BY Denis Slattery

HELEN Marshall, a long-time Queens, New York politician and the first African-American to serve as the borough’s president, died last Friday. She was 87.Marshall, the daughter of Guyanese immigrants, was a Queens College graduate and a former public school teacher.

She entered politics in 1974, serving as a Democratic district leader, before representing parts of Queens in the state Assembly and in the City Council for nearly 20 years.

In 2002, Marshall was elected Queens borough president and served in office for three terms.

She retired from politics in 2013 and moved with her husband to California.

Melinda Katz, who replaced Marshall as borough president, called her predecessor “a deeply compassionate person, who cared tremendously about the well-being of her fellow Queens residents.”

“Helen fought tenaciously to improve our children’s schools, to address seemingly intractable quality-of-life issues and to secure a fair share of City resources for Queens,” she added.

City Comptroller, Scott Stringer released a statement commending Marshall’s work for her beloved borough.