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January 1911
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Fifteen Queens businessmen sign an agreement to form Queens Chamber of Commerce.
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April 1911
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Chamber holds first meeting on April 20 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan; 55 charter members in attendance. Offices established at 4 Herriman Avenue (now 90-25 161st Street), Jamaica.
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May 1911
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Chamber incorporated by State of New York.
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January 1912
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Chamber holds its first annual dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, January 11. Addresses by Queens Borough President Maurice Connelly, Court of Special Sessions Chief Justice Isaac Franklin Russell and Tenement House Commissioner John Murphy.
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September 1912
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Chamber moves to offices in the Electric Building (formerly the Queens Plaza Court Building), 28-11 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City. A separate dining room is established as the Plaza Lunch Club, but is absorbed by the Chamber by the 1920s.
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Spring 1913
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Chamber publishes 144-page book, Queensborough, featuring information on industry and residences in the borough. The Chamber issued new versions of this book in 1914, 1920
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June 1913
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At the request of Borough President Maurice Connolly, Queens Chamber of Commerce approves the design of a flag for the Borough of Queens.
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December 1913
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Chamber publishes its first Bulletin, which by September 1915 evolves into QueensBorough magazine.
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June 1915
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Members of the Chamber's transit committee officiate at the opening of the Queensboro elevated line, June 22; Chamber Secretary Walter Willis purchases first ticket.
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September 1915
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Chamber joins the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber begins placing advertisements promoting Queens in trolley cars of New York & Queens County Railway.
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August 1916
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Chamber establishes traffic and industrial bureaus.
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January 1917
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Former president William Taft addresses Chamber's sixth annual dinner at Biltmore Hotel, January 20.
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November 1917
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Chamber cancels 7th annual dinner and instead creates a fund for the Red Cross war effort.
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January 1919
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Chamber launches drive to decorate the Long Island Rail Road ferry terminal at Hunters Point to welcome back troops from World War I.
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July 1919
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Chamber luncheon honors crew members of the first trans-Atlantic flight, which left the Rockaways on May 8, 1919 and landed in Lisbon, Portugal on May 27.
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November 1920
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Chamber members gather in the Club Room to hear the presidential election returns. This becomes a quadrennial tradition for a number of years.
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September 1921
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Chamber accepts its first female member, Mrs. V. Koelbel of the Model Brassiere Company, Elmhurst.
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1922
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Chamber places advertisements in The New York Globe promoting Queens.
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March 1924
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Chamber announces results of its first survey of business hours, holidays and vacation policies.
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June 1925
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Chamber moves to new offices on the top floor of the Crescent Plaza Building, 24-16 Queens Plaza South, Long Island City. Facilities include a conference room, dining room with daily luncheon service, and club room. Later the building is renamed the Chamber of Commerce building; this name remains today.
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September 1925
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Chamber's transit committee suggests construction of a transit station in the Sunnyside Yard to allow connections between the Interboro and B.M.T. "els," the Long Island, New York, New Haven & Hartford, and New York, Westchester & Boston railroads. Chambers formally endorses the recommendation in December.
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1926
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Chamber inaugurates Annual Building Awards contest to honor outstanding buildings in the borough.
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1930
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Chamber's Aviation Committee recommends construction of airports along Flushing and Jamaica bays.
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1933
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Chamber designated to represent National Recovery Administration in Queens.
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October 1936
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At Chamber fete, President Roosevelt breaks ground for the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.
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February 1938
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Chamber announces plans for a pavilion at the New York World's Fair.
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1943
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Chamber forms industrial Council to pool the borough's manufacturing resources for defense.
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January 1946
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Chamber announces plans, never realized, for its own building. A site selection committee is formed.
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1949
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In series of meetings with civic groups, Chamber proposes broad transit expansion program in Queens.
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January 1952
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Former Chamber president James A. Lundy sworn in as Queens Borough President.
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1954
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Chamber sponsors a series of television programs, principally on business and community life in Queens, in conjunction with New York City's Summer Festival
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January 1959
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John T. Clancy, who served six terms as Chamber president, becomes Borough President.
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1960
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Chamber President Ira H. Genet appointed to Temporary State Commission on the 1964-5 World's Fair
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1964
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To welcome the arrival of the New York Mets to Shea Stadium, Chamber hosts organizational meeting of the Queens Mets Booster Club
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1976
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Sister Thomas Francis, executive director of St. John's Queens Hospital, becomes the first woman to address a Chamber luncheon
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1977
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Sister Thomas Francis of St. John's Queens Hospital and Margaret Swezey of Citibank become the first female members of Chamber's board of directors
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April 1982
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Chamber moves to new offices at 29-15 Queens Plaza North, where it remains for 13 years.
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April 1983
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Margaret "Peg" Swezey of Citibank is elected the Chamber's 27th President, the first woman to hold this position
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1983
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Chamber hosts its first annual business expo.
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1992
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Chamber announces plans to issue "scorecards" on elected officials' positions on business issues.
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March 1993
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Lucy C. Nunziato is appointed the first woman Executive Director of the Chamber
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1994
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Chamber begins "Queens Chamber Today," a program on Queens Public Television (QPTV)
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April 1995
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Chamber moves to Bulova Corporate Center, 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Jackson Heights.
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June 1997
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Chamber celebrates 85th anniversary by honoring past presidents.
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1998
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The Port Authority contracts for construction of the first phase of the Airport Access system at JFK International Airport
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October 1999
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Chamber Executives meet with City representatives seeking support for a study on building a mid-sized convention center in Queens
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April 2000
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Chamber establishes new Sub-Committees to keep in step with the change in the County: Telecommunications Sub-Committee, Export Sub-Committee, Education Sub-Committee and the Minority and Women Owned Business Sub-Committee
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September 2001
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After a terrorist attack destroys the World Trade Center, Chamber coordinates donations and volunteer recovery and relief activities.
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