Politicians from New York City and New York State assembled in Flushing on October 13th to help with Korean small business owners in Queens.

About ten politicians, comprised of city councilmen, senators and assemblymen, were invited to a town hall meeting entitled "Legislative Meet & Greet."

Guest politicians included New York State Senator Toby Stavisky (D), Frank Padavan (R), New York State Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D), Jose Peralta (D), and Keven Kim (D), a city councilman candidate in District 19 (Bayside).

The meeting was organized by 17 associations in the Korean community, including Apparel Manufacturers Association, Nail Association, Construction Association, Food Association, and so on.

Korean-Americans from the associations asked for relief from several unnecessary regulations on their business as well as parking issues on Northern Blvd. and Union Street where most Korean small businesses are clustered. Other issues raised by the business owners included the usefulness of the federal stimulus package, and obtaining realistic support for business owners.

State Assemblyman Grace Meng said, "After reviewing this, I'll support the right of Korean small business owners to not be victimized by regulations for chemical-use at nail salons. I heard that some regulations are not as necessary as others."

State Assemblyman Jose Peralta said, "All businesses are related to politics. It is helpful to build a better community so that voters pay attention to what their regional politicians do and monitor them."

He added, "Small business owners are the driving force behind the local economy. Korean-Americans need to have a close relationship with regional politicians."

Yong Hwa Ha, president of the Korean-American Association of Greater New York said, "The assembly of politicians who work for our community means that Korean-American voting power has expanded." He asked all Korean attendees to participate in Election Day on November 3.