U.S. Rep. Grace Meng led Gov. Kathy Hochul and several other elected officials on a tour of Flushing to hear from local businesses about the challenges they are facing during a period of “deep uncertainty and concern”.
Meng and Hochul were joined by State Sen. John Liu, Council Member Sandra Ung, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Queens Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Grech for a tour of local businesses on Saturday. Dian Yu, executive director of the Flushing BID, and Peter Tu, executive director of the Flushing Chinese Business Association, also joined Saturday’s tour.
Hochul met with owners of several local businesses during the tour, US Supermarket 1, Woodam Restaurant and Prince Optical. Several owners told Hochul that they have faced rising costs since President Donald Trump introduced sweeping tariff after taking office last year.
Businesses also detailed how rising immigration enforcement has impacted foot traffic in the neighborhood.
Woodam co-owner Chul Kee Ko told Hochul that everything is “going high” because of the tariffs during a conversation on Saturday.
“All the food costs are going high,” Ko said on Saturday. “It really hurts. It looks like we are busy and people think ‘oh this restaurant is busy. It’s making money.’ But at the end of the day, we look at the costs, oh my God.
“I haven’t taken a day off since last year.”
Hochul said she visited Flushing to witness the “devastating effect” that the tariffs are having on businesses throughout the state. Hochul described the tariffs as an “illegal scheme” that had been struck down by Supreme Court.
In a 6-3 decision last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing tariffs on nearly every US trading partner. Trump announced a new set of tariffs almost immediately after the ruling.
“What they have done, under an illegal scheme that has been struck down by the United States Supreme Court, was to take money out of the pockets of these small businesses who are working so hard every single day,” Hochul said.
She said the tariffs are particularly difficult for small businesses, especially businesses in neighborhoods that have been impacted by federal immigration raids.
“Businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic, hit hard by inflation, and now they’re hit hard by tariffs and, of course, the unlawful immigration enforcement that is literally taking people off these streets,” Hochul added.
Meng also reported that businesses in the area have experienced a downturn in foot traffic because of fears of federal immigration authorities. Meng added that Trump’s tariffs have created “another crisis” for small businesses by forcing them to pass the cost onto the consumer.
“We have been hearing from our local small business owners about how the chaotic rollout of the Trump and Republican tariffs has impacted their livelihood and made it nearly impossible to remain in business,” Meng said. “They don’t know how to stay afloat without passing the higher costs onto their customers and driving them away.”
Meng added that the tariffs are “unsustainable” for the people and businesses of Queens, many of whom rely on imported goods.
Richards, meanwhile, said all the progress that the state has made to support small businesses during the pandemic and subsequest inflation has been threatened by the tariffs. Richards added that it is vital to ensure that small businesses receive support from the state.
“They are the lifeblood of our communities in Queens County and I want to thank Governor Hochul for coming out to Flushing to support them,” Richards said.
Ung similarly described small businesses as the “backbone” of Flushing’s immigrant community, adding that a “lot of people are scared” because of the current political climate and the threat of federal immigration authorities.
“A lot of people are scared right now,” Ung said. “They’re scared to go to work. They’re scared to go to these supermarkets, these restaurants.”
Liu, on the other hand, said the tariffs had been undeniably harmful to the global economy and small businesses, with consumers forced to pay higher prices for goods. He also vowed to fight for refunds for New Yorkers who had been impacted by the tariffs before the Supreme Court issued its ruling last month.
Additional reporting by Ramy Mahmoud.
