28 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens men take home top prizes in oyster
shucking and eating at Grand Central contest
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Two Queens men proved that the
world was indeed their oyster during a
Manhattan event celebrating the beloved
bivalve.
On Sept. 29, the Grand Central Oyster
Bar celebrated the 16th anniversary of its
“Grand Central Oyster Frenzy.” Hosted
by Marc Ernay, sports director at 1010
WINS Radio, the event featured live
demonstrations as well as the annual oyster
Photos courtesy of Diego Isio
Jose Valdez (left) and Nathan Hall (right) both took home prizes in the annual Grand Central Oyster Frenzy.
Councilman Lancman announces bid for Queens District Attorney
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Councilman Rory Lancman has offi -
cially thrown his hat in the ring in the race
for Queens District Attorney.
Th e current chair of the Committee on
the Justice System released a video confi
rming his bid on Sept. 26. Th e position
is currently held by Richard A. Brown, a
seven-term incumbent who has served
in the position since he was elected
in November 1991. Brown has not yet
confi rmed whether or not he will seek
another term.
“Our criminal justice system is broken
from start to fi nish, but we can fi x it
by working together. Today, I am proud
to announce my candidacy for Queens
District Attorney,” said Lancman in a
statement.
Th e video featured Gwen Carr, mother
of Eric Garner, the Staten Island man
who died at the hands of the police back
in 2014.
Lancman’s bid comes as no surprise,
having been an advocate for issues like
ending over policing, mass incarceration
and racial inequality in the criminal justice
system. Th roughout his years in public
offi ce, the councilman has worked for
women’s rights, immigrants and individuals
in the workforce, according to his
website. He has also ensured that legal
services were made available to poor and
working people in New York City.
Recently, Lancman was endorsed by
IBEW LOCAL 3, a union headquartered
in Queens that represents 30,000 working
people across the city.
“Local 3 and its 30,000 members
stand behind Rory Lancman as our
next District Attorney because Rory has
always stood behind us and all working
people in the fi ght to protect our
wages, our safety and our retirement
security. We need a DA who will treat
wage theft , dangerous workplaces and
fraud as the serious crimes that they are.
Working people deserve nothing less,”
said Chris Erikson, Business Manager of
IBEW Local 3.
Lancman responded by saying that
he would continue fi ghting for workers’
rights if appointed Queens district
attorney.
“As the District Attorney, I will fi ght
wage theft and unsafe workplaces with
the vigor these crimes against working
people deserve,” said Lancman. “I have
fought my entire career to ensure that
the working women and men of labor
are respected and protected, and their
safety and security will be a priority of
my offi ce. Queens was built by union
labor, and I will never stop fi ghting for
working people.”
Th e councilman has also been endorsed
by Valerie Bell, mother of Sean Bell who
was shot by police the morning before
his wedding in 2006, and other members
in the Queens community.
shucking and “Slurp Off ” competitions.
For the third year in a row, Woodhaven
resident Jose Valdez took home the professional
oyster shucking title. Th e shucking
competition called for six shucked
Raspberry Point oysters in the opening
round, Hama Hama oysters in round two,
and Naked Cowboy oysters in the fi nale,
with the Naked Cowboy himself making
an appearance at the event.
Valdez, a former Oyster Bar shucker
turned-Uber driver, took home the
$3,000 prize aft er beating out the Oyster
Bar’s Antonio Aguila.
Another Queens resident was victorious
in the event’s annual “Slurp Off .”
Sunnyside’s Nathan Hall, who also won
the slurp-off competition in 2015, became
the fi rst repeat winner in the history of
the Frenzy.
Th e annual event also hosted an oyster
tasting which featured dishes from Admir
Alibasic of Ben & Jack’s Steakhouse in
New York City, oyster farmer Abigail
Carroll from Nonesuch Oyster Company,
Izabela Wojcik, Director of House
Programming for the James Beard
House and Paul Greenberg, James Beard
award-winning author of “Four Fish” and
“Th e Omega Principle.”
Th e event was sponsored by Blue Island
Oyster Company, J.P. Shellfi sh, Hama-
Hama Oyster Company and Nonesuch
Oyster Co.
Photo: Facebook/Councilman Rory I. Lancman
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