Eric Gioia: Local Politics Within A Bigger Picture

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

It was a scheduled luncheon get together with City Councilman Eric Gioia. The bright young former White House attorney had impressed us during the campaign and his first year-plus in office seemed to bear out the rave reviews we regularly receive from our old friend Robert Zimmerman – who was not only tied into the Clinton White House, but seems to know everyone of national political significance. Each of our encounters with Gioia was positive; plus the young women in our office seem to be more taken with him than they are with most elected officials — never a negative in the elective office game.

So when Eric suggested an interview, I invited him to the office for lunch and asked what type of food was his favorite. Consistent with his atypical persona, Eric said, “Thai.” It was fine with me, especially with the marvelous food prepared by Bell Boulevard’s Erawan. Angela Montefinise, our Trib political writer and an Erawan regular, was joining us along with Eric’s press guy, so she made the food arrangements.

The food was wonderful, the hour and a half chat with Eric was even better.

The first word that comes to mind when you think of Eric Gioia: passion.

He’s a young man who prides himself on being a neighborhood kid. Gioia clearly loves what he does and gets genuine satisfaction out of seeing the streets where he grew up change for the better as a result of his hard work.

While nibbling on Thai fried rice and spring rolls, Gioia proudly discussed how he helped get computers for P.S. 11, started a baseball league in Long Island City and helped clean up Roosevelt Avenue by using the Doe Fund.

“It sounds hokey,” he said after swallowing a piece of Lemongrass Chicken, “But it’s all worthwhile when you look around and say, ‘This happened because I was here.’ That’s what it’s all about.”

But while Gioia may thrive on what he brings to his Western Queens district, his mind is always looking above and beyond those boundaries and on to the big picture.

Gioia is always thinking globally.

He doesn’t look at his accomplishments in a vacuum. He looks at them as pieces to a bigger plan.

Gioia has a vision for his district – a vision supported by Long Island City baseball leagues and cleanliness on Roosevelt Avenue. He wants to see a “Museum Mile” along the Long Island City waterfront. He wants to see the first bank open near the Queensbridge Houses. He wants to see the end of graffiti in his district.

He wants to see positive change in all aspects of life in his district, not only on one repaved street or in one renovated park.

He looks at adding cultural centers and investment into his district as a move that would improve the entire City economy. He explained that previously, the City put all its eggs in one basket – Wall Street – and once the basket started breaking, so did the City’s economy.

He suggested the promotion of tourism and said that by revamping his district, “It would become an economic engine for all of Western Queens.” 

Gioia also looks at the big picture when it comes to his profession. He believes keeping the streets clean and providing other constituent services are ways to improve the public’s view of elected officials.

“We need to reaffirm people’s belief that by acting collectively we can make a difference. People don’t trust people in power now.” He said, “Philosophically I’ve always been opposed to term limits” as a means of keeping public servants honest,  but said, “They have worked well in the Council.”

He endorsed the idea of term limits in the State Legislature, and said, “Even a good garden needs a weeding once in a while.”

As for himself, he’s trying his best to be an accountable and strong legislator. “I’ve been a janitor and elevator operator, I’ve worked in the White House and I’ve been a lawyer at a Wall Street firm, and I’ve never worked harder than I do in this job.”

That may be true, but recently Gioia got himself in some political trouble when Community Board 2 Chairman Joe Conley stepped down at the request of Beep Helen Marshall – a move Conley said was requested by Gioia.

Gioia explained that he and Conley had a “non-relationship,” and said, “An important element to being a community board chairman is having a relationship with the City Councilmember. If you don’t have that element, you’re probably disqualified from the position.”

He maintained that he was not the reason that Conley stepped down, and said he scheduled lunch with Conley. “What’s done is done,” Eric explained. “We’re taking the first steps towards a relationship and we should take it from there.”

He also added, “Nobody cares about this. People like controversy, but this has been such a miniscule part of the last six months, of the last two years . . . I don’t have a personal problem with Joe because I don’t know him. I don’t even know if he likes the Mets or the Yankees.”

Gioia (a raging Mets fan, by the way) said, “I really think I’m doing the right thing” when it comes to the Conley situation, and said, “I didn’t create a bad relationship. But you can’t have friction like that and have a community board run smoothly. We need to work for the people. That’s what I’m focused on.”

He’s also focused on improving the City’s financial situation, and advocated reinstituting the commuter tax.  He said he wished Mayor Mike would have “put Pataki’s feet to the fire a little bit more,” but said of the City’s esteemed leader, “The jury’s still out. He still has time. I think all of us [in the Council] are hopeful that he will do better . . . You can’t write a review of a play during intermission.”

After about an hour and a half of chatting with Gioia, it was clear that he’s intelligent, well read and focused. He quotes Winston Churchill, mentions dozens of political books he’s read, and loves talking politics, even if it is occasionally off the record. He’s sharp and inquisitive, and looks at the world with a global vision that makes him interesting and a challenge to interview.

But besides being ambitious and smart, he’s a good guy. He actually brought the luncheon leftovers from our Thai feast out to the editorial department himself. “Where do you want me to put this stuff, guys?” he asked the Trib editorial staff, showing a bit of class and a great deal of press savvy.

Eric looks to a career of public service but is realistic that in the game, it’s hard to plan. You do a good job and hope you’re in the right place at the right time.  There are probably many present day players who will be future political stars. But if I had to guess which City politicos will be real players, on a national level 20-plus years from now, Eric Gioia would be near the top of my list.

Column contributor Angela Montefinise

‘Take Your Garbage To Work’

A good idea speaks for itself.

Sometimes good ideas don’t become reality, but they change perceptions.

Earlier this year we wrote about Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.’s secession legislation beginning the process to explore the feasibility of New York becoming the 51st state. Clearly, Vallone really wanted to express frustration and dissatisfaction concerning the treatment of our City by the state.

Good idea — very low reality quotient.

Well a new idea had come along that knocked Secession off the top of the list of ideas of the year. Let me share it with you.

Terri Thomson came rushing over to me last Thursday night. Terri and I are old friends who don’t get to see each other often. After a very brief how’s the family, work, business exchange, Terri dragged me through the crowd at the Democratic County dinner to meet Gert McDonald.

Gert, Terri claimed, had the best idea in the world — or something like that.

Gert, a Sunnyside civic activist now in her fifth decade of stirring things up, serves on the Community Board and is one of the longtime omnipresent players in her community. As a matter of fact, her daughter, Citibank’s Eileen Auld, informed me, she was the first woman to run for Assembly in our borough — some forty years ago.

Gert’s idea was in reaction to the Mayor’s most recent Sanitation Department cutback and its impact on our borough.

Seems that Mayor Mike’s — and I’m still a fan of his — latest cost savings effort would cut garbage pickups in Queens to once a week, while Manhattan would get relieved of its trash three times weekly.

Hmmm!

Yup, you got it right. Queens once, Manhattan thrice.

You live in Queens, you gotta store garbage for seven days. You live in Manhattan, you can get garbage out of your house before the stench sets in.

Now how does one respond to yet another outrage in the ongoing history of a Manhattan-centric city?

Old-timer Gert McDonald did it with clever class: “Take Your Garbage To Work.”

If every Queens resident working in Manhattan brought their trash with them, perhaps we could equalize this latest injustice perpetrated upon our outer borough.

Or perhaps the presentation of the idea would cause our city fathers to wake up and recognize that all garbage is equal.

So are all people no matter where they live.

Mr. Mayor, trash this idea. It’s garbage.