President
CIVIC BIO
Mr. Khuzami has been a member of Community Board 1 in Astoria, NY for the last 20 years. He sits on the Zoning and parks Committees and is on the Executive Board. Previously, he served as Parks and Culture chair of Community Board 1 for eleven years and also chaired Capital and Expense priority Committee. He is a member of the Queens General Assembly and had been a panelist for grant submissions for the Queens Council on the Arts (QCA). Richard also is an officer of The Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA).
Because of the tremendous growth in Old Astoria, especially around Hallets Point (which could potentially have over 5,000 new housing units), Mr. Khuzami has established, along with concerned neighbors, the “Old Astoria Neighborhood Association,” a 501c3 non-profit. OANA’s boundaries are Astoria Park South to the North, 21st St to the East, 34th Ave to the South, and the East River to the West. Members include any residents, business and property owners within these borders. Our mission is to both educate and protect the interests and quality of life for all residents of this previously often neglected part of Astoria/Long Island City.
FAMILY
Born: 1952 in Bayside NY. Grew up in Rochester NY from 1957. Went to elementary and middle school in Fairport and graduated from Sperry High School in Henrietta NY in 1971.
Parents Victor and Adele were professional ballroom and Latin Dancers.
Sister Vicki is an accomplished visual artist whose work has graced major developers such as Trump and Disney, has been a part of the production team for Bloomingdale’s Christmas windows for over 10 years, and whose murals are on the ceiling of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC.
Brother Robert was a US Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan’s southern District for eleven years, and was President Barack Obama’s Head of Enforcement at the Security and Exchange Commission during the President’s first term. He is now Deputy US Attorney in the Southern District of New York.
MUSIC BIO
Mr. Richard S. Khuzami, both in his role as musician and producer, has worked to produce and promote the finest in artistic achievement in World Music, with a special emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Mr. Khuzami, of Lebanese extraction, is an accomplished percussionist, specializing in instruments from the Balkans, Anatolia, Middle East, and North Africa. Also, with the establishment of Dahdoo Productions, Inc., he has been able to present to the American Public concerts and recordings of the great artists these regions offer. He has also personally performed at many venues, from clubs to concerts and celebrations, since 1972.
Richard has produced an instructional CD on Middle Eastern and Greek rhythms, “Rhythms of the Middle East ”, accompanied by a workbook. Mr. Khuzami has also created a CD of Mid Eastern fusion, known as FUSED.
He was also advisor to Carnegie Hall for their presentation of Eleftheria Arvanitaki on Feb. 1, 2014.
His track, “A Train to Hios” was recently released by Rough Trade in the UK, and “Faruks Funk” was released in 2013 by Lionheart Records, and distributed by Sony Dubai on a compilation called “1001 Sheesha Nights”.
Mr. Khuzami has performed at the UN as part of the Jazz for Peace series.
In 2014, Richard Khuzami consulted with and assisted on the sold out production of Eleftheria Arvanitaki at Carnegie Hall.
In 2015, Richard Khuzami performed at Carnegie Hall with the Rock Opera Porphyra, and at Lincoln Center with the Metropolitan Greek Chorale.
WORK HISTORY
Mr. Khuzami spent many years in Traffic and Transportation, especially in the International Freight Forwarding Industry. His work took him all over the world for many years. He has traveled extensively in Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Russia, getting a firsthand exposure to various cultures. He has also performed worldwide as a musician specializing in the music of the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa. (This is what has drawn him to Astoria, where many of these same cultures exist within a few miles’ radius.) He is now semi-retired.