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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Eddie Valentin, Business Owner of Friend's Tavern, on Queen's Future/Metropolitan Park proposal
2:24:30
ยท
157 sec
Eddie Valentin, a business owner from Jackson Heights, expresses strong support for the Queen's Future/Metropolitan Park project. He praises the transparency and community engagement of Steve Cohen's team and Hard Rock Hotel, emphasizing the potential job creation and community benefits of the project.
- Valentin highlights the need for jobs in Queens, citing his own experience with numerous job applicants.
- He commends the project for promising 23,000 construction phase union jobs and 6,000 permanent union jobs.
- Valentin appreciates the developers' approach to community engagement and their responsiveness to local input.
Eddie Valentin
2:24:30
Good afternoon, council members.
2:24:32
I'm last, but hopefully not least once again.
2:24:35
My name is Eddie Valentin.
2:24:37
I am a homeowner and own two LGBTQIA bars in Jackson Heights for more than thirty five years.
2:24:44
One of my bars, Friends Tavern, recently won the Queen's historical plaque for being a great community partner.
2:24:49
The reason I mentioned this is because I'm here to support this project because I know mister Cohen, his team, and the Hard Rock Hotel will take on a new level of community partnership in Queens.
2:25:02
For a reality check, each time I put a help wanted ad, I get 50 to 100 people applying for a busboy or even a barback position.
2:25:09
Many applicants tell me they wanna be close to Queens because they have children in school or they take care of their elderly parents.
2:25:14
It's sad to see how many excellent candidates I cannot give a job to.
2:25:20
So now we see a project that's coming and creating 23,000 construction phase union jobs and 6,000 union permanent jobs, which our surrounding neighborhoods definitely needs.
2:25:31
I haven't seen too many people reaching out to do this in the past, I've been in business there thirty five years.
2:25:37
So most projects happen in Queens quietly without our neighbors knowing about it.
2:25:41
We have ugly warehouses opening everywhere in our neighborhoods, and our opinions are never considered.
2:25:47
However, mister Cohen, Sully, and his team did things differently, and they asked a group of us in the community to get together.
2:25:55
Get they presented us with a project that was already an incredibly positive project, and yet they still asked for our opinion, and they still whatever comments we've made ended up on their vision board.
2:26:06
So it wasn't like they were asking us and they weren't listening to us.
2:26:08
They listened to what the community wanted and what the neighbors needed.
2:26:13
Mister Cohen has been completely transparent with this project without making promises.
2:26:18
We have already seen how much the Metz Foundation has given back to our local communities.
2:26:22
Imagine how much more they're going to give back now that they have made promises, and I'm sure they're going to live up to these promises.
2:26:30
There are billionaire companies outside selling cell phones with algorithms.
2:26:34
They don't wanna create algorithms to hook up our kids.
2:26:37
What they wanna do is give back park space.
2:26:40
And we hear our neighbors talking about more affordable housing.
2:26:42
There's many empty lots that are being turned into these local food chains, so they can be used for affordable housing.
2:26:48
This is park space and should be used for green park spaces.
2:26:52
One last thing, please, right now the place has the four d's, which are it's dingy, it's dirty, it's dangerous, and it's dark.
2:27:02
They're turning it into well lit, clean, beautiful, and a safe space.
2:27:05
Thank you for listening to us all.