Staff Reporter: At the unveiling of the Little Bangladesh Avenue nameplate in Jamaica, New York, Councilor James F. Genario of District 24, Queens, explained what really happened to Jamaican Bangladeshi community leaders. At a news conference last month, Jamaican Bangladeshi community leaders complained that Bangladeshi Americans were insulted by the negative perceptions they had about Bangladeshis at the opening ceremony of Little Bangladesh Avenue on February 21 and by asking Bangladeshis to leave.
James F. Genario, a councilman in Queens’ District 24, was contacted and told that the allegations were not true. “I did not insult anyone,” he said. I did not disrespect anyone. The so-called ‘leaders’ at the event have all been recognized by me. They are the kind of people who think they are important. The amount of attention they sought for self-promotion was not given. The event was about celebrating the culture of Bangladesh, but to them it was about their self-promotion. They went crazy because I didn’t give them a chance to promote themselves.
Councilor James Genario also said that the news of the press conference of the Bangladeshi community leaders in Jamaica was wrong because he had not been consulted before the news was published.
The nameplate of Little Bangladesh Avenue from Hillside Avenue to Homelawn Avenue in the Jamaica area was officially unveiled by Councilman James Genario on February 21 at noon. He was so outraged by the extreme chaos and mismanagement of the expatriate Bangladeshis during the unveiling of the nameplate that at one point he threatened to stop the event. Councilman James and his wife was disappointed to see the chaos, disunity and leadership competition of the community leaders. He further added that the allegations made by the so-called leaders at the press conference were baseless and untrue.
BP/SM
