of “The World’s Borough.” Featured among “the current Queens leaders who keep the borough on the move” are Zohran Mamdani, Jenifer Rajkumar,  Shekar Krishnan, Udai Tambar and   Shivani Parikh.

“President Donald Trump was once a boy from Queens, and he has spent his life focused on moving up: first to Manhattan’s East Side and then to two stints in the White House,” says City & State.

READ: Danica Bajaj seeks to bridge diverse communities at Duke University (March 26th, 2025) 

Queens also paved the way for Kamala Harris to become the first female vice president, with Forest Hills resident Geraldine Ferraro making a trailblazing run as the first female vice presidential nominee four decades before Harris’ run for the presidency, it says.

Sharing the seventh spot on the list are Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar, New York City citywide candidates. While Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor, Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar is challenging Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in the Democratic primary.

Mamdani, endorsed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, has proposed enacting a rent freeze on rent-stabilized housing, building more affordable rent-stabilized housing, fast-tracking fully affordable housing projects and ending parking lot requirements. He also wants to increase the city minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030 and create a network of city-owned grocery stores.

Rajkumar, a close ally of current Mayor Eric Adams known for her signature red dress, was the first South Asian woman to be elected to state office and she would be the first South Asian person to be elected citywide. She wants to crack down on illegal smoke shops, require licensing and registration for e-bikes, and create stronger pathways to housing for homeless people.

She also sponsored state legislation that makes Diwali a school holiday in New York City. Rajkumar recently switched from the city comptroller’s race to the public advocate contest.

Taking the 28th spot with four others is Shekar Krishnan, a member of New York City Council Progressive Caucus. Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Krishnan previously called Adams “unfit to govern.” He has teamed with state lawmakers to introduce a seven-point plan to address crime and the revitalization of Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, along with a plan to address human trafficking and prostitution. He has launched a pilot program to offer free swim lessons to second graders.

On the 78th spot is Udai Tambar, President and CEO, New York Junior Tennis and Learning. Following stops in government and health administration, Udai Tambar landed at New York Junior Tennis and Learning in August 2021. The organization aims to educate young people through tennis, offering after school programming at 33 sites across the city.

He hopes to expand the group’s after-school programs in the coming years to include aligned curricula with student performance data. Mayor Eric Adams appointed Tambar to the city’s Racial Justice Advisory Board in 2023.

On the 97th spot is Shivani Parikh, Executive Director, South Asian Legal Defense Fund. Since founding the in January 2024, Parikh has continued her service to the people of the city.

In September, she started as a housing attorney at Queens Legal Services, where she provides assistance in defenses against evictions, and she is a member of the Language Assistance Advisory Committee for the New York City Civic Engagement Commission. Parikh is a youth forum delegate to the United Nations Economic and Social Council this year, with a goal of creating a U.N. Permanent Forum on People of South Asian Descent.