by Charlie Finnerty

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office hosted an art showcase Friday April 19 at the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens. Artwork of high school students from New York’s 14th Congressional District was submitted for consideration in the Congressional Art Competition, a yearly visual competition hosted by the Congressional Institute.

While the congresswoman was unable to attend due to last-minute weekend foreign aid votes in the House, Constituent Liaison and Field Representative Nipa Royees spoke on her behalf, congratulating students on their artwork displays. Last month, the congresswoman secured over $1 million in federal funding for the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens for a new five-story facility, tripling the size of the club and expanding programming capacity.

“Each year, I am inspired by the remarkable talent and boundless creativity showcased in the submissions for the Congressional Art Competition, particularly the profound connections students forge between their artwork and their communities,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a written statement to the Queens Ledger. “My office proudly hosted an inaugural art showcase highlighting the exceptional pieces of high school students from The Bronx and Queens. From captivating paintings to evocative photographs, each piece showed the immense talent and limitless potential of our young artists. As we work to determine a winner for this year’s competition, we remain extremely impressed by the depth and breadth of artistic expression demonstrated by these remarkable students.”

Local organizations and community groups including Riis Settlement Immigration Services, Malikah Safety Center and First Tech Fund attended the event as well as staff representing State Senators Kristen Gonzalez and Michael Gianaris.

The winning artwork of our district’s competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol and featured on the United States House of Representatives Congressional Art Competition page.

By Charlie Finnerty | cfinnerty@queensledger.com

Tucked away on the corner of Vernon Blvd. and 44th Dr., NYC Bud celebrated its grand opening Friday. Customers flooded through the sliding glass doors into the storefront, modeled after an MTA subway station complete with classic MTA signage, subway cars, MetroCard ticket machine-styled ATMs and even a rat mascot posing for photos.

Owner Jon Paul Pezzo said the theme of the shop was an homage to New York City graffiti culture and a reflection of his time spent riding the subway across the city’s boroughs growing up in Bayside.

“We’re Queens kids, this is our vibe,” Pezzo said. “I was fifteen years old riding the 7 line. My mother thought I was right around the block when I was in downtown Manhattan buying fat caps to go do graffiti on the weekends. We hung out in parks, we drank, we smoked and this is our culture, you know? I feel like kids have lost community with video games and technology. What was once connecting us is disconnecting us now. We wanted to bring the essence of old New York.”

Pezzo said he wants his business to serve every community in surrounding Queens neighborhoods of LIC, Astoria and beyond, with plans to eventually open locations throughout the city.

“Everyone, everyone, everyone,” Pezzo said. “We’re really excited because we feel we’ve built something very different. We want to open stores in every borough. We’re an NYC brand.”

Pezzo said the lengthy licensing process and the challenges of navigating an emerging legal cannabis industry made the opening process especially drawn out and difficult. Competition with black market smoke shops — which do not follow the specific regulations of the legal industry and have proliferated under the state’s bumpy rollout of legalized cannabis — makes opening legal dispensaries especially difficult and costly, according to Pezzo.

“After a long long nightmare of a journey, we’re finally here,” Pezzo said. “Going through the licensing process, waiting, doing all the paperwork — struggling, really. Doing everything the right way while these illegal businesses are opening left and right. They shut them down and they open right up again. For what they put us through to open a business, to have that as an added thing is not really fair. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

Zion Foss is a founding member of Zizzle, a Queens-based cannabis cultivation and lifestyle brand and a featured brand at NYC Bud’s new storefront. Foss grew up in Flushing and founded Zizzle as one of the first legal New York City cannabis brands in the earliest days of legalization.

Foss said he would like to see the state and city support the legal industry by streamlining the licensing process and providing grants or other incentives to promote legal entrepreneurship.

“We need to simplify the process, not so much red tape and regulation,” Foss said. “We’re subject to all this compliance and rigorous testing. It’s overwhelming and capital intensive.”

Jeff North, an LIC native and longtime member of the cannabis horticultural community, said he is excited to see the industry being legalized and businesses taking off.

“I think in general, it’s a great thing to have new business avenues open in New York. We’ve always been a city striving for commerce, so why not take advantage of the commerce of this industry and move it more towards a legal market?”

As an experienced grower and educator in cannabis horticulture, North raised concerns about the growing industry inflating prices artificially for a product he knows is not particularly costly to produce.

“The entire concept that marijuana should cost this much money is absolutely ridiculous,” North said.

Foss said he is excited to see more legal and locally owned storefronts like NYC Bud opening in the city.

“It’s a special grand opening, it’s a special time in cannabis, it’s a special time for all New Yorkers.” Foss said. “We’re providing safe cannabis and I’m proud to be behind that.”

 

By Charlie Finnerty | cfinnerty@queensledger.com

Artie Jeffries of Jamaica celebrated 30 years working as an elevator operator at Access Self Storage in Long Island City. The longest tenured employee, Jeffries has become a beloved member of the team and a friend to many customers. Access Self Storage staff, some of Jeffries’ most loyal customers and loved ones celebrated the milestone, as well as his 56th birthday, at Bantry Bay Publick House on Nov. 11. At the party, he was also presented the Ken Cooley founders award from Access Self Storage corporate office

“Everybody needs a job,” Jeffries said. “Knowing that you have a job, that you’re making money, that you’re paying your rent — knowing that you have a job behind you — I think that’s a great feeling. It’s a lifesaver, knowing people that don’t have a job are out there struggling every single day trying to make ends meet.”

Soraya Gomez, Artie’s manager at Access Self Storage, said Jeffries is a team player and lifts up everyone else in the workplace.

“He’s reliable, we can always count on him,” Gomez said. “Everyone here gets along with him. It’s like there’s no animosity in him.”

Jeffries said he never expected to hold the job for three decades but focuses everyday on making sure he gets his work done.

“Just trying to keep a job is the biggest challenge. I thought I wouldn’t be here that long. When I first started, I thought I might be gone in three years,” Jeffries said. “I hung in there and they noticed me. I work hard.”

In his time at Access Self Storage, Jeffries said he has seen a lot of other staff come and go but repeat customers, some who have been there even longer than himself, help build a familiar and supportive community at work.

“I’ve seen so many people come and go,” Jeffries said. “We get repeat customers a lot and they help me out a lot. They’re very supportive and we’re very supportive of them. We help each other out. They’re still here, it’s like a miracle.”

Jeffries said he does not take any of his work for granted and tries to be better every day than the day before.

“Even though it’s difficult sometimes, it’s difficult tasks, you manage to work yourself through them. And that’s what I’ve managed to do,” Jeffries said. “For all the years that I’ve been here, I’ve tried to make myself better than I was the last time. More productive, available, communicative, more responsive, more responsibility. Not a lot of people get that chance to actually be at a job that long and say, you know, ‘Hey, I’ve achieved something.’ Even being here ten years is a miracle.”

With support from his job coach Carlos Pino from AHRC New York City, an organization which serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Artie has thrived on the job.

“Artie by himself is a wonderful person. The way he was moving around and smiling at the party, that’s him,”  Pino said. “That’s him, he’s always that way. He smiles, never has to complain. Always looking to the bright side.”

Jeffries said his focus is on finding joy in the small things, both in and outside of his work.

“I’m 56 years old. I just try to enjoy life,” Jeffries said. “Like they say, life is short, so you’ve gotta enjoy every moment of it.”