With just days left until Election Day, New York State’s 25th Republican Assembly District Candidate Kenneth Paek held a friendly pizza party fundraiser exemplifying his campaign promise to stand tall for the Eastern Queens constituents residing within Flushing, Queensboro Hill, Hillcrest, Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Bayside, and Douglaston.

Realizing untapped potential within the powerful Bukharian Jewish community, Paek has dedicated significant energy to win their votes. Community advisor Alan Sherman has taken on the role of Campaign Coordinator for Jewish Affairs, pooling every resource to spread word of the importance for voters to exercise their right at the polls to elect a caring public servant cognizant of their unique needs.

The day of community connection over pizza, nosh, and great conversation honed in on various prospects for the future of the thriving religious Jewish neighborhoods where many residents feel a sense of neglect.

Entire families, including senior citizens and many elementary-aged youth, enjoyed the Sukkos ambiance that Paek envisioned for the public community sukkah that he commissioned on the corner of 189th Street and Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows.

Chosen as a gesture of good will for the community where many unaffiliated Jewish families are not privileged to erect their own sukkah, Paek’s sturdy sizable temporary dwelling built according to the specifications of Jewish law with rabbinic oversight enabled these residents who may not have fulfilled the Torah commandment of eating in a sukkah to merit partaking in this annual mitzvah.

Children in attendance got creative with a special decorating activity arranged in the sukkah, making the event a fun-filled afternoon for all.

The gathering also encountered members of the nearby Shaarei Shlomo synagogue, which never had its own sukkah and was now able to take advantage of this communal sukkah, uniting as one throughout the holiday. The sukkah also provided the opportunity for patrons of local eateries to dine in the confines of Paek’s gift to the Jewish community, some of whom we engaged with during the fundraiser, sharing the candidate’s continued fight for a brighter future throughout District 25.

Attendees departed with an enthusiasm to partner in making a lasting difference for themselves and their neighbors.

On Tuesday, November 5, Kenneth Paek faces off against incumbent Assembly member Nily Rozic to represent the area in Albany.

By Shabsie Saphirstein