n e w s M A R C H 6 L E h a V R e Politicians help LeHavre By Steve Young, Board Member LeHavre Owners Corp. has developed a close relationship with both Congressman Steve Israel, our Democratic Representative in Congress, and Councilman Paul Vallone, the newly elected New York City Council member for District Nineteen. Both individuals are working with Le Havre to help us obtain financial relief to restore the storm damaged seawall by B#32. Both the Congressman and Councilman visited our co-op on Tuesday, February 18, 2014 with co-op Attorney, Geoffrey Mazel, to see firsthand the damage we experienced from super-storm Sandy. They will work with Congressional and State agencies to help us AVELLA CROSSES THE AISLE 6 Lehavre courier | MARCH 2014 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM obtain financial assistance to cover the cost of repairs. We cannot say enough about their support and commitment to our community and co-op. On behalf of the Board of Directors and shareholders I would like to sincerely thank them for their help. We will try to arrange a meeting in the near future to have our co-op meet and greet them. BY MELISSA CHAN State Senator Tony Avella is joining the New York State Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), he announced this week. He will be the fifth member of the breakaway faction of Senate Democrats — led by Jeffrey Klein of the Bronx — who share majority control of the chamber with Republicans. “Under Senator Klein’s leadership, the IDC has developed a clear, progressive agenda for New York’s working families,” Avella said. “They have shown an ability to get big things done, without the dysfunction of years past.” The cross-aisle conference, formed in 2011, also includes Senators Diane Savino of Staten Island, David Valesky of Oneida and David Carlucci of Westchester. Avella, elected to the Senate in 2010 after two terms in the City Council, is also the only member from Queens. State Senator Malcolm Smith, of southeast Queens, joined the conference in December 2012 and helped the IDC and Republicans take leadership. Klein stripped Smith of his IDC membership, however, after his arrest last year on federal corruption charges. Klein said Avella’s public service experience makes him the “type of seasoned legislator who knows how to get things done.” “He will be a major asset in our fight to make New York more affordable for working families,” Klein said. The switch, however, is said to hurt Senate Democrats’ efforts to reclaim control in the chamber. Senate Democratic Conference spokesperson Mike Murphy said in a statement that it was “unfortunate that progressive policies continue to be stymied because of divisions created by senators who choose to empower Republicans.” Astoria Senator Mike Gianaris, the deputy minority leader, declined to comment. The move also upset some of the senator’s usual supporters. “It’s disloyal and it’s not fair to the people of the 11th Senate District who have worked very hard for Tony over the years,” said Democratic State Committeeman Matt Silverstein. “What he did was self-centered and disgraceful.” Avella is up for re-election this year. He dropped out of a contentious race for Queens borough president last year, citing “unfinished business in Albany” as a major factor to his decision. THE COURIER/File photo State Senator Tony Avella
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