Bike lane stupidity claims 73-year old business

From Forest Hills Post:

Ben’s Best, the Kosher deli that has been located in Rego Park for nearly 75 years, is closing.

The owner of the 96-40 Queens Blvd. establishment made the announcement on the restaurant’s website yesterday.

“Regretfully, after seventy-three wonderful years, Ben’s Best will be closing its doors on Saturday June 30,” the deli announced. “We are very grateful to everyone who has supported us and we hope to see you one last time.”

The deli is owned by Jay Parker, whose father Benjamin opened the famed deli in 1945. The deli is known for its old-fashioned pastrami, matzo ball soup and fresh rye bread.

The deli has struggled in recent times, with Parker attributing much of the decline to the Department of Transportation’s installation of protected bicycle lanes on Queens Boulevard, which required the reduction of parking spaces.

CB9 member will stay

From the Daily News:

A longtime community board member from Queens can keep his unpaid position on the panel despite accusations of sending an anti-Semitic message to three Jewish board members this summer, the board voted Tuesday.

Sam Esposito, a retired NYPD officer from Ozone Park, volunteered to foot the bill for a pizza dinner for Community Board 9 members in June, plus cover the cost of several meals from Ben’s Kosher Deli in Bayside, he said.

But Jewish board members Wallace Bock, Jan Fenster and Evelyn Baron refused to eat the kosher fare because it came from a deli that is open on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Esposito, who is not Jewish, said he then ordered more food from another deli that the board members deemed acceptable, but they still didn’t like it.

An incensed Esposito later fired off a nasty note to the trio, accusing them of acting like thankless brats.

Bock later filed a formal complaint and the board was asked to decide Esposito’s fate. He survived the no confidence vote, 34-10.

But the recipients of the missive charge that they never got their say. Bock, Fenster and Baron all stormed out of Tuesday’s meeting after the vote, with Bock vowing to resign.

Ok, now that this has been clarified, it's ridiculous that Sam's status was even subjected to a vote. No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose.

Ben's staying at Bay Terrace

From the Queens Courier:

With the clock ticking down the final hours of the kosher-deli institution’s 15-year run in the Bay Terrace shopping center, a deal was crafted between landlord Cord Meyer Development, Ben’s and Panera Bread, which had been slated to occupy the space.

“This is a great Christmas/Hanukkah gift for our customers and staff,” said Scott Singer, President of Ben’s Restaurant Group. “I have a signed lease extension in my hand, and my employees have their jobs.” The lease was to expire on Saturday, January 31.

Bay Terrace Ben’s Deli extension