14 The Queens Courier • january 9, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com SOLEMN OATH New councilmembers sworn in BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com Two newly elected northeast Queens legislators took their oaths of office last weekend before hundreds of supporters and a lengthy list of dignitaries. Councilmember Paul Vallone, 46, was sworn into the City Council in a packed ceremony January 4 at P.S. 169 in Bay Terrace. The two-hour local inauguration was attended by more than 500 people, including State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Public Advocate Letitia James and Borough President Melinda Katz. Swearing on the family’s Bible, Vallone was installed by his father, former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr., to continue the 40-year family legacy in City Hall. “I believe that what you’re doing today, by bringing Paul Vallone into this very diversified and complicated district ... you will be delivering to this Council district one of the best representatives in government that this country has ever produced,” Vallone Sr. said. Vallone, who represents District 19, also gave his first official proclamation at the end of his inauguration to Kevin and Tina Lynch, who won ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” last month and rocketed Whitestone to national stardom. Councilmember Rory Lancman took his oath of office the next day on January 5 at Queens College, in a ceremony that featured U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. New to City Hall, but not to New York politics, the former state assemblymember was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis to serve District 24. THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan In a local inauguration ceremony, Councilmember Paul Vallone was installed by his father to continue the 40-year family legacy in City Hall. Photo courtesy of Governor Cuomo’s Flickr Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his last State of the State address before running for re-election. PLEASE SE OUR NEW POLITICAL COLUMN ON 32 politics Queens backs new Council Speaker BY MAGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com Melissa Mark-Viverito was unanimously elected as the next City Council Speaker by the 51-member body, becoming the second most powerful politician in the city and the first Latin- American to take the spot. “We will work together, because that is what New Yorkers expect and that is what New Yorkers deserve,” she said. “We unite for a more equal and just New York.” The two-term East Harlem councilmember first declared victory on December 19 after receiving support from 30 council colleagues -- more than the 26-majority vote needed. Reports later surfaced that city officials wanted a unified backing behind Mark-Viverito. Shortly before the January 8 vote, her opponent, Daniel Garodnick, conceded and sealed Mark-Viverito’s win with a hug in the City Council chamber, followed by cheers from fellow councilmembers. “In the spirit of strengthening the council, which animated my candidacy from the start, I now formally concede to the next Speaker of the City Council – my colleague Melissa Mark-Viverito,” Garodnick said. “I look forward to working with her ... She is a smart and committed public servant, and we have worked extremely well together in the past.” Garodnick also vowed to do his part to “resolve any rifts” the process may have caused among colleagues. Mark-Viverito is also the first Puerto Rican woman and the first member of the Black Latino and Asian Caucus to take the Speaker spot. Several Queens councilmembers supported Mark-Viverito from her December announcement, including PHOTO VIA TWITTER/JILL_JORGENSON Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito was elected the next Speaker by a unanimous 51-0 vote. Daniel Dromm, Daneek Miller, Donovan Richards, Eric Ulrich and Jimmy Van Bramer. They confirmed their support at the January 8 vote, along with the remaining Queens delegation. Councilmember Julissa Ferreras called Mark-Viverito a “passionate advocate for reform” to “bring transparency” to city government. “We owe it to the people to elect a strong and principled woman,” she said. Mark-Viverito said the vision for the “new City Council” is one of “unity, independence, integrity, transparency and accountability.” Her agenda includes fighting for affordable housing, improving the city’s education system, raising the minimum wage and uniting for the city’s first responders. “This council will be unified,” she said. STATE OF THE STATE: Focus on tax relief, pot BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com Governor Andrew Cuomo gave the go-ahead for legalizing medical marijuana, while promoting tax relief measures and touting New York’s economic successes, in his last State of the State address before running for re-election. “In three years, we have reversed decades of decline,” the governor said, referring to the state’s transformation from a $10 billion deficit to the $2 billion surplus during that period. By spending less, the state can now tax less, Cuomo said, and will do so through a $2 billion package of tax relief proposals. A renter’s tax credit would offer a refundable personal income tax credit to those who make under $100,000. Cuomo proposed a reform to the estate tax, which, like the federal government would exempt the first $5.25 million of a person’s estate, instead of estates valued below $1 million, as the state does now. Additional measures would provide relief on property and business taxes, and help simplify the tax code. As anticipated, Cuomo called for a program that would research the feasibility of medical marijuana in New York. He will use existing statutory authority, enacting an old law which established the Antonio G. Olivieri controlled substances therapeutic research program, to launch a pilot medical marijuana research program that allows up to 20 hospitals to provide medical marijuana to patients being treated for serious illnesses. Focusing specifically on the New York City region, Cuomo said the borough’s airports were in need of care, particularly LaGuardia, which he said was ranked as the worst airport in the country. Cuomo proposed modernizing LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports, by having the state assume management responsibility from The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. The governor also stressed the importance of education investments in his address, particularly in technology in the classroom and universal, full-day pre-k. Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing for universal, full-day pre-k in the city, which would be funded by taxing the rich. “I think it was very promising that the governor laid it out as a goal for the whole state,” the mayor, who attended the address, said in a press conference afterwards. When asked if there was a conflict between his proposed tax raises and Cuomo’s tax relief package, de Blasio said that the state and the city each has its “own vision” when it comes to taxes.
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