3
QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 24, 2020
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Sandra Smith designs
and crafts handmade bags
and inspirational decor
with a speciality in pillows
and desk bins with personalized
uplifting messages.
And during the COID-19
pandemic, she has added
face masks to her repertoire.
The Queens resident
loves creativity and entrepreneurship,
but she also has a
socially conscious focus.
Her Flushing-based business,
Sandra Smith LLC,
helps women, like her, who
have endured and escaped
hostile intimate partners.
The company recently
donated 2 percent of every
sale to the National Coalition
Against Domestic
Violence.
“Gifting a much-needed
mask to a fellow survivor is
our personal way of letting
them know that they are not
alone. This reminder is especially
important in these
harrowing times,” Smith
said. “Though I was able
to escape long-term abuse
while remaining in my residence
with my children,
some survivors of abuse are
not so lucky. To escape further
harm, they have little
choice but to relocate and
find refuge in a shelter, relying
on limited resources
and the goodwill of others
to regain their footing.”
In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic,
Smith designed reusable
and washable 100 percent
cotton face masks
that come in a variety of
colors and sizes.
Similar to her other
products, Smith and her
team personalized the face
masks with images, patterns,
and phrases such as
“This too shall pass” and
“Queens strong.”
Prices for the face masks
run from $12 to $20 with
free shipping for purchases
greater than 50.
Smith recently donated
50 handmade face masks
to a Queens shelter run by
Womankind, a nonprofit
that provides a wide array
of services to survivors of
intimate-partner violence.
The entrepreneur plans to
donate more soon.
“Protecting themselves
and their children from
COVID-19 has become yet
another thing to worry
about on survivors’ journey
to safety and peace. We
want our donation of face
masks to ease their burden,
even if by just a little,”
Smith said.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
Queens entrepreneur, Sandra Smith and her team, created
and donated face masks with personalized messages to domestic
violence survivors. Photo by Cecelia Lucy Photography
A judge tossed two lawsuits that threatened the $1.3 billion Belmont Park redevelopment project that will be home to the New
York Islanders. Courtesy of New York Arena Partners
Belmont Park redevelopment
project gets green light as
judge tosses two lawsuits
BY BILL PARRY
The $1.3 Belmont Park
redevelopment plan that
will build a new 19,000-seat
hockey arena for the New
York Islanders is moving
forward after a state Supreme
Court Justice dismissed
lawsuits by several
civic groups and the Village
of Floral Park.
The state project includes
a 250-room hotel and
a 435,000 square foot retail
space which was under
construction adjacent to
the racetrack’s grandstand.
The project broke ground
last August but work was
suspended after Governor
Andrew Cuomo suspended
nonessential construction
work as part of the state’s
response to the COVID-19
pandemic.
It is not clear when construction
will resume.
The lawsuits opposed the
size and scope of the project
that would inundate the
area with traffic and create
noise and light pollution in
residential areas. In court
papers filed May 12, Justice
Roy S. Mahon ruled the village
had “not shown that it
has suffered an injury, in
fact, distinct from that of
the general public.”
The ruling eliminates
all legal challenges against
Empire State Development
Development Corporation
which is overseeing the
project.
“Earlier this week, both
lawsuits against the Belmont
Park Redevelopment Project
were wholly dismissed, representing
a decisive victory
for smart economic development
and validating ESD’s
vigorous environmental
review and robust public engagement
process,” Empire
State Development Acting
Commissioner and President
Eric Gertler said. “We
look forward to continuing
this project, which will deliver
thousands of jobs and
billions in economic activity
to the downstate region,
which are needed now more
than ever.”
As the metropolitan recovers
from the economic
devastation brought on by
the coronavirus pandemic,
the construction is expected
to create 10,000 jobs and
generate $2.7 billion in economic
activity.
After its completion, the
project is expected to sustain
3,200 new full-time jobs,
produce $858 million in annual
economic activity and
generate tens of millions of
dollars in new annual tax
revenue, according to the
governor’s office.
Floral Park Mayor
Dominick Longobardi said
in a statement that while the
court recognized the Village
of Floral Park’s “legitimate
concerns” with the scope of
the Belmont Project and the
Belmont Project’s impact on
Village residents, the court
determined that it may not
“substitute its judgment” for
the judgment of the Empire
State Development Corp.
“Of course we are disappointed
with the judge’s
conclusion and believe
ESD’s failure to require
meaningful mitigation of
the very obvious and significant
negative impacts
that the Belmont Project
poses to the surrounding
communities warrants that
this project needs to be reevaluated
and scaled back,”
Longobardi said. “While we
still believe that the development
of a shopping mall
at this time is ill-conceived,
we will continue to monitor
the development of this project
as it moves forward and
work tirelessly to ensure
any effects on our quality
of life are minimized to the
greatest extent possible.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Flushing entrepreneur
creates, donates face
masks to domestic
violence survivors
link
link
link
