Choe seeks BP aid in CB 7 ouster
Braunstein hosts urgent-need blood drive in Bay Terrace
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens lawmaker is organizing
an urgent-need blood
drive in response to country’s
national blood shortage.
Next month, Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein will host
the Ninth Annual Summer
Blood Drive in collaboration
with the New York Blood Center.
The event takes place at The
Bay Terrace shopping center at
212-51 26th Ave. (formerly American
Eagle Outfitters) on Thursday,
Aug. 5, from 1 to 7 p.m.
“The New York Blood Center
recently announced an urgent
need for blood donations,” Braunstein
said. “Donating blood is
safe and saves up to three lives. I
hope that you will take the time
to share this lifesaving gift at our
drive on Aug. 5.”
Those who donate blood
must wear a mask or face covering
and be symptom-free for
at least 14 days if recovering
from COVID-19. Those who test
positive for COVID, have experienced
COVID-related symptoms
in the last 14 days or are on
self-quarantine restrictions will
not be eligible to donate.
As a thank you, donors will
receive a free, limited edition
New York Mets T-shirt and the
New York Blood Center will
2 TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JULY 30–AUGUST 5, 2021 BT
also enter participants into a
sweepstakes to win six tickets to
a Mets game.
Donation appointments are
encouraged to comply with
social distancing guidelines.
To make an appointment,
visit tinyurl.com/BraunsteinDrive2021
or contact
Braunstein’s office by phone
at 718-357-3588 or by email at
braunsteine@nyassembly.gov.
For medical questions concerning
blood donations, call
800-688-0900.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2583.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
As Community Board 7
moves forward with its efforts
to expel him from the board,
Flushing community leader
John Choe is urging Queens
Borough President Donovan
Richards to investigate the
“misguided actions” of the
board, citing issues of transparency
and power accountability.
In an open letter sent to the
borough president on Tuesday,
July 20, Choe stated that
while Richards did increase
awareness and applications
for membership, “very little
has changed in the operation
or direction of CB 7,” which
represents the neighborhoods
of Flushing, Beechhurst, Bay
Terrace, College Point, Whitestone,
Malba, Murray Hill and
Willets Point.
“I ask that you fulfill your
commitment to reform our
community boards by investigating
these actions by CB 7,
put an immediate end to these
rigged proceedings, and hold
those responsible for abusing
their power accountable,” said
Choe, who is the executive director
of the Flushing Chamber
of Commerce.
In May, the executive committee
of CB 7 notified Choe of
several allegations against him
that were filed by First Vice
Chair and Chair of the Land
Use Committee Chuck Apelian.
Those allegations included
violating the New York City
Charter by soliciting campaign
funds from board members
during his run for City Council,
creating an unauthorized CB 7
Facebook page showing events
tied to the Greater Flushing
Chamber of Commerce, having
a poor attendance record, leaving
meetings early and accusing
board members of “being
corrupt” after they voted in favor
of the Special Flushing District
Waterfront Development.
A special committee was
formed to conduct a thorough
investigation into Choe. In
June, the board voted in an
overwhelming majority to approve
a resolution to continue
with removal proceedings to
oust Choe from the board.
According to Choe, CB 7
Board Chairman Eugene Kelty
only allowed board members to
vote to “call the question” (close
debate) and not on the proposal
itself. Even though no approval
was provided by the board to
initiate this process, Choe says
that the chair scheduled a “special
committee meeting” on
July 20 — originally a virtual
meeting open to the public.
“Without my consent, the
chair has now made this meeting
an in-person executive session
— closed to the public,”
Choe claimed. “It’s clear I won’t
get a fair hearing and the process
is no longer transparent
— if it ever was. What is CB 7
trying to hide by closing off this
meeting to the public?” Choe
said. “I feel I am being targeted
because I am a voice for change
standing up for my community.
I have to tell you the experience
of this show trial has been completely
disheartening.”
In response to Choe’s comments,
Kelty said the meeting
was open to the public and only
two attendees were present for
the hearing. However, Choe
failed to attend the hearing despite
allegedly receiving notice
via email and phone calls, according
to Kelty.
“The whole time we were
there, the two people stayed
and listened to everything with
no questions. It was only when
the committee had to discuss a
final outcome, I recommended
to the chair that they should go
into an executive session. This
way, they wouldn’t feel any impropriety
with us sitting there
and staring at them,” Kelty
said. “Again, John is making
statements with incorrect information.”
Following the hearing, Kelty
said he has not received news
of the official vote as of yet on
Choe’s future with CB 7.
Councilman Peter Koo was
not going to recommend Choe
for community board reappointment,
but Richards overruled
the recommendation and
reinstated Choe in April.
“That’s the borough president’s
privilege, but he cannot
stop the board from doing the
investigation,” said Kelty, who
referenced the City Charter
that states community boards
have the power to remove a
member, with cause, using a
majority vote.
In a statement to QNS, a
spokesperson for the Queens
borough president’s office said
the borough president has no
control or influence over CB 7’s
initiated removal process and
will not comment or speculate
on an ongoing process in which
they’re not involved.
“The Queens borough president’s
office’s policy is to consider
and address specific complaints
regarding community
board conduct in a confidential
manner. Queens Borough
President Richards is committed
to ensuring that Queens’ 14
community boards and their
members are duly public servants
for their neighborhoods,”
a spokesman for the borough
president’s office said.
Choe became a critic of the
board’s leadership when it lobbied
against the development of
a community health clinic in
2017, which would have served
an additional 40,000 low-income
New Yorkers, he said.
“As you know, access to
healthcare is a critical need in
our community and I vowed to
stop the CB 7 leadership from
politicizing future decisions,
ultimately joining a citywide
coalition to successfully enact
community board term limits
in 2018,” Choe said.
Despite calls for accountability,
Choe further stated
that the board’s leadership —
without consulting members —
chose to waste council funds on
frivolous tchotchkes in 2019, violating
city procurement rules
and directing money toward a
company associated with the
spouse of an executive committee
member.
According to Kelty, the
board had presented the purchased
items to the president of
the council that represents the
community boards.
“This was branding material
— notepads, bags and other
things. That’s what the council
asks — to make stuff for the
community board,” Kelty said.
“And while we were doing that,
John snuck out and went on
Facebook bashing the board.
It only shows you what respect
that gentleman has.”
Last year, Choe then questioned
the ethics of Apelian,
alleging that he was paid by developers
he oversaw in the land
use process, including the controversial
Special Flushing Waterfront
District Development
which was approved by the City
Council in December.
Apelian told QNS that
Choe’s letter is a lie.
“There’s not one shred of
truth in the letter. He is doing
this to create a diversion to
what was brought up against
him,” Apelian said. “Instead of
defending himself at the hearing,
he decided to make a diversion
letter attacking the board
with lies, lies and more lies.
He sent the letter during the
hearing. That shows his own
arrogance and belligerence towards
the process, the charges
against him, and then deflecting
it to make it seem like we
are the bad guys, and not him.”
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
John Cho.
Photo courtesy of Greater Flushing
Chamber of Commerce
Assemblyman Braunstein is pictured at his office’s Eighth Annual
Summer Blood Drive with Michele McCaffrey, New York Blood Center
account manager, and Arlex Castano, New York Blood Center donor
specialist. Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Braunstein’s office
BAYSIDE TIMES (USPS#025088) is published weekly by Queens CNG LLC, 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY.11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2021. All rights reserved. The newspaper will
not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Bayside Times C/O Queens CNG
LLC. 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361.
/QNS.COM
link
link
link
/schnepsmedia.com
/schnepsmedia.com
link
