FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 3, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Rego Park community raises funds for burglarized kosher shop
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Haig Schneiderman, the owner of Knish
Nosh in Rego Park, is thankful that no one
was hurt while his shop was burglarized in
the middle of the night on Tuesday, Feb.
22, and grateful for the community’s outpouring
support and generosity as the shop
looks to bounce back from the incident.
“What matters is that everyone is safe,”
Schneiderman said.
Schneiderman runs the long-standing
Jewish kosher shop, located at 98-104
Queens Blvd., with Chef Ana Vasilescu,
making standard and cocktail-size knishes,
latkes, pastries and more.
At around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23,
Schneiderman says he received a phone
call from police offi cers at the NYPD 112th
Precinct about the incident. According to
police, an unknown individual broke the
store’s front door and window with a concrete
cinder block and entered the premises.
Th e person stole a cash register containing
approximately $100, police said.
It’s the second time this year someone
has attempted to break into the shop,
Schneiderman said.
“One guy was caught on camera. He came
in front of the window and looked inside,
then he disappeared and went around the
side where they found the cinder blocks,”
Schneiderman said. “Th ey came back, and
boom, they came in and grabbed the register
and went out the door.”
Following the incident, Schneiderman
replaced the broken glass door and window
the next day. However, it took him a while
to purchase a new register, he said.
“I couldn’t fi nd registers anywhere, but I
got lucky going to a Brooklyn register company,
and found one there,” Schneiderman
said.
In terms of safety, Schneiderman keeps
pepper spray behind the counter and
always locks the back door gate. He is also
planning to install a gated door in front of
the store.
Michael Perlman, who is the founder of
the Rego-Forest Preservation Council, created
a fundraiser on Facebook to support
Schneiderman.
As of press time, Perlman had raised
more than $2,000, reaching his initial goal.
Now, the fundraiser goal has been raised
to $2,500.
“It’s a beautiful feeling of community and
it shows how many people cherish Knish
Nosh. Th ey always give back to the neighborhood
and certain people who contacted
me aren’t even customers. Th ey just
felt passionate about supporting the cause,”
Perlman said.
Vasilescu thanked the community for
their outpouring support and generosity.
“When people heard what happened,
they came out and helped. I thank everyone
and god bless them all,” Vasilescu
said.
Knish Nosh has an extensive history in
the community. It was established in 1952
by its original owners, and Schneiderman,
who has frequented the shop since 1976,
purchased the spot in 2003.
Th e bakery is known for its delicious
variety of knishes, as well as soups, salads
and dishes such as stuff ed cabbage and
corned beef.
“Our customers are regulars that have
come in over the years. It goes back to generations
and now we have the kids coming
in,” Schneiderman said. “We’re alive, well
and focused.”
Moving forward, Schneiderman is looking
to expand the business nationally, he
said.
“Right now, we’re doing it in a small
way. Th ere’s a big demand for our product,
and there’s not too many of us that
make this type of thing,” Schneiderman
said. “We’ve been very successful, and we
love to make people very happy.”
Flushing community organizations rally for more aff ordable housing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Flushing community leaders and business
organizations joined Flushing United
on Sunday, Feb. 20, to advocate for permanent
aff ordable housing to be built at 39-03
College Point Blvd., aft er voicing concerns
about a proposal to transform the site into a
transitional housing facility.
Representatives from Congresswoman
Grace Meng, Senator John Liu,
Assemblyman Ron Kim and Sandra Ung’s
offi ce were in attendance at the rally.
“We appreciate all the support we are
receiving from the Flushing community
and especially these important advocates
who know how much we need more
aff ordable housing in our community,”
said Jerry Lo, acting president of Flushing
United, a newly formed organization of
community and business leaders from the
neighborhood who are concerned about
the development.
Th e rally comes aft er nearly 55,000
Flushing residents and patrons signed a petition
opposing a plan by Asian Americans
for Equality (AAFE) and the Department
of Housing, Preservation and Development
(HPD) to construct a 90-unit transitional
housing facility for families with children
in need.
Th is is a fi rst-of-a-kind project for
AAFE, which is partnering with the Urban
Resource Institute (URI) to develop the residential
building that will be contextual to
the neighborhood.
Currently, the project is halted as AAFE
is participating in conversations with community
and business leaders, city offi cials
and stakeholders in order to address concerns
and to provide more education and
insight into the benefi ts of the project for
Flushing, Jennifer Sun, co-executive director
of AAFE, said in a recent interview with
QNS.
Members of Flushing United say they
want to make sure the project is right for
Flushing with proper communication and
the community’s input, as the community is
still struggling fi nancially amid the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many of our working-class families have
been struggling while worrying about being
priced out of our own neighborhood. What
we need is more aff ordable housing for the
average workers who live and work in this
community they call home,” said Kenny
Chen, of the Chinese American Restaurant
Service Association.
Nabaraj KC, president of the College
Point Civic Taxpayers Association, said he
was impressed to see that 55,000 people
have signed the petition.
“We join the tens of thousands of
community members who want to bring
permanent aff ordable housing to our
neighborhood,” KC said.
Henry Hailing Chen, of the Asian
Workers Coalition, said “the last thing
Flushing needs is transitional housing, with
residents who don’t have any ties to the
community.”
While the project is paused, Meng is urging
Mayor Eric Adams to engage with local
community leaders and organizations to
allow businesses, residents and any interested
individuals to provide input in the
proposal.
Meng is also requesting the mayor to
keep the project halted until all stakeholders
have an opportunity to weigh the potential
impacts of the project.
“Addressing today’s housing crisis is crucial
for this city, and I believe that we must
construct more aff ordable housing units
and off er services that help New Yorkers
succeed,” Meng said in a letter to Adams.
“Pursuing these noble goals, however, must
be done in an inclusive and holistic manner
to ensure all parties can bring their views to
the table.”
Meng added, “Considering the media
news that the transitional housing project
has created, especially with community concerns,
I have reservations that the process of
your predecessor lacked a rigorous outreach
strategy and did not allow the community
to provide input. While this oversight was
unfortunate, it is not too late to be fi xed.”
“Th e one thing we can all agree on is that
we need more real aff ordable housing and
that we have a housing crisis,” Kim said in a
statement. “I have been working around the
clock with the governor and mayor’s offi ce
to immediately remove mentally unstable
individuals from our communities.”
Photo courtesy of Flushing United
Jerry Lo, acting president of Flushing United
(r.), and George Xu, president of the Chinese
business association of New York (l.) speak at
the rally.
Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
Haig Schneiderman, owner of Knish Nosh in Rego Park, says he is thankful to the community for
their support following a robbery at the shop on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
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