38 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • DECEMBER 13, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Symposium seeks to build bridges
between small biz and city gov’t
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Councilman Peter Koo and the
Queens Chamber of Commerce
co-hosted a Building Bridges for Small
Businesses symposium to help teach
small businesses how to respond to
summonses from city agencies.
The New York City Office of
Administrative Trials and Hearings
(OATH) joined Koo and the QCC
on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at the Flushing
Queens Library at 47-17 Main St. to
discuss different options available at
OATH, which is the city’s independent
administrative law court, and where
nearly every city agency files summonses
Photo courtesy of Koo’s offi ce
(from l. to r.) Peter Tu, executive director of the Flushing Chinese Business Association, City Councilman Peter Koo, OATH Commissioner and Chief
Administrative Law Judge Fidel F. Del Valle and Thomas Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
Brand-new ice cream shop in Flushing opens its doors
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@cnglocal.com
@QNS
Queens residents enjoyed at the grand opening
of Th e Original Flushing Ice Cream Factory
on Dec. 8.
Residents celebrated with delicious ice cream,
free giveaways, raffl es, holiday festivities and a
visit from Santa Claus at the Flushing Ice Cream
Factory at 135-15 40th Rd.
“We’re going to have very similar fl avors to our
Chinatown location,” said Christina Seid, a member
of the family-owned and -operated business.
“We wanted to be very inclusive of the neighborhood
and we’re trying to incorporate fl avors that
mimic the neighborhood.”
Th e Flushing Ice Cream Factory is an expansion
of the family’s fi rst business, Th e Original
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, located at 65
Bayard St. in Manhattan. Th e store was established
in 1978, according to Seid.
“We have a pretty big following and and people
have wanted us to expand,” Seid said.
Regular ice cream fl avors to be served at the new
location include: mango, pineapple, coconut fudge,
green tea and lychee among others on the menu.
Th e family will be opening another location at
Essex Crossing in Manhattan in March 2019.
“We hope that people are happy because we are
excited of being a part of the Flushing neighborhood
and we’re excited to make it a new home for
us,” Seid said. “Flushing will be our sister store.”
for hearings.
Representatives of city agencies
focused on their enforcement practices
include the New York City Departments
of Sanitation, Buildings, Health and
Mental Hygiene, Environmental
Protection, and the FDNY, among others.
Fidel Del Valle, OATH commissioner
and chief administrative law judge,
said New Yorkers and small businesses
deserve a level playing field when contesting
city-issued summonses.
“OATHS Building Bridges for Small
Businesses initiative provides New
York City’s small businesses with the
information they need to not only participate
fully in the OATH hearing
process but also to avoid getting summonses
in the first place,” said Del
Valle.
For a small business, a summons
from a city agency can turn into a
nightmare if not handled correctly,
Koo said.
“This is especially important for
many of our immigrant businesses
who often fall victim to their own success
and end up with violations that
could have been avoided with the right
preparation,” the lawmaker added.
Last year, OATH received nearly
850,000 summonses from New York
City enforcement agencies and held
more than 310,000 hearings. OATH
offers recipients of summonses convenient
hearing options such as hearings
online, hearings by phone, hearings by
webcam and hearings by mail, according
to its website.
Additionally, OATH has Help
Centers at all hearing locations where
self-represented respondents can go
to get help understanding what a summons
is charging them with and the
possible penalties associated with the
summons; the OATH hearing process;
or get help accessing information or
records that they believe will help their
case.
Photo via Facebook
link
link
