Food Pantry Expansion Announced,
Posthumous Honorifics For Assemblymembers Simanowitz And Mayersohn
“Welcome to our new home,” were the everlasting words of Michael Nussbaum, President of the Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC). Queens’ political leadership did not disappoint last Tuesday, November 21, for the ribbon-cutting event ten years in the making. “In the beginning there was darkness, and then there was light,” began Nussbaum, who also lived up to his promise to open the facility’s doors before stepping down this upcoming February. “In the beginning, this space was empty for over a decade. Today it has been revitalized and there is life,” continued Nussbaum as he credited our “thriving, successful, active central Jewish community” as the optimal space for an organization.
Nussbaum, who celebrates 50 years in the public eye this month, thanked the plethora of elected officials who had a hand in providing financial contributions, and once again acknowledged Lebanon Cemetery for providing $500,000 to match the state funds, noting, “what you see today and going forward is another effort to raise money to continue both programmatically as well as operationally with the community.” The event’s noticeable eyesore was a dilapidated garage structure that was announced as the future site of a walk-in shelf food distribution center kickstarted by a $50,000 grant from State Senator Toby Stavisky and the support of longtime partner Met Council.
“Great things come to those who wait. I am so incredibly grateful for the work of QJCC,” stated Congress Member Grace Meng, who worked with the group prior to entering public office. Referencing the Middle East, Meng, who attended the Washington rally, added, “We stand here today as a bipartisan group of elected officials and community leaders to say that we stand with Israel, I know that our Jewish community here in Queens, throughout the city, around the country, and around the world feels very lonely right now. But know that you are not alone.”
“Queens Jewish Community Council has always brought us together, year after year after year, to make sure that it was heard loud and clear throughout the world that New York City stands with Israel,” echoed Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, explaining a very important component of the organization’s work. Katz, a seasoned public official now in her 30th year of service, thanked the newer electeds for attending, pointing to such involvement as an “amazing tribute to the community.”
“We have this idea of tzedakah,” said KGH Assemblymember Sam Berger, expressing the Jewish ideal of taking and being grateful for our lot in life, and then giving back to the community that is done so well by the QJCC, which cares for both Jewish and other city residents.
In 2002, as chair of the City Council Finance Committee, David Weprin, now a local Assemblymember, approached Speaker Gifford Miller with the dream of this facility. Together, they provided an initial $500,000 capital allocation. “It’s finally coming to fruition, and I can’t think of a better time while the Jewish community, particularly in Israel, is under siege. It seems that things get worse and worse every day when it comes to anti-Semitism, which is an important mission that the QJCC fights against,” voiced Weprin.
“The Jewish community needs, especially in this time, a space to be together and to give back to others in the community,” declared Assemblymember Nily Rozic. “When I first got elected, Michael Simanowitz, zichrono livrachah, came up to me and he said, ‘QJCC is so important, we have to fight for them every single budget cycle,’ and I’m just glad that we have been able to do that in a small part. We will continue to do that at the state level, as well.”
“It’s hard to stand here and not be in the moment with everything that is going on in the world,” asserted Council Member James F. Gennaro. “So, we fight for the right thing, we fight for Yiddishkeit, we fight to feed the poor, and we fight to move the world forward in a positive way, one QJCC at a time. That’s how we do it.” Before embracing Nussbaum for his bringing the new offices to light, Gennaro publicly thanked his colleague Lynn Schulman of Forest Hills, where the QJCC has been based, for being “a great champion for Israel.”
“We make sure that we are giving you your fair share,” explained Council Member Joann Ariola of the work by the Queens delegation co-chaired by Council Member Linda Lee. “There is never a time that we call the Met Council or the QJCC and are told, ‘No,’ when there is a person in need.
Council Member Sandra Ung offered herself as an ally to the Jewish community and thanked the many board members saying, “I know it takes a lot of you to make the QJCC work.” She also encouraged communal volunteerism.
“Food insecurity and poverty is not always obvious in our communities. It is oftentimes hidden,” commented Council Member Linda Lee, who joined the city office with two decades of service at the helm of a nonprofit and having been a social worker. “Thank you for all the work you do in serving all of our communities across the city, providing services that are much, much needed in a very culturally and linguistically sensitive way.” Lee gave Aaron Cyperstein of Met Council a special shoutout for delivering 50 kosher turkeys to her office earlier that morning for distribution and enjoyment ahead of Thanksgiving. Met Council is the largest provider of halal food in New York City.
Nussbaum labeled Assemblymember Mike Simanowitz z”l, represented by his son Josh, as the general of the volunteers of the Police Department, and credited him for the QJCC being able to have the new space, also giving his predecessor Nettie Mayerson recognition for initial support.
“There is no more important time than this to be here to open up this facility,” declared Queens Borough President Donvan Richards, providing his first remarks following a political delegation to the site of the massacre in Israel. “It is a stark reminder and sends a very clear message that we are here to stay, that anti-Semitism will never, ever be tolerated in our borough, and that we are going to continue to build on our institutions that celebrate diversity.”
Speaking of his trip abroad, Richards said, “While I was at a kibbutz, our delegation came under rocket fire, there was a terrorist attack outside of our hotel while we were at the Gaza border, so we do not come here simply to talk as if we are just on Twitter. We were on the frontlines. We saw the devastation firsthand that those families encountered. We met with families and people who were displaced and who now live in hotels in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem because of the horrific things that we saw. My heart is with the community, and I will always say there are no winners in war.”
QJCC Executive Director Rabbi Mayer Waxman then installed the entranceway mezuzah, followed by Nussbaum unveiling the signage. Vice President Linda Spiegel and her husband Ted donated the mezuzah, and together with the Margaret Tietz Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, provided lunch from Main Street Bagels & Appetizing. The event included a healthy showing of Board Members, Rebecca Brommer, LMSW, Rabbinic Community Organizer, New York Board of Rabbis Inc., representation from the NYC Mayor’s office, NYC Council Speaker’s office, NYC Public Advocate’s office, NYC Comptroller, Chazaq, and Northwell Health.
Next up for the QJCC is the unveiling of a Holocaust Memorial in front of Queens Borough Hall made possible by Moshe Davis, senior liaison to NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who worked with Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin to obtain the rights.
The Queens Jewish Link welcomes the QJCC to Kew Gardens Hills as it continues servicing the social service needs of the greater community and utilizes the centrally located space for the betterment of the community.
By Shabsie Saphirstein
