BY COLE SINANIAN
cole@queensledger.com
JACKSON HEIGHTS — Gaggles of hungry teenagers shuffled into the cafeteria of IS 230 middle school in pods of four or five on Friday evening, all eager to break their Ramadan fasts with the heaps of fragrant rice and chicken being served from a large pot at the front of the room.
Some teens border on unruly — giggling and catcalling excitedly with their peers from their tables and booths as they anticipate the arrival of the evening’s keynote speaker, New York State Senator Jessica Ramos. The youngsters’ eyes widen as their plates are piled with food and Iftar — the evening meal after a day of Ramadan fasting — has commenced.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Jabed Uddin walks from table to table greeting everyone he sees with a firm handshake and a pat on the shoulder. As Secretary General of the Astoria Welfare Society — an organization dedicated to tackling food insecurity in Western Queens — Jabed is known among the local Bangladeshi Muslim community for his warm smile and devotion to community service.
Mohammed Jabed Uddin, general secretary of the Astoria Welfare Society with his son, Nihal.
Friday’s Iftar, organized in collaboration between the Astoria Welfare Society and Ramos’ office, is part of a series of Iftars organized each year at a different public school in Ramos’ district, which includes Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights. On Friday, Ramos took the opportunity to draw attention to the importance of her work in Albany and urged unity at a time of political instability.
“I want to thank you, and as always, even though you’ve already broken your fast for today, I ask you to keep in mind everything that’s going on in our community and in our world,” Ramos said. “With immigration, with our young people— please keep us all in your prayers.”
Ramos continued: “I myself right now am in the middle of helping negotiate the New York State budget. That’s my job. I go to Albany every Monday to go negotiate with the Senate, with the Assembly, and with governor Hochul, so we can make sure we’re getting the funding we need for our schools like this one, our hospitals, our libraries, and so many other services that we depend on.”
After the meal, attendees laid down a mat in the center of the cafeteria to pray. Ramos then returned to the podium to deliver certificates to several distinguished community members, before gathering everyone in the room together for a group picture. A group of teen boys huddled in the corner, however, seemed uninterested in joining the photo, so Ramos — referring to the group as “the cool teenagers” — asked them to help with taking the photo.
Of course, they could not say no to their state senator.
