Anthony Nunziato

Anthony "Tony" Nunziato is the Republican candidate for the New York State Assembly in the 30th District, which includes the neighborhoods of Maspeth and Woodside, and portions of Middle Village, Astoria, Sunnyside and Long Island City in Queens.

Born and raised in Woodside, Queens, Tony Nunziato graduated from St. Sebastian grammar school and Power Memorial Academy and studied business at St. John’s University. At the age of 24, Tony became a partner in a Manhattan floral business, where he catered to clients who included Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Luciano Pavarotti and others.

By the time he reached his late twenties, Tony had moved to the neighboring community of Maspeth and started his own establishment, Enchanted Florist & Greenhouse, Ltd. Tony was soon elected President of the Metropolitan Retail Florist Association, and was appointed to the Board of Trustees for the New York Florist Club.

Tony recently celebrated a quarter century of running Enchanted Florist. However, managing a successful business in the community is only one example of his leadership skills. For over 27 years, Tony has been an energetic and dedicated community activist. Tony was a member of Queens Community Board 5 for 10 years where he served as Chair of the Environmental Committee. He served as President of Maspeth Town Hall where he oversaw the reconstruction of its historic building. Tony has also served as President of Maspeth Kiwanis, Vice President of Maspeth Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Maspeth-Middle Village Task Force, co-founder of Newtown Historical Society, Chair of the Republican County Committee 30th Assembly District, member of the Board of Directors of Queensboro UNICO, member of the Executive Board of the Juniper Park Civic Association, Third Degree of the Knights of Columbus; a member of the Loyal Order of Moose and an honorary member of the Veterans of the Ninth Regiment.

Tony led the fight that resulted in the $18 million cleanup of the old Phelps Dodge site [ [http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/common/archives/Archives2002/Jul.-Sept.2002/092602/NewFiles/WASTELAND.html Times Newsweekly July 2002] ] . He worked with his close friend and mentor, Frank Principe, to develop the Grand Avenue Truck Bypass Plan to unclog traffic on Grand Avenue in Maspeth. Tony fought against all odds for the conversion of the Elmhurst Gas Tanks site into a 6-acre community park, which is slated to open in 2010. He continues to work on the revitalization of Grand Avenue by way of more street lights, a greener streetscape and terracing the Long Island Expressway to reduce noise pollution and car exhaust. Tony is now also helping to plan the reconstruction of the Kosciuszko Bridge (New York City).

Tony continues to fight against overdevelopment on many fronts. He has been calling on the Department of City Planning to downzone Maspeth and Middle Village. He has been fighting illegal construction such as the infamous “Huang House” on Mazeau Street in Maspeth, which the developer was forced to partially dismantle. He is the most vocal critic of a planned cell tower in a residential neighborhood in Maspeth. While the plan has already been scaled back, Tony continues to fight it. Tony is an avid preservationist and fought to save St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth, which is now being relocated to a new site.

Tony resides in Maspeth, his home for more than a quarter century, with his wife of 27 years, Dolores, and their children, Anthony, Alicia and Andrea.

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