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QUEENS WEEKLY, JANUARY 5, 2020
City Council celebrates Vallone Sr.’s 85th birthday
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The City Council threw an
early birthday celebration for
former councilman and longestserving
City Council Speaker
Peter Vallone Sr.
Dozens of council members,
staff, family and friends gathered
after the Dec. 10 Stated
Meeting for the 85-year-old’s
surprise fête. Back in 2014,
City Hall celebrated Vallone’s
80th birthday and honored him
with a portrait in the Members
Lounge.
“A very happy and blessed
85th birthday to my father,
former New York City Council
Speaker Peter Vallone Sr.!” said
Councilman Paul Vallone. “I’m
incredibly grateful to Speaker
Johnson and the Council Members
and staff who helped my
family celebrate this joyous
occasion. It was a very special
surprise my family and I will
never forget!”
Vallone’s longstanding political
career as New York City
Councilman spanned nearly
three decades from 1974 to
2001. He served as the council
member for Districts 20 and 22
in Queens before becoming the
Council Member Paul Vallone and Speaker Corey Johnson celebrate Former Speaker Peter Vallone Senior’s 85th
Birthday with a surprise party at City Hall. Peter Vallone Sr. is the longest serving City Council Speaker.
majority leader and first-ever
Speaker of the City Council.
Under Vallone’s leadership
as Speaker, the city eliminated
the city’s Board of Estimate,
a government body formerly
responsible for several areas
of municipal policy and decisions.
In 1989, the Supreme Court
of the United States deemed the
Board of Estimate unconstitutional
based on the grounds that
Brooklyn, the city’s most populous
borough, had “no greater
effective representation” than
the city’s least-populous borough,
Staten Island. Following
that ruling, the city budget,
land use and zoning came under
City Council purview.
Vallone teamed with former
Mayor David Dinkins to propose
the Safe Streets Safe City
program, which allowed the
city to impose a surcharge on
the personal income tax in order
to hire more police officers.
In the early ’90s, the police
force rose from 26,0000 to 41,000
officers, resulting in the lowest
crime rates since the 1960s.
“As the longtime City Council
Speaker, Peter Vallone Sr.
made New Yorker greater and
has been an inspiration to so
many who followed him in that
important role, including myself.
He is a true public servant
and it was my honor to co-host
his 85th surprise birthday
party at City Hall with his family,
friends, former colleagues
and all the Council Members
and staff he influenced. Happy
Birthday, Speaker!” said Speaker
Corey Johnson.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2583.
Queens car dealerships collect thousands
of coats for New York Cares Coat Drive
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
New York’s new car dealer
franchises are teaming up to
make sure that no one has to be
cold this winter.
Several car dealerships, including
25 from Queens, that
make up the Greater New York
Automobile Dealers Association
(GNYADA) are participating
in the 2019-20 New York
Cares Coat Drive.
The dealerships account
for over 10 percent of the total
amount of coats collected so
far, with the reach extending
beyond New York City to Long
Island, Westchester and Rockland
counties.
“Our member dealers continue
to outdo themselves in terms
of enthusiasm and generosity,
extending the reach and volume
of the coat drive to help even
more New Yorkers in need each
year,” said Mark Schienberg,
president of GNYADA.“This impressive
effort is an example of
the enormous charitable impact
that GNYADA members have
in their communities, serving
as leaders in philanthropy and
community service in towns
and neighborhoods throughout
the downstate New York region.
Once again, this year, we will
do everything possible to keep
New York families warm as the
winter cold moves in.”
With homelessness and the
number of school-aged children
experiencing homelessness in
New York City on the rise, the
2019-20 New York Cares Coat
Drive aims to surpass its goal
of 105,000 new or gently used
coats this winter. The car dealerships
have already collected
over 10,000 coats this winter,
and surpassed 50,000 coats total
since they began to participate
in the annual coat drive in
2012.
Out of 194 collection sites
this year, GNYADA member
dealers make up 129 sites outside
New York City. For a list
of participating dealerships,
visit www.gnyada.com/community/
coat-drive.
Reach reporter Emily Davenport
by e-mail at edavenport@
qns.com or by phone at (718) 260-
2567.
Courtesy of Vallone’s office
Photo by Adriana Lopetrone Photography
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