It's Official—LIC Post Office Named In Ferraro's Honor

"In a way, this honor I am being given recognizes a bit of a legacy for me and I am simply honored by it," she said. One of Ferraro's earliest assignments as a freshman congressmember was the Congressional Post Office Committee. Conferring a great honor on the first female to run as a vice presidential candidate on a national party ticket, the Long Island City Post Office will be named in honor of former Congressmember Geraldine Ferraro after President Barack Obama signed legislation authorizing the name change.

The Post Office building is located at 46-02 21st St. and falls within the congressional district that Ferraro represented in her six years in office.

Ferraro, who is now in private practice, said she was "very delighted" with the news. She recalled that one of her first major issues as a congressmember was her campaign to get a separate postal ZIP Code (11385) for Glendale in response to constituent complaints about poor service.

"In a way, this honor I am being given recognizes a bit of a legacy for me and I am simply honored by it," she said. One of Ferraro's earliest assignments as a freshman congressmember was the Congressional Post Office Committee.

The legislation authorizing naming the Post Office in Ferraro's honor was sponsored by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (D- Queens/Manhattan).

Commenting on Obama's signing the bill, Schumer stated: "Geraldine Ferraro was a trailblazer and an exemplary public official who made history. She was an honorable, accomplished and hard-working elected official who had a profound effect on Queens, New York City and—as the nation's first female vice presidential candidate—on the country. Naming the Long Island City Post Office after her is a fitting tribute to a woman who devoted a good part of her life to the Queens community— first in the District Attorney's office and later in the halls of Congress. Her passion for public service has had a huge impact on both Queens and the nation."

In her tribute to Ferraro, Maloney declared: "A pioneering figure in American history, Geraldine Ferraro has been an extraordinary leader and public servant. It is therefore entirely fitting that the grand edifice of the Long Island City Post Office be named in her honor. "Through all of Geraldine's many successes in life, the Queens residents she represented remember her as their Congresswoman—a tenacious fighter who never backed down when it came time to stand up for them and their interests. She never forgot where she came from, and they have never forgotten her. Like another pillar of the federal government, the U.S. Postal Service, Geraldine Ferraro consistently delivered for the people she so faithfully and effectively served, making this tribute entirely appropriate."

Ferraro had a law degree, but worked as a teacher in public schools in Astoria before taking an appointment to serve in the Queens district attorney's office.

Aiming high although she had very little political experience, Ferraro decided to run for Congress in 1978. It was her first attempt to win public office.

In the Democratic primary, she defeated Thomas Manton, and in the general election pulled a major upset by defeating then Assemblymember Alfred DelliBovi despite the district having been configured to favor a Republican in the election.

The fledgling lawmaker then made rapid advances in the House Democratic hierarchy. When the 1984 presidential election season rolled around, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale selected Ferraro to be his vice presidential running mate.

The Mondale/Ferraro ticket was defeated by the Ronald Reagan/George H. W. Bush juggernaut in the election.