Category Archives: Tony Avella

Photo Gallery: Bayside Hills Candidate Night



The Bayside Hills Civic Association held a candidates night covering three state legislative elections.  The competitiveness of those three elections varied dramatically, with Assembly Member Nily Rozic running unopposed, Assembly Member Ed Braunstein heavily favored to win over Republican opponent David Bressler and Democrat John Liu, Independence Party candidateTony Avella, Republican Vickie Paladino and Conservative Party candidate Simon Minching in a heated state senate race.  Liu defeated incumbent Senator Avella in the Democratic primary and Paladino defeated Minching in the Republican primary.  Avella arrived late, just after the forum concluded.  Liu and Avella studiously avoided each other in the post-forum mingling.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

No Shelter For Queens Electeds (Updated)



img_8436Council Member Eric Ulrich drew several Queens elected officials to a City Hall rally Friday, objecting to the de Blasio administration’s efforts at using hotels in Maspeth and Rockaway as homeless shelters.  The electeds’ objections, substantially focused on the process and lack of communication by the administration, left them exposed to the deep anger of the 150 or so people attending the rally.  Those attendees, predominantly from Maspeth with a minority from Rockaway, deeply oppose siting a shelter in their neighborhood no matter what process or communication is used.  Their anger eventually overwhelmed the elected officials’ efforts to conduct a press conference, driving those elected officials into City Hall as the crowd chanted outside on the City Hall portico and briefly marched on City Hall plaza.

Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is available here.

Elected officials and candidates listen to a press question during a rally & press conference hosted by CM Eric Ulrich. 10/21/16
Elected officials and candidates listen to a press question during a rally & press conference hosted by CM Eric Ulrich. 10/21/16

Continue reading No Shelter For Queens Electeds (Updated)

Ulrich Q&A Goes Awry



Council Member Eric Ulrich got more than he bargained for this morning as supporters joining a protest he organized overwhelmed the press Q&A portion of that protest, driving Ulrich and other elected officials to abandon the effort.

Ulrich City Hall 10-21-16

Ulrich, a Council Member from Queens who’s running for mayor and long a critic of Mayor de Blasio, organized the rally and press conference to “protest Mayor de Blasio’s failed homeless policies.”  Joined by State Senators Joe Addabbo, Jose Peralta and Tony Avella and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, Ulrich decried the de Blasio administration’s actions around placement of homeless shelters, particularly in the Playland Motel in Rockaway and the Holiday Inn Express in Maspeth.  Both efforts by the de Blasio administration have generated intense neighborhood opposition.  It’s a good issue for Ulrich in many ways as many of his Rockaway constituents are strongly opposed to the administration’s efforts and it provides a means for greater exposure to the City’s full electorate.

His rally spun out of control as Ulrich began taking press questions, with several attendees jumping in to shout over Ulrich and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley.  Those shouting attendees (including state senate candidate Michael Conigliaro) and the elected officials attending aren’t at odds, they all oppose the shelter placements, but the deep anger flowing out of many attendees overwhelmed the more measured complaints from Ulrich and the other electeds.

Here’s what happened:

Update – Photo Gallery:

Our full photo gallery is here.

Elected officials and candidates listen to a press question during a rally & press conference hosted by CM Eric Ulrich. 10/21/16
Elected officials and candidates listen to a press question during a rally & press conference hosted by CM Eric Ulrich. 10/21/16