Councilman Daniel Dromm welcomed Agha Saleh to Queens Community Board 3. He is the first Muslim American of Pakistani heritage to be appointed to the board.
Saleh grew up and lived as a young man in Pakistan. In 1996, he gave up his career as a chemical engineer, after a long fight against industrial pollution, incorrect chemical waste disposal and unsafe environments for industrial workers, and moved to the United States. He now lives in Astoria and works in Jackson Heights.
Among Saleh’s many milestones, he proposed and hosted a Community Board meeting in public at Diversity Plaza for the first time in New York City history. He has marched in the St. Pat’s for All Parade in support of LGBT equality rights since 2001.
A human rights activist in Pakistan, Saleh has continued that devotion here in New York, along with his wife, Shazia Kausar, and his daughter, Fatima, founders of the non-profit, SUKHI, Social Uplift through Knowledge Hope Initiatives. SUKHI partners with NYC DOT to maintain Diversity Plaza and organizes the diverse programming for the plaza at 74th Street and 37th Road, which ranges from Tibetan celebrations to holiday tree lightings, book giveaway days, presidential debate viewings, and more.
Saleh is also a member of the steering committee for Building Bridges: Bringing Together Government and the Muslim and Sikh Communities representing SUKHI New York as a member organization.
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