Feb. 28, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
A Jackson Heights flower shop that has been an institution for more than 40 years is slated to close this month.
Ho Flowers and Plants, located at 84-23 37th Ave, will close at the end of the month following the death of the longtime owner Susan Lee last year.
Councilman Daniel Dromm honored the shop and Lee’s son with a citation and ceremony celebrating the shop’s history in the community last week.
“Susan Lee was a beloved mother, neighbor and important part of the Jackson Heights business community for so many years,” Dromm said on Saturday.
“Like many members of our immigrant communities here in Queens, Lee worked hard to provide for her family and make the world around her a better place. I am pleased to award this citation to her son John Ho in recognition and memory of Lee’s contributions to Jackson Heights,” he added
Lee emigrated from South Korea in 1972 with her husband and children, and she and her husband opened a wicker basket shop the following year in Jackson Heights. She slowly began introducing flowers, and by 1980 it had become entirely a florist shop.
Lee ran the store as a single mother supporting her two children until May 30 of last year, when she died due to poor health.
After nearly a year of running the shop on his own, Lee’s son decided to close it by the end of the month.
