Store opening in Chelsea: Diaman Discounts on the northeast side of 24th Street & 7th Avenue.

A tree grows in Brooklyn. A store opens in Chelsea in the middle of a pandemic. Diaman Discounts opened on 24th and 7th last Saturday. It is what I’d call a “dollar store plus,” meaning that most things are a dollar, but it also has some other items that go for slightly more than a dollar. For example, I somehow walked out with a pack of socks and white t-shirts for less than $10.

The image shows the owner, Mamadou Diaman, along with a guy running for City Council in District 3, Arthur Schwartz. Mamadou, thank you for taking the initiative and executing on an idea while we’re still muddling through this whole ridiculous COVID affair. It is what makes New York great.

Also, I had a thought-provoking conversation with Arthur Schwartz in Mamadou’s store (Arthur helped Mamadou open the store from the legal side). You can read more about Arthur’s views here: Getting to Know You: City Council District 3 Candidate Arthur Schwartz – Chelsea Community News.

Arthur has a particular interest in police accountability, and I asked just for my own curiosity how he would increase accountability. He informed me that, currently, civilian complaints about police officers are reviewed by the “NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board.” That board can conduct investigations and make findings about police misconduct, but those findings are then just submitted to the NYC Police Commissioner, and the Commissioner makes his own determination about whether any discipline is necessary. Arthur suggested that the law should be changed so that the board has its own disciplinary power, separate and independent from the Commissioner. Interesting.