ISIS Cafe Changes its Name to Rose Hookah --A Victory for Common Sense
Queens, New York City, NY (PRWEB) August 25, 2016 -- Frank Spotorno, republican candidate for Congress, 14th District NY, issued the following statement on Tuesday August 23, 2016.
Every day, as I travel to my small business in Astoria in the early morning and back home in the evenings, I would drive by the ISIS Hookah Lounge on Steinway Street and feel sorrow for the Americans killed by the terrorist group that shares the same name.
My hope has always been that the owners would change the name out of respect for our fellow Americans in San Bernardino and Orlando. This has never been an issue of Freedom of Speech, I have always believed that the constitution guarantees the owners the right to use the name ISIS Café. But in the name of common sense I have had conversations with the owners and patrons to ask them to change their name and ask the community for assistance if they need it.
On Monday August 22, I was pleasantly surprised to see the ISIS sign coming down on the café. The new name will be Rose Hookah, and I was happy to stop by and say thank you in front of the new sign.When I first highlighted this issue, I offered to help the owners with the cost of putting up a new sign and paying for the permits, and i renewed my offer to the owners of Rose Hookah.
The very first job of a leader is to inspire trust and to be able to engage in an honest discussion with each other. Trust is the best defense against dysfunction and the first step towards delivering a positive outcome.
The owners of the café and I were able to trust each other because both of us knew that our intentions were good. The owners never wanted to, or intended to support the ISIS Terror group, and I didn’t want to put them out of business. In the end the sign came down and I’m sure that the café will receive a lot of well-wishers from the neighborhood and the district.
Many of our so called leaders in Queens were afraid to comment on this issue, or get involved. Common Sense helped us to get the sign changed and come together as Americans.
The Queens Courier recently wrote a story on the name change,
Here’s the article:
http://qns.com/story/2016/08/23/isis-hookah-lounge-in-astoria-changes-its-name-to-attract-more-business-owner-says/
daniel murphy, spotorno for congress, +1 (914) 714-4370, [email protected]
Share this article