After watching Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz land more than a dozen endorsements from organized labor unions in recent weeks, George Grasso, her challenger, announced Friday, Feb. 3, that he secured an endorsement from Carlisle Towery, who led the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation as its executive director and president for 44 years.
The nonprofit organization ushered in a wave of community improvement and economic growth for Jamaica residents over the past five decades. Towery was a key architect of the neighborhood’s renaissance after many department store giants like Macy’s, Gertz and Mays closed down and moved to malls across Long Island.
