8
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MAY 5, 2019
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
A disgraced state Senator
threatened a small
business owner following
a testy civic meeting
on April 17, during which
she was denied permission
to expand her business
to Flatbush Avenue,
she claims.
“After the meeting, Carl
Kruger told us it was never
going to happen, and not to
waste my time. He was kind
of threatening us,” said
Khadidra Muhammad.
Kruger, who was recently
released from a
seven-year prison sentence
for federal corruption
charges and is not an offi -
cial member of the board,
made the ominous demand
following a Community
Board 18 meeting, according
to Muhammad.
Muhammad, the head
of Priceless Event Planning,
was seeking permission
from the board to sell
liquor at an event space located
at 2047 Flatbush Ave.
that she planned to open in
June.
The board unanimously
rejected the request, after
various civic leaders
panned the proposal as
“destructive to the community.”
“I felt like I was getting
attacked,” said Muhammad.
“It was like a fi ring
squad. It was attack, attack,
attack.”
Local leaders claimed
that the venue would lead
to disorderly conduct, rampant
alcohol use, and latenight
loud music. Muhammad
said her promises to
hire security to keep patrons
restrained and insulate
the walls to limit noise
fell on deaf ears.
“Other businesses also
padded their walls, numerous
times. They’re no longer
in business,” said Marine
Park Civic Association
President Bob Tracey. “We
fought them. We’ve gotten
them numerous tickets.
We’ve gotten them numerous
violations.”
Muhammad could appeal
the Board’s decision to
the State Liquor Authority,
but worries about retribution
from community leaders.
“I don’t have the fi -
nances to play the long
game, if they were to try
and run me out of the neighborhood.
So we’re trying to
fi gure out what to do,” she
said. “All the excuses they
gave were not valid, but
they can make my life a living
hell.”
The board could exploit
various means to disturb
Muhammed’s business if
she were to win her appeal
with the state and set up
shop in the neighborhood,
according to one community
leader who is counseling
Muhammed through
the process.
“They could go to the
establishment with a
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DENIED: Local leaders denied Khadidra Muhammad’s application to sell liquor at an event space she
had planned to open in June. Priceless Event Planning, LLC
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A short drive thru the Battery Tunnel from Manhattan
decibal reader, and report
the venue to the 63rd Precinct
if it goes over the allowed
level, which isn’t
really loud at all. They
could raise a big issue
about cars parking on the
street. There’s a whole
host of things they could
do to cause problems,” said
Floyd Jarvis.
Jarvis, who heads advocacy
group the Canarsie
Neighborhood Alliance,
speculated whether race
played a role in the board’s
decision to deny the license
to Muhammad, who is African
American.
“Everyone else gets a liquor
licence, but only African
Americans have to go
through what you saw at
that meeting,” he said.
Following the Board’s
rejection, Muhammad,
who started the event planning
business two years
ago, doubted wether she
had any recourse to change
what she called a “predetermined
decision.”
“I broke down and
started crying,” she said. “I
just wanted to explain who
I am, and what I do, but
there was no voice of reason.
Their mind was made
up before I showed up.”
‘It was like a fi ring squad’
Board shoots down owner’s expansion plans