Tony Avella

Tony Avella is a member of the New York City Council from the borough of Queens. He graduated from Hunter College. Avella is a 2009 candidate for Mayor of New York City and has received extensive publicity for his stance against overdevelopment. [ [http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/avella.php Brownstoner: Tony Avella, the Anti-Overdevelopment Candidate ] ]

He is the Chair of the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee and is a member of five other Council committees: Higher Education, Housing and Buildings, Fire and Criminal Justice Services, Land Use, and Veterans. He is the founder and Chair of the first Italian-American Caucus of the Council.

Description of Avella's City Council district

He represents the 19th Council District, which includes the middle-class neighborhoods of College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Beechhurst, Malba and Auburndale. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2001.

Public service history

Avella's public service career began over 20 years ago as an aide to New York City Council member Peter Vallone, Sr. He served as an aide to Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins, and as Chief of Staff to the late State Senator Leonard Stavisky and to State Senator Toby Stavisky.

In 1997 Avella was awarded New York State's Community Service Award from nominations received across New York State for his volunteer civic endeavors on behalf of New Yorkers. In 2005, he was honored by the Garibaldi Meucci Museum on Staten Island, received the 2005 Friend In High Places Award from the Historic District Council, the Community Mayor's 2005 Humanitarian Award and the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy. [web cite|url=http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=16|title=Councilman Tony Avella|publisher=NY City Council|accessdate=2007-01-14]

Legislative concerns on the City Council

Avella introduced legislation which would require all businesses in New York City to post at least half of each sign in English. According to Avella, many businesses in his district in northeast Queens do not post signs in English. In 2004, a task force concluded that five percent of all businesses in a busy commercial portion of northeastern Queens posted signs that did not have any English. Avella said that he would continue to support passage of his legislation calling for all business to post signs including English language translations of "equal size and proportion". [web cite|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/01/ldt.01.html|title=Lou Dobbs Tonight|publisher=CNN News|accessdate=2007-01-14]

Tony's historic "Demolition by Neglect" bill was signed into law by the Mayor in February 2005. This legislation enables the Landmarks Preservation Commission to prevent the willful destruction of our City's treasured landmarks by unscrupulous property owners. Tony's legislation was strongly supported by 46 preservation and civic groups including the Landmarks Conservancy, the Historic Districts Council and the National Historic Trust.

In 2005 Avella also forwarded a bill proposing that the Department of Transportation increase the operational duration of four public bus companies operating in his area. The bill would allow for the smooth integration of the private lines with the MTA, and was signed into law in May 2005. [web cite|url=http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2005a%2Fpr194-05.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1|title=Mayor Bloomberg Signs Legislation Extending Bus Franchise|publisher=NYC.gov|accessdate=2007-01-15]

An attack occurred in 2007 in his district (Douglaston), on four Asian males by two Irish-American males (one with a pending criminal case on charges of assaulting an elderly man with a claw hammer), in which racial slurs were used by the white males. In a news conference Avella convened with religious and community leaders, he referred to the two perpetrators as "neanderthals". "I don't think I've ever used that word before," he said. "But it fits them." Avella blamed developers for increasing the tension in his district. [cite web |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D13FF3E5A0C7B8DDDA10894DE404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fA%2fAsian%2dAmericans |title=PUBLIC LIVES; Whose Queens? A Councilman Reads the Signs |accessdate=2007-08-25 |work=The New York Times]

Avella can not seek re-election when his term ends on December 31, 2009, because of term limits. He is a candidate for Mayor of New York City in 2009. [web cite|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/nyregion/17campaign.html|title=Comptroller Raises $524,000 in Undeclared Bid for Mayor|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2007-01-19]

External links

* [http://council.nyc.gov/d19/html/members/home.shtml Official NYC Council Website about Tony Avella]
* [http://www.tonyavellaformayor.com/ Tony Avella for Mayor website]

References