We have supported, cajoled, hailed, praised and honored Mayor Michael Bloomberg in these pages. We have even supported his run for president.
We have of course opposed some of his plans for the city like congestion pricing and banning children from carrying their personal cellphones during school hours inside school buildings.
As the Willets Point plan heads to the City Council for its modifications, we hope that the mayor's vision for the city and for the borough of Queens will be realized. Bloomberg's legacy will be the outcome of his plan NYC2030. The reclamation of Willets Point as a neighborhood and a shining new gateway of New York City will be a part of that legacy.
We are sure that he can persuade the members of the City Council to make their modifications and allow the proposed project to proceed.
RIGHT THIS WRONG!
Another wrong that Mayor Bloomberg can fix came to our attention in a letter from the President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Albert F. Pennisi, which ran in last week's issue of The Queens Courier.
The letter ran under the headline “In support of Joseph Franco.”
Who is Joseph Franco? He is simply one of the city's finest restaurateurs. He is franchised to run Caff on the Green in Bayside.
Franco, through 18 years of hard work, knowledge, experience and personal investment, has grown the Caff into the stellar venue it is today.
Along with Tavern on the Green on Manhattan's west side and the Boat House Restaurant in Central Park, Caff on the Green does a tremendous amount of catered affairs, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and family celebrations where only the best will do.
Pennisi, as we do, finds it shocking and sad that the Bloomberg administration has decided to turn its back on proprietor Joseph Franco and pull his license to run the restaurant.
As Pennisi put it in his letter, “A few months ago, a newspaper article alleged, by innuendo, that Franco was somehow a part of organized crime. This malicious allegation has never been substantiated; no proof of such involvement was ever established, either as the basis of any indictment or any warrant for arrest. Indeed, he has forcefully refuted such allegations and challenged anyone to offer one scintilla of evidence supporting the allegation.”
Pennisi further points out, “The city itself had vetted Franco thoroughly prior to awarding him and then renewing the franchise to develop the premises, and found not a single blemish in his record. Now the city, apparently in response to malicious innuendo, and totally contrary to its own earlier findings, has issued an R.F.P. for the selection of another franchisee and is trying to force an end to Franco's proprietorship of Caff on the Green.”
We too believe that this effort to oust Franco is a monstrous injustice. You can right this wrong Mayor Bloomberg. You can intercede in this matter, stay the R.F.P. process, and allow Franco the opportunity to continue growing this outstanding venue he built from scratch. Do the right thing!
