NYC Comptroller Lander Celebrates Astoria’s Vibrant MENA Community and Advocates for Small Business Empowerment

Queens, NY — New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Malikah Founder and Executive Director Rana Abdelhamid on a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Business Walk in Astoria, Queens, yesterday. The walk aimed to engage with local businesses and celebrate the vibrant immigrant community that built the neighborhood’s cultural richness, culinary diversity, and economic vitality.

“Immigrants have been at the heart of Astoria’s transformation. Through hard work, entrepreneurial spirit, and cultural contributions, MENA communities not only revitalized the neighborhood but wove themselves into an essential part of New York City’s history,” said Comptroller Lander.

Comptroller Lander addressed the community’s most pressing needs for pandemic recovery and the kinds of assistance that were deemed most useful in informing longer-term recovery, particularly in the context of sunsetting pandemic programs with a focus on the anticipated challenges related to rent control and relief for small business owners.

The Comptroller also sought to identify areas where better language access is needed to connect the neighborhood with the city’s small business and social service resources.

Comptroller Lander’s visit began at MoMA PS1 museum, where he joined New York City Council Member Julie Won and community leaders for a tour of the Malikah showcase. The installation is co-designed with twelve women from Little Egypt and the North African communities in Astoria, Queens who weave together stories of migration and belonging.

The second stop brought Comptroller Lander to the Malikah Center, where he joined Council Member Tiffany Cabán for a tour of their new space. There he met with the center’s women’s and youth programs for a group discussion on the challenges and opportunities impacting working class Muslim women and youth.

The walk continued to Dar Yemma, a Moroccan café that opened its doors in March 2022. Here Comptroller Lander and Council Member Cabán met Saber Bouteraa, the owner, who immigrated to the US from Algeria at the age of 16 and now owns a thriving business in Astoria. The conversation touched on the immigrant experience, the challenges of starting a business post-pandemic, and rising rent.

The walk ended at the Egyptian restaurant Mombar, a personal favorite of Comptroller Lander, where he and Council Member Cabán met chef and owner Mustafa El Sayed, who is also one of two employees running the restaurant since 2001.

At each stop, Comptroller Lander presented certificates recognizing the outstanding organizing, leadership, and individual accomplishments that have helped transform Astoria into the thriving MENA community it is today.

“Malikah is thrilled to have partnered with Comptroller Lander, and Council Members Won and Cabán to showcase vibrant MENA businesses in Astoria and our ongoing MoMA PS 1 exhibition. An opportunity to celebrate the contributions of working class immigrants to our community and to advocate for economic empowerment, we hope that this business walk helped raise awareness of the challenges that our communities face and encourage New Yorkers to support small immigrant owned business,” said Rana Abdelhamid, Malikah Founder and Executive Director.

Malikah is a grassroots anti-violence organization advocating against gender and hate based violence through self-defense training, healing justice, economic empowerment, and community organizing for safety and power. They facilitate, train and organize women and girls across all five boroughs in New York City through partnerships with CBOs, public schools and religious institutions. Through their trainer model, they equip women and girls in their communities with their four programmatic pillars 1) healing 2) self-defense 3) organizing and 4) financial literacy.

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