‘Business Lives Matter’ — Koo apologizes for Flushing busway speech

Photo by John McCarten/City Council Photography

By David Brand 

Councilmember Peter Koo apologized Thursday for co-opting the Black Lives Matter message during a speech in Flushing, where he told a crowd that BLM actually stands for “business lives matter.”

Koo was speaking during a forum with the Department of Transportation and MTA to discuss a planned bus-only corridor along a 0.3-mile stretch of Main Street. The Flushing councilmember opposes the project, citing concern among local business owners who say drivers will not be able to park on Main Street and visit their stores. Businesses are already struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic but have been ignored by the city, he added.

“BLM, it means what? Business lives matter,” Koo said during his speech, which was filmed by an attendee.

Several members of the crowd recited the statement, which Koo chanted a second time.

Koo’s spokesperson Scott Sieber said the three-term councilmember regretted the comments.

“Councilmember Koo has spoken out about the importance of recognizing that Black Lives Matter. Likewise, he is an extremely passionate advocate for small businesses in Flushing,” Sieber said.

“It was not his intent to minimize BLM, but to express his discontent that this administration has repeatedly left the Flushing Asian business community out of the conversation. He apologizes for mixing these messages.”

Other event attendees criticized Koo’s statements.

“I was shocked when I heard our councilmember undermine the Black Lives Matter movement,” said Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Choe, who attended the event. 

The Flushing forum took place at the same time as hundreds of Queens residents and some councilmembers gathered to paint a Black Lives Matter street mural in South Jamaica.