A local Southeast Queens real estate broker has put his hat in the ring for the race for City Council District 28.
Romeo Hitlall is a South Ozone Park resident campaigning in the 2025 Democratic Primary for District 28 in the race to succeed City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ seat. District 28 encompasses the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village, and South Ozone Park.
Hitlall spoke to QNS about his inaugural run for public office. A community activist for the past 25 years, Hitall has a vision of bringing the district back to its former glory by addressing public safety, affordable housing, sanitation, and quality of life issues.
“ Being a resident of District 28 for the past 25 years, living here, growing up here, having my business here, having my kids growing up here in this community, I’ve seen the changes, from better to worse,” Hitlall said. “As a resident, as a business owner, I want to bring this community back to where I think everyone in the district would love to see,” he said.
Public Safety
Hitlall said that regarding public safety reform, he’s focused on implementing policies to improve driver and pedestrian safety by deterring speeding drivers. This includes more stop signs, speed bumps, and other street safety infrastructure.
Hitlall added that he intends to advocate for keeping the NYPD’s gang database, officially known as the Criminal Group Database(CGD), in operation. The CGD has been in operation since 2013 and has approximately 16,000 entries. “ That is something that they definitely need to keep because it helps policing, it helps the district attorney, it helps everybody,” Hitlall said.
The database has previously been at the center of controversy, as opponents argue that it targets young adults and is disproportionately made up of minority racial groups. A group of city council members introduced Int360 in 2022, which proposed the abolishment of the database and the prohibition of any successors of the database. A number of city council members, including Queens Council Members Tiffany Caban, Julie Won, and Shekar Krishnan, co-sponsored Int360-2022.
The database was the center of a five-year-long investigation by the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI). A report released in 2023 from the DOI’s office of the inspector general of the NYPD concluded that the investigation did not identify a relationship between inclusion in the CGD and any individual adverse outcomes. However, it did make 17 recommendations to “strengthen policies and practices” in using the database.
Sanitation
Regarding sanitation, Hitlall said that he wants to focus on cleaning up the commercial corridors of Liberty Avenue, Lefferts Boulevard, Baisley Boulevard, Guy Brewer Boulevard, and Rockaway Boulevard. Hitlall said that driving down the corridors is remeinsicant of a “dump”, and that sanitation problems are riddled throughout the district.
Hitlall said he’s taken the initiative to reach out to the DSNY, NYPD, and elected officials to enact walkthroughs of problem areas in the district. For the past six to eight months, an ongoing effort has been in effect to issue summonses to illegal fruit vendors and seize and discard their products.
“ I’ve been in the community for the past 30 years, and everyone pretty much knows me, and they always reach out to me, you know, down the block, this is happening, and they’re sending pictures…but I took it upon myself to be responsible to go out there on the ground and to see what’s happening,” Hitlall said.
Housing
With the recent passage of the City of Yes for Housing by the city council, affordable housing has been a hot-button topic for Southeast Queens residents. Prior to the passage of the City of Yes for Housing, many southeastern Queens homeowners, including District 28 residents, protested for months against the massive rezoning initiative.
Hitlall acknowledged that while the need for affordable housing is a universal issue, he has concerns that the initiative falls short in addressing affordable housing access in Southeast Queens.
“With 25 years in real estate and 17 years on Community Board 10, I understand our community’s unique challenges. The rushed process of City of Yes failed to provide adequate answers about its impact here. I’m committed to working with partners and residents to create real affordable housing solutions and help long-time homeowners, especially seniors, stay in their homes,” he said.
Public Servant
Hitlall feels that his background as a long-term business owner and civically and socially involved resident makes him “the people’s candidate.” He’s been a member of Queens Community Board 10 (CB10) for the past 17 years, which he said is a longstanding reflection of his civic engagement. Hitlall said that his engagement in community organizations has allowed him to know the community and their needs.
He has also committed much of his time to community service as an active member of the Lions Club for the past 12 years. Hitlall said that from 2012 onwards, he was the charter president of his chapter, successfully growing his charter from 20 members to over 100 members. During his time as Charter President of the Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park Lions Club, Hitlall led an array of initiatives, including an annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, community health fairs, annual holiday giveaways, and school supplies giveaways.
One of his most notable achievements was assisting in leading the community effort to install the Little Guyana Avenue sign, which was unveiled on May 29, 2021, at the intersection of Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue.
Additionally, Hitlall spearheaded the effort to install a “Welcome to Little Guyana” sign at the A Train Subway Station in Richmond Hill on March 22.2024. “ That was historic for our community because it took a while… we rallied around elected officials and, you know, it took a lot of petitions from the communities, civic organizations,” he said. “ It’s a large Guyanese population…in Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park and Jamaica. ”I thought it was a great idea, especially on Liberty Avenue to have that there.”
Hitlall recently made history on July 1st, 2024, when he was sworn in as the first Indo-Guyanese District Governor for Brooklyn and Queens in the 106-year history of Lions District 20K1.
As for his business, Hitlall is the CEO and owner of NMCRA Connectors Realty in South Ozone Park and has worked as a real estate broker since 2000. His company focuses on residential, commercial, and apartment rental real estate. Hitlall feels his experience as a business owner gives him an intimate understanding of the issues other business owners in his district and around New York City may face.
Hitlall has taken a seemingly down-to-earth approach to his candidacy. ”I already know I am not a politician. I’m a regular person. I’m a business owner. I grew up here. I grew up in Southeast Queens. I grew up in District 28 all my life. I went to Hillcrest High School,” he said. “My kids grew up in South Ozone Park.”
Hitlall said he knows what it takes to live in District 28, to be a homeowner and provide for a family. He feels that if elected, he can focus on bringing back safety and peace of mind to residents in his district.
“I want the best for our community… I want our kids in the community to be able to walk to the deli down the block and not worry, he said. “I want our seniors to be able to take a stroll in the afternoon and not worry they’re going to get robbed.”
“ We want to live a comfortable life. We want to be able to live that life. And yes, we can do it.”
