Maryam Rahaman
News@queensledger.com
Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village between 73rd Place and 80th Streets is one of the most narrow business strips in Queens. “Double park here,” says Sal Crifasi, one of its best known ‘home-grown’ business leader, “…. and it’s not pretty.” The heart of the the four block main business zone is sprinkled with mainstay popular spots like the Metro Diner, Village Chemist, Twin Bike Shop and Joe’s Bakery. It’s even home to a cannabis dispensary, with a second on the way. This main business district in Middle Village has particular physical limitations, including little parking and scarce public transportation, but the combination of the ‘business type’ mix and the neighborhood demand made Middle Village ripe for a merchant organizing grant from the New York City Department of Small Business Services. The Queens Chamber of Commerce received the grant and is in charge of allocating it. Typical grants of this type, according to Small Business Services, are intended to perform extensive studies of business districts, engage business leaders and civic leaders in the community and help build a strategic plan to help them thrive. Key outcomes of the study could be funding for merchant associations, installation of new lighting, safety improvements and economic development. Borough Chambers of Commerce throughout the City typically get grants like this and they eventually lead to greater support to enhance the district. There are very few business districts like Middle Village, where 95% or more of the customers drive or walk to their shopping. That might necessitate a different strategy than most.
Last Thursday, the Chamber held a small business resources fair at the Community United Methodist Church Hall. In addition to an appearance from Councilmember Phil Wong, representatives from city agencies and local organizations offered a chance for business owners to learn about resources available to them. A few prospective and current business owners were in attendance. But one community member expressed concern about the lack of attendance and use of the grant money. Paul Pogozelski, president of the Middle Village Residents Association, also recently voiced such concern at a Community Board 5 meeting. In a previous email to the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Pogozelski questioned the use of the grant, he says, the majority of which was being used for administrative costs.
“This raises serious questions about whether the allocation aligns with the intent of the grant,” Pogozelski wrote. “The limited support flowing to our local shop owners is troubling and suggests that the QCC may not be fully attuned to the needs and priorities of small businesses in our district.”
Queens Chamber of Commerce president Thomas Grech stressed that the organization closely follows regulations surrounding grant usage. “We follow the rules and regulations as put forth by SBS, and we follow it to the letter and the spirit,” Grech said. “I’ve been doing this for 10 years. The chamber has been doing it for 25 or 30.” Grech also said that the fair was the first time he met Pogozelski and that he had not previously heard any feedback from him.
Pogozelski’s email also stated that “events organized under this grant have been poorly promoted, inconsistently attended, and inadequately executed.” He called upon the Queens Chamber of Commerce and elected officials to come to an in-person meeting to discuss how the grant could better serve small businesses in the area.
The email also states that the grant has not been used to put into place recommendations a previous Queens Chamber of Commerce survey recommended. Last fall, 45 Middle Village merchants were surveyed on what meeting times were best for events and what areas of focus the grant should go toward. Nearly half the responses cited a lack of parking and transit in the area as their main concern. High marketing costs and safety, given recent break-ins, were also shared concerns among respondents.
The survey included recommendations for how the grant could address these issues, such as improving access to parking, increasing police presence along the avenue, conducting street cleanings, and offering marketing workshops to reduce costs. Pogozelski emphasized that allocating funds towards these solutions would have addressed concerns that small businesses directly voiced.
Pogozelski had written a letter in support of Middle Village receiving the grant, at the request of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.
The grant began in July 2025. An initial event was held. Pogozelski didn’t attend until a second event was held at Halloween. According to him, the event only had a few tables and some candy. It missed the “wow factor” that he felt would’ve drawn more community members to the event.
“I really wasn’t so involved in this until I’d seen that Halloween event,” Pogozelski said. “And that’s when I started asking questions.”
Grech said that he fields many calls the chamber receives and has not heard a complaint about the grant yet. “Anybody that has a question about how we and where we go out and do our work, they’re always welcome to call,” he said.
A consistent issue with increasing turnout has been that small business owners cannot leave their shops unmanned in order to attend these events. Half of survey respondents reported that they are not available for meetings at any point of the day.
“There’s a number of different fronts,” Grech said. “We do Zooms when necessary, because people cannot leave their places. We do in person fairs, like we just did, because people can’t leave their block or their avenue to go into Manhattan.”
According to Vicky Ferreira, strategic program manager at Queens Chamber of Commerce, “people came all the way from Astoria” to access resources within the borough.
The next event the grant will fund is a luncheon for small business owners in the area, held at Metro Diner. After that, a parade and road closure is scheduled for April.
The grant will end in July of this year. Pogozelski looks forward to seeing improvements in how it is used before then.
“If anything we can do to help these small businesses that they could actually thrive in our neighborhood, that’s really what our objective should have been all along.” Pogozelski said. “Let’s hope that, even though maybe it started off rocky, that it’ll end in a good manner.
