Members of an immigrant business group that has spoken out against Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s plans for government-owned supermarkets lately have been getting slapped with fines from the city\u2019s Sanitation Department \u2014 and some say it looks like a case of retaliation.<\/p>\n
Diana Larrazabal, who owns flower and gift shop Aroma D\u2019 Angel at 304 E. 116th St., said shops including hers in recent months have received a slew of citations from the New York City Department of Sanitation for garbage that isn\u2019t even theirs.<\/p>\n
Her flower and gift shop was dinged with fines three times this year \u2014 most recently for $350 in May. Many of her Spanish-speaking neighbors who are not bilingual lean on her to help them navigate the city\u2019s red tape, she said, adding that they also are forking over hundreds of dollars in fines.<\/p>\n
Elvis Arias (with the baseball cap) America Deli Market speaks at a press conference on Wednesday outside his bodega. Lisa Fickenscher\/NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely more frequent,\u201d Larrazabal said at a Wednesday press conference held by the Multicultural Business Coalition \u2013 which sued the mayor and the city on Monday <\/a>over the city-owned supermarket strategy over fears it will pose unfair competition to their stores.<\/p>\n The coalition\u2019s chairman, Frank Garcia, says the fines ramped up about two weeks ago when the group began pounding the pavement to speak with local business owners to get support for its suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started going door to door two weeks ago, that\u2019s when the fines started,\u201d Garcia told The Post, saying some have been served with penalties as stiff as $1,000. \u201cThe owners don\u2019t speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDSNY issues cleanliness violations in all corners of the city,\u201d a spokesperson for the Sanitation Department said, adding that the city has issued 223 commercial summonses in Harlem since March 1. \u201cOur only goal in issuing violations is to give all New Yorkers the clean streets they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about retaliation allegations on Wednesday, Mamdani spokesperson Cassio Mendoza referred to Mamdani\u2019s public comments on Monday, in which he said he is \u201cconfident in both the legality of this \u2014 that it will stand up in court \u2013 and the importance of delivering it.\u201d<\/p>\n Frank Garcia of the Multicultural Business Coalition claims that the city is retaliating against small businesses in East Harlem. Helayne Seidman<\/p>\n MBC held its Wednesday press conference in front of American Deli Mini Mart at East 117th Street and Park Avenue, just two blocks away from La Marqueta at East 115th Street where Mamdani is planning his supermarket. <\/p>\n