By TAYLOR MACEWEN

SUNNYSIDE — Community Board 2 members discussed preparing local businesses for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) encounters at this Thursday’s meeting, but admitted confusion amid decentralized resources.

Early in the meeting, held at Sunnyside Community Services, multiple attendees requested the support of New York State Senator, Michael Gianaris in the passage of several bills aimed at limiting federal overreach regarding immigration enforcement and surveillance. Advocating for Senator Gianaris’ attention on three proposed bills which would ban the use of facial recognition and biometric surveillance of New York citizens by federal law enforcement, committee member Morry Galonoy said “(This) is especially needed in a time where we’re concerned about people’s safety, and exercising their rights to public assembly, and retribution against that.” As mentions of immigration enforcement turned quickly from assured requests to open-ended questions, the gaps in community preparedness became hard for the group to ignore.

In December, Captain Armani of the 108th Precinct reassured members of the board’s City Services / Public Safety committee that the NYPD’s job is to protect New Yorkers, not collaborate with ICE. Legislation announced on January 30 by Governor Kathy Hochul lended some substance to the Captain’s claims. The proposed ‘Local Cops, Local Crimes Act’ aims to limit ICE’s reach within the city, including barring federal agents from deputizing local law enforcement.

Still, the residents and community leaders at Thursday’s meeting expressed the need for specialized preparations for local businesses, highlighting the community’s need for clarity and centralization of educational resources for business owners. The general sense of uncertainty underlying the group’s discussion mirrored that of the city, as reports of ICE raids throughout the country detail the department’s audacity.

Throughout the evening ICE-related concerns were raised by members of nearly every committee from Transportation to Arts & Cultural Affairs. While most agenda items were rattled off by presenters at a rapid clip — so as to stay within the two minute per person limit — paces slowed as passionate bewilderment and frustrations were shared across the room. Frustration not with a lack of resources per se (also shared between attendees), but with an inability for the community to sufficiently prepare without a central source of information or support.

Leaning into the issues of practicality for local business owners in the face of potential confrontation with federal forces, the group questioned the Chair of the Small Business and Local Economy Committee, Morry Galonoy, on the committee’s prioritization of educational materials for small business owners regarding the matter. While some saw it as more of an issue of public safety, there was a very present awareness of the effect this lack of preparation could have on the local economy.

Acknowledging the lack of clarity on whose responsibility this advocacy really is, the Vice Chair of the City Services / Public Safety committee, Danielle Brecker, raised several questions regarding what local businesses should do if their employees are targeted by federal immigration agents.

“I know a lot of businesses in Long Island do have that and there is fear here,” she said. “I don’t think any employers want to lose employees.”

On Friday, February 6, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his signing of an executive order reifying protections for New Yorkers against federal immigration enforcement. Support for the sudden loss of staff, however, remains largely a grassroots endeavor.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER

SUNNYSIDE — Pockets of business vacancies persist in Sunnyside, even though the overall vacancy rate in the area remains low. One such space is the former Rite Aid store on Greenpoint Avenue between 46th Street and 47th Street, which closed in April 2022 and has not had a permanent tenant aside from a brief turn one year as a Spirit Halloween store.

“It’s very very frustrating because it makes the block dead and it hurts all the other merchants in the area because there’s nobody going to shop there, it’s not drawing anybody to the neighborhood,” said Dirk McCall de Paloma, executive director of the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District. He said the landlord in question who owns the entire block is not one that communicates with him. “We always want everything to be occupied, if it’s occupied at least people are investing in the community, they are hiring local, they’re putting tax money back in … they have a better interest in keeping the street clean.”

“It’s a great location, it’s one block south of the subway. That area on Greenpoint Avenue has become a very interesting spot with Kora Doughnuts opening up,” said Ben Guttman, executive director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation.

The Greenpoint Ave property’s leasing company Solil Management did not return requests for comments.

McCall de Paloma said the BID had tried to make Greenpoint Avenue more attractive by putting up specialty lights. He stressed the importance of emphasizing the neighborhood’s strengths with data and seeking as much communication as possible with landlords.

The now-closed Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall on 45th Street and Greenpoint Avenue had drawn a lot of people, he said, but is now being developed after it did not get Landmark status under the Adams Administration. A possible performance space in the base of the new building would be a very positive neighborhood contribution, he said.

On the nearby corner of 47th Street and Queens Boulevard, McCall de Paloma praised the recent arrival of Shake Shack for keeping the corner very clean and bringing in lots of people. On the other hand, he said the new Chipotle at 40th Street and Queens Boulevard was getting multiple city fines for trash and snow removal violations, and he had been unable to speak to the manager. He said he always preferred individually owned businesses over the lately more frequent chains. “Individual places are local residents most of the time, they hire locally more, they put more money into the local economy,’ he said. “Sometimes [chains] can be decent … but for every Shake Shack you get a Chipotle.”

Some landlords, especially on Queens Boulevard, ask for “way too much” rent, McCall de Paloma said. He noted that while the concept of Commercial Rent Control had come up over the years, including in the City Council, it had never gone anywhere, and had also raised legal concerns for city lawyers.

Guttman praised Rockrose, a large property owner in Long Island City near Court Square, for making a concerted effort to seek out tenants to add value to the community.”He also praised the new Mamdani administration for an executive order to streamline fines, fees and regulations for small businesses. “That’s a great first step. A lot of these…requirements make sense, but the problem is sometimes they’re duplicative, sometimes they’re onerous.”