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Calling it his “Small Business bill tour,” Rep. Steve Israel was campaigning on March 18 at Usha Foods Inc. on Hillside Ave in Floral Park.  Joseph R Concannon and Phil Orenstein were there to protest. Concannon talked with reporters and passersby asking when will Rep. Israel repeal the Affordable Care Act which is destroying jobs and harming businesses across America. A reporter from the Queens Tribune smeared Concannon with the following online and hard copy news report: 

Northeast Queens Face-off

Posted on March 27, 2014 by tribune in QConfidential

A former Northeast Queens City Council candidate stuck his head in to an event that had nothing to do with what he complained about.

Joe Concannon crashed U.S. Rep. Steve Israel’s Small Business bill tour last week in Glen Oaks.

The Congressman was touring the area to announce a bill that would let businesses with less than 50 full-time employees deposit up to 10 percent of their gross profits per year into a special savings account.

While on the tour, Concannon popped into one of the stops to complain to Israel about the Affordable Care Act. He told Israel to repeal the ACA because it’s decreasing jobs in America, calling it “the biggest job killer in America.”

Concannon quickly left after sticking his head in the tour, but still handed out pamphlets while the event was ongoing. Israel quipped back with a comment of his own, though, saying there are anger management classes offered not too far from where the tour was.

Nice comeback Congressman. As for Concannon, you may want to take up Israel’s suggestion. It might help you mellow out just a bit.

Mr. Concannon replied and his letter was published the following week:

Avoiding The Subject?

Posted on April 3, 2014 by tribune in Letters with 0 Comments

To The Editor:

This letter is in response to the article “Northeast Queens Face-off” (Queens Tribune – March 27-April 2) on my message to Congressman Steve Israel on his small business tour.

I want to thank Congressman Steve Israel for the headline and his quick comeback. But regrettably he’s missing the main point.

While his legislation is helpful, it’s like bailing out the ocean with a thimble, since small businesses have been hit especially hard by the financial crisis. The elephant in the room is the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, an issue which Congressman Israel avoids like the plague. I tried to bring it up when I called it “the biggest job killer in America” in order to shed light on the crippling federal legislation and mandates that are hurting small businesses the most.

Only 33 percent of voters believe Israel deserves reelection, and 52 percent disapprove of President Obama’s performance. There is good reason why Israel refuses to defend President Obama’s policies and discuss Obamacare.

Joseph Concannon,
Bellerose

 “The battle for zoning in Westchester County [will be] the battle everywhere. This is about changing every block, every neighborhood to the viewpoint of federal bureaucrats at HUD.”

Early in March, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced he is running for governor. The Republican Astorino easily won his second term as County Executive by a wide margin in a heavily Democratic County, due in large part to voter outrage about the overreach of the federal government regarding the county’s 2009 affordable housing settlement  with the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Westchester County was singled out as a suburban community symptomatic of alleged racial abuses in housing and was sued by HUD for housing discrimination. The 2009 settlement required Westchester to build 750 affordable housing units in high-income, white neighborhoods and “market them aggressively” to minorities.

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Finance Committee at weekly
parade planning meeting

The Queens Village Republican Club proudly marches every year in the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade behind our Club banner. We march along Northern Blvd. in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of the United States of America.

This community tradition of marching for our fallen heroes has continued every year since 1927 to become known as America’s largest Memorial Day Parade. The Queens Village Republican Club will march again this year on Monday, May 26. Mark your calendars! We are calling on all Club members, friends, Lincoln Dinner honorees, and local candidates to participate and march with us for our best turnout in our Club’s history. Let’s show all our neighbors that we Republicans are a strong, patriotic, and growing part of our community!

Community getting involved in
united effort to keep the parade alive

We are thrilled to report that this year, the United War Veterans Council (UWVC), the American Legion and others have stepped forward to produce the parade. Weekly planning meetings are being held and anyone who cares about the parade is invited to get involved. Meetings are posted on our Club website: www.qvgop.org. Also check the website for updates on the Line of March details for Club participants in the parade.

March with the Queens Village Republican Club on May 26!

Welcome to the Queens Village Republican Club where we cherish freedom, liberty, we celebrate our individuality, and encourage all to embrace our cultural diversity. We believe the dignity of a job can help overcome many of our socioeconomic problems.  At our April Club meeting you will be hearing from a number of speakers on the topic of Common Core. 

Officer James Li

NYPD Officer, James Li, a rookie officer survived a shooting this week allegedly by a cop-hating fugitive. Two off-duty EMTs helped save his life  and he was released from the hospital on Friday. Frederick R. Bedell Jr., a resident of Glen oaks Village, wrote the following letter published in the New York Post, which echoes all of our sentiments and praise for our heroic NYPD and EMS workers.

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“My sacrifice had to be made because of the opportunities given to me from the men and women who sacrificed their lives and died for our country. I had to do the same in their honor, to protect our nation and protect the unborn of this country so that they might live in a peaceful world.”

We are delighted to announce that Captain James Van Thach, U.S. Army (Ret.), a highly decorated United States Army veteran, will be our featured speaker at the March 6th Queens Village Republican Club Meeting. He will discuss his service and sacrifice to our nation as a soldier who was wounded twice in the line of duty in Iraq. He is a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, and is the first Vietnamese-American to become an advisor to the New Iraqi Army. In recognition of his service, Captain Thach was given the honorary title of Brigadier General by the Iraqi government.

Captain Thach, a native of Bellerose, Queens comes from a family with a long history of dedicated military service to our nation. His father, Lt. Col. John Peterkin was recently honored as the Veteran of the Year for his valiant service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, at the glorious Lincoln Day Dinner. Captain Thach was proudly in attendance and used the opportunity to discuss his ideas and initiatives on behalf of wounded veterans with Rep. Peter King, Councilman Ulrich and other public officials. As a Veteran’s Advocate with Wounded Veteran Initiative of Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), Captain Thach will be discussing some of these initiatives with the Club as well.

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