An empty voting booth at P.S. 219 in Kew Gardens Hills during the
Feb. 2 special election. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | FEB. 12-FEB. 18, 2021
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Little Neck residents are
continuing the fight to keep
an “underperforming” Stop &
Shop open in the community.
Weeks after a spokesperson
for the grocery store chain confirmed
that the shop at 249-26
Northern Blvd. would close its
doors for good, locals started
a Change.org petition, which
has garnered 1,377 signatures
of support.
“I have lived in this area for
over 17 years and have always
found this supermarket to be
well stocked and the managers
and cashiers to be helpful
and pleasant. Not to mention
the loss of jobs this closure
will affect. We must try our
best to keep this market open.
Hopefully the landlord will reconsider
and the residents will
halt the closure of this market,”
wrote organizer Beatrice
Correa on the petition’s page.
Many in the community
expressed concern over the
store’s planned closure, saying
that this Stop & Shop is
the only grocery store “for
miles” of the northeast Queens
neighborhood.
“That’s a big loss. It was
bad enough we lost Fairway
in Douglaston. Now this. Hope
they change their mind and
stay open,” one QNS reader
wrote after hearing of the
news.
“Many rely on this location.
Is underperforming the
primary reason? How about
this location is essential to our
community, especially to our
senior population. No other
supermarket for miles,” Douglaston
resident and City Council
candidate Adriana Aviles
wrote on Twitter.
A Stop & Shop spokesperson
said that the store would
stay open through 2021, but
other reports said that the likely
closing date would be “some
time in 2022.”
The Little Neck supermarket
opened in 2003 following
the closure of Grand Union
three years prior.
Other nearby supermarket
options include Nature Farm
Supermarket, and H Mart and
North Shore Farms in Great
Neck.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.
com or by phone at (718) 260-
2583.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Congresswoman Grace
Meng is reintroducing legislation
in the House of Representatives
to lower the voting age
in America to 16.
Since 16- and 17-year-olds
are legally permitted to work,
drive, and pay federal income
taxes, Meng says they should
also be able to have their voices
heard at the ballot box.
“Our young people, including
16- and 17-year-olds, continue
to fight and advocate for
so many issues that they are
passionate about from gun
safety to the climate crisis,”
Meng said. “They have been
tremendously engaged on policies
affecting their lives and
their futures. Their activism,
determination, and efforts to
demand change are inspirational
and have truly impacted
our nation. It’s time to give
them a voice in our democracy
by permitting them to be heard
at the ballot box. “I believe that
it is right and fair to also allow
them to vote. Let’s let them be
heard and make their voices
count. Let’s give them a say in
choosing who they want their
government representatives
to be. I’m proud to stand with
our young people in introducing
this legislation, and I urge
my colleagues in the House to
support it.”
In 2018, Meng introduced
the measure (H.J. Res. 138) to
replace the 26th amendment to
the United States Constitution
with a new amendment that
would allow 16- and 17-yearolds
to vote. The last time the
voting age was changed was
when it was lowered from 21 to
18 in 1971.
Meng had noted that cities
in 13 states and the District of
Columbia have the legal ability
to lower the voting age for
local elections through charter
amendments, and several
have already done so. In Takoma
Park, MD – the first city
in America to lower the voting
age for local elections to 16 –
and in Hyattsville, MD, 16- and
17-year-olds are voting at rates
that nearly quadruple those
of older voters. Internationally,
at least 20 countries allow
citizens under the age of 18 to
vote.
Neil Bhateja, board member
at the National Youth Rights
Association, referenced the
lower voting age in Scotland,
Brazil, Austria and Argentina,
where 16-year-olds have shown
that they’re ready to vote and
deserve to shape their own futures,
he said.
“The United States should
continue its democratic tradition
of extending voting
rights,” Bhateja said. “The
National Youth Rights Association
strongly supports Representative
Meng’s constitutional
amendment to lower the
voting age to 16.”
Meng is receiving support
from several national organizations
that advocate for stronger
voting rights.
Brianna Cea, CEO of Generation
Vote, said lowering the
voting age is an investment in
the leaders of tomorrow and
that they’re proud to endorse
Meng’s amendment.
“Empowering the next
generation of voters makes
our communities stronger,
strengthens civic education
in our schools, and recognizes
the contributions of young people
to improving our democracy.
In the wake of unprecedented
youth voter turnout in
2020 and in the lead-up to the
50th anniversary of the 26th
amendment, we urge Congress
to support this historic bill,”
Cea said.
Samantha Gladu, executive
director of the Next Up Action
Fund, said support is building
nationwide for modernizing
the voting age since young people
are showing how important
it is.
“The time is now to engage
young people as lifelong voters
and to recognize all they bring
to our democracy. Young people
are not our future: they are our
present. Harbingers of culture,
caretakers of family, and valuable
community members. 16-
and 17-year-olds are engaged,
smart, and capable of casting
informed votes which is why
we support Congresswoman
Meng’s proposed constitutional
amendment to lower the voting
age,” Gladu said.
Constitutional amendments
require passage by two-thirds
of the House and Senate, and
ratification by three-fourths of
the nation’s state legislatures.
If enacted, the voting age would
be lowered for federal, state
and local elections. Meng’s
legislation, which includes 17
original co-sponsors.
Stop & Shop announced it will soon close its Little Neck
location. Photo via Google Maps
Petition against closure
of Little Neck Stop &
Shop gains more than
1,000 signatures
Meng pushes for bill to
lower voting age to 16
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