4 The Queens Courier • juLY 30, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com District 23 City Council seat competitors square off in Bellerose BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected]/@alinangelica Candidates seeking to fill the 23rd Council District seat that Mark Weprin previously held were face to face for the first time Tuesday in a debate hosted by the New American Voters Association (NAVA) at the Bellerose Jewish Center. Democrats Barry Grodenchik, Celia Dosamantes, Bob Friedrich and Satnam Singh Parhar will be competing in a Sept. 10 primary along with Ali Najmi and Rebecca Lynch, who were absent from the debate. Former NYPD Captain Joe Concannon is the sole Republican candidate in the race. A previously unannounced candidate, Michael Foubister, also came forward to claim a space in the debate to the surprise of many, including the event’s organizers, who seemed not to know who he was and had not included him in the program. Although he was allowed to participate in the NAVA debate, Foubister later admitted that he did not have all the signatures needed to petition for the ballot, and The Courier confirmed that he was not listed in Board of Elections records as of July 16, the last day to file for inclusion. Candidates were asked to speak on a variety of topics, including their legislative agenda, the amount of funding they planned to allocate to public education and charter school alternatives, and their biggest community initiatives in issues close to home. The candidates were united on many issues, with some even agreeing with positions held by their opponents during their own turn to speak. All five have been involved with rallies against a proposed juvenile detention center planned for a residential street in Queens Village. Most agreed to increasing public school funding, and were against increasing the number of vouchers for charter schools. Parhar, a businessman who has operated several successful clothing stores and a construction company, said that his legislative priority would be to lower utility bills. He believed that as a self-made businessman he could relate to taxpayers’ increasing worries on the price of living in the city. “People cannot afford their bills. People cannot afford taxes. People cannot afford sewage and water bills,” Parhar said. “Think about our street lights. Think about our potholes.” Concannon focused on the effect that public policy has on public safety. The former NYPD Candidates in the race for City Council District 23 member challenged former Councilman Weprin for the District 23 seat in 2013 under the Reform Party line. “One thing I learned as a cop is, a well-educated child has very little interaction with the police department at all,” Concannon said. “So I believe well-educated kids, well-educated families, and funding libraries is a part of that.” Bob Friedrich, a well-known civic organizer who is also president of his Glen Oaks co-op, said he wants to fight policies that do not serve the outerborough needs of District 23 well, such as instituting tolls on free East River crossings and a 10-cent grocery bag surcharge. “That’s another Manhattan-centric proposal where people go to the local bodega in Manhattan with one shopping bag,” Friedrich said. “In this part of Queens, often we come by car, we do a week’s worth of groceries, and that’s going to add a thousand dollars to your shopping bill every year. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Candidates expressed strong views on a controversial City Council vote that may limit drivers hired by Uber, a mobile phone application that enables users to summon a livery car and intends to add 10,000 new workers this year. Once elected, the winning candidate will take part in the decision, which was just stalled for four months while a study examines the company’s impact on the city’s traffic and environment. Grodenchik, who has endorsements from major Democratic players such as Mark Weprin and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, supported expanding Uber as a force catering to the economy THE COURIER/Photo by Alina Suriel and transportation needs of northeast Queens, which he felt was often forgotten by City Hall. “We live here in eastern Queens right on the Nassau border where we’re often forgotten. I will be a person to raise his voice to support economic opportunities for the people in this community,” Grodenchik said. “Uber is a success story and it employs thousands and thousands of people. We need to encourage those success stories.” Dosamantes, a former deputy chief of staff for Assemblyman Philip Ramos, executive assistant for Rep. Grace Meng and communications director for David Weprin, supports an Uber expansion because it could be developed into a resource within the city to employ able workers. She has previously stated that job creation is a major focus in her campaign. “What’s most important to our district, what’s most important to our community, is job creation,” said Dosamantes, who added that increasing living costs have caused more and more New Yorkers to struggle when making ends meet. “When you take away any type of job opportunity that gives New Yorkers good paying jobs, that gives New Yorkers the opportunity to have a chance to provide for their families and take care of them, I don’t support the mayor for that.” Mark Weprin vacated the 23rd District seat in June to become Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s deputy secretary of legislative affairs. The district contains all or parts of Bayside Hills, Bellerose, Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland Gardens and Queens Village. Flushing Met Food Market to close after July 26 BY KIRSTEN E. PAULSON [email protected]/@QueensCourier The Met Food market in Flushing will be closing its doors after Sunday, July 26, to make way for a new development. After more than 30 years of operation, the independently owned neighborhood grocery store, located at 41-62 Bowne St., is shutting down following a decision by owners Abel and Ahmed Saleh to sell the property. In an interview, store manager Ziyad Saleh said the property has been purchased by a number of investors who plan to raze the building and existing foundation, which cannot support more than two stories. The property’s new owners plan to build a new foundation for a new, taller building. However, that’s just about the only thing that’s certain about the future of the site. Rumors and speculation abound about what’s coming to the neighborhood next; many suspect the new structure will be an apartment building or condominium, while others believe it will become a new grocery store stocked with items to attract customers from the neighborhood’s expanding Asian population. The latter speculation might have some grain of truth to it. In the same interview, Saleh mentioned that he had heard that the investors who purchased the property have discussed the possibility of putting another brand-name supermarket on the ground level of the building once construction has been completed. “Nobody knows what it will be yet. It’s still early,” Saleh said. Reactions to news of the store’s closure have been mixed, and range from acceptance and resignation to shock and sadness. Numerous shoppers, particularly the elderly and those with physical disabilities, expressed concerns and worries about how they would be able to do their monthly shopping after the store closes. This particular Met Food was the only store in the area that offered home deliveries on purchases of $25 or more, making it an ideal place to shop for people unable to drive or carry heavy bags. Several patrons interviewed at the store said that they had been shopping there for more than 20 years. For them, the store’s closing is the end of an era. “It’s gonna be missed,” Saleh said, echoing the same sentiment expressed by customers. Several patrons interviewed at the store said that they had been shopping there for more than 20 years.
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