4 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
100 Suits for 100 Men celebrates expansion in Queens
BY ALICIA VENTER
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
A new offi ce space for the nonprofit
organization 100 Suits for 100 Men
opened in Laurelton on Friday, Sept. 24.
Elected officials and
community members
at the event spoke of
reducing gun violence
by addressing root
problems and about
placing those within the
community in employment
Stop & Shop in Little Neck slated to close in October
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
A Little Neck Stop & Shop will close
next month, according to a spokesperson
from the company.
Eight months aft er the news fi rst broke
of the “underperforming” store’s impending
closure, the company confi rmed
that the location at 249-25 Northern
Blvd. would serve its last customers on
Th ursday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m.
“Stop & Shop conducts reviews of its
business performance on a regular basis,
and this store was identifi ed as underperforming
relative to fi nancial expectations,”
a spokesperson told QNS in January. “All
Little Neck store associates will have the
opportunity to transfer to other Stop &
Shop locations.”
Th e Little Neck Stop & Shop opened in
January 2003 to replace the now-defunct
Grand Union supermarket, which closed
due to bankruptcy. Th e owners of the
Boston-based company signed a lease to
move into the 19,000-square-foot space.
Patch reported that Stop & Shop does
not know what will fi ll the vacancy of the
supermarket’s building and that the decision
is “up to the landlord.”
With the Little Neck location closing,
Stop & Shop devotees can still go to nearby
locations in Bay Terrace and Flushing.
to prevent repeat
off enders.
Among those
at the ribbon cutting
at 227-12 A
Merrick Blvd. in
Laurelton was Mayor
Bill de Blasio, who
shared his enthusiasm at
the expansion of the organization
in Queens.
“Everyone at 100 Suits, you
made a decision long ago
that you would not accept
a broken society, that you
would change it,” de Blasio
said. “And by your example,
by your love, by your passion,
by your commitment,
by your energy, every day
you are actually making that
change.”
100 Suits provides free business attire
to people to obtain employment with
companies they work with citywide, with
free haircuts or wig referrals also available.
Th eir goal is to reduce repeat off enses
and the recidivism rate — the tendency
of someone who’s been convicted to reoffend
— by helping formerly incarcerated
and homeless people fi nd employment.
Police offi cers and other fi rst responders,
de Blasio said, are not the only ones
who defi ne public safety, nor can they
be, as “it doesn’t work.” He was met with
a round of applause as he spoke about
how, though those in uniform do important
work, the community-based solution
to violence is the fi rst and most necessary
solution.
“In fact, the
truest best way to
create a safe and
positive society
is from the people,”
he said. “It
is from the community,
it is from
the grassroots.
We are learning
this together, but
the reason I wanted
to be with you
besides thanking
you is that we have a task ahead to explain
this to the people in New York City
and ultimately this nation that there is a
diff erent way.”
Also in attendance were Kevin
Livinsgton, the founder and CEO of the
organization who kicked off the event,
and Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards.
Livingston explained that his experiences
as a homeless man in 2016 have
fueled his desire to enact change and
reduce violence across the city. Having
to sleep in the JFK airport parking lot, he
was elated at the chance to “cut history,”
and dedicated the opening to his father
and his uncle, both of whom are dead.
Livingston then introduced Richards,
the fi rst Black man to hold the position
and who Livingston said is “changing lives
on a daily basis.”
Richards shared that his personal experience
with gun violence is what fuels his
dedication to organizations such as 100
Suits, saying it makes him even more
appreciative of their work.
“We know that when you’re trying to
fi nd solutions to addressing the systemic
issues in our communities, that the people
closest to the pain oft en have the solution
to the pain,” he said.
By having people who have experienced
similar things and come from the
same community, Richards said, 100 Suits
is able to enact change to get people hired
and out of the judicial system.
Southeast Queens elected offi cials
and community members at the
ribbon cutting ceremony.
Photo via Google Maps
Stop & Shop in Little Neck will close its doors on Oct. 14.
Photos by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
Mayor Bill de Blasio and southeast Queens elected offi cials celebrate the opening of new offi ce space for 100 Suits for 100
Men in Laurelton on Sept. 24.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tours the inside of the new offi ce space for 100 Suits
for 100 Men.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
