Mike Giglio

“I love it when people come by and
admire my work.”


Neighborhood: Richmond Hill
Age: 44
Favorite issue: Holiday Parties

By day, Mike Giglio works to better the community as an investigator for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. By night, he works to scare the living daylights out of little kids.

After learning he had a talent for Christmas decorating, he decided to expand to Halloween and now prides himself as one of the few people out there trying to bring Halloween back to the forefront as a recognizable holiday.

Greatest Achievement

One look at Giglio’s home during the months of October and December and it’s easy to see his greatest achievement. He decks the house with more than 3,500 orange and purple lights for Halloween and more than 40,000 for Christmas. He covers his lawn with animated dolls and figurines and invites the entire community to come out and celebrate the holidays. But Halloween has gotten bigger over the years with a children’s costume contest complete with first-place trophies and creepy sound effects blaring from his speaker system. For Christmas, you can always count on Santa Claus stopping by, and if you’re lucky, he might just be on a real, live fire truck. All proceeds go to a local charity every year.

Community Character

You’ve seen his flyers in your doors, you’ve seen him tirelessly promoting his events at local establishments and members of the local media can expect to hear from him every year. He doesn’t want recognition as much as he just wants to throw the biggest party in the borough.

“I need the visibility to get people to come out here,” he says. “It’s something that everyone will enjoy, but they just need to hear about it and there’s only so much I can do. I live on a dead end block, there’s not usually a lot of passing cars to see my house. I’ve got to get the word out somehow. The local media would rather write stories about a plane crash at JFK or people dyin’ somewhere. This is the kind of thing people want to see. Something positive. Something exciting.”

Most Outrageous Act

After years of decorating his home just for himself and his family of four, five years ago, Giglio decided to, “bust out and do something really big.” Nowadays, he drops about $1,000 on his outdoor displays and spends weeks putting things together.
“I don’t see anyone else doing stuff like this,” he says. “I want it to be bigger and better every year.”

Does everyone appreciate what he does to his home?
“Not everyone,” he said. “A lot of people think this is all Satanism. I’m not a Satanist. I’m a churchgoer.”

Working Relationship

Hundreds of people can’t be wrong. Each year, Giglio estimates, about 300 to 400 people come out to check out his displays. On Halloween night, it’s not uncommon for his panel of judges to rank upwards of 175 kids in costumes. And, according to Giglio himself, the people seem to appreciate his efforts.

“They love it,” he says. “I get people coming up to me from all over saying, ‘wow, this is really great.’ My family thinks I’m crazy, but the people who come out here really seem to appreciate it.”

– Jack Buehrer

Liz Bishop-Goldsmith

“We are not bulletproof, so let’s stop the “bullet” from getting into the wrong hands.”


Neighborhood: Rosedale
Age: 55
Favorite Issue: Gun and Ammunition Control

Liz Bishop-Goldsmith is a gun control advocate with a long list of tragic experiences that have led her to be an active member in the anti-gun violence movement in America. She has traveled around the world in hopes of enforcing stricter gun laws and to recruit people for the movement.

Greatest Achievement

Bishop-Goldsmith is internationally known as the founder of Mothers Against Guns (MAG). She founded the not-for-profit, non-partisan organization in 1994 after the second one of her two Godsons was shot and killed. Although she was deeply affected by the murder of her first Godson in 1988, she knew something had to be done once gun violence took another loved one six years later.

As the president of MAG, she has gotten elected officials like Senator Malcolm Smith and Assemblywoman Vivian Cook involved in fighting to pass legislation that will make it harder or impossible for just anyone to get their hands on a gun.

Community Character

For 10 years, Bishop-Goldsmith has been a firm advocate against guns in the community. Bishop-Goldsmith and other mothers made their way up to Albany last May to lobby the New York State Assembly and State Senate to pass Bill S5186, a bill that will help keep guns out of the wrong hands.

Like many community activists, Bishop-Goldsmith took a tragedy that changed her life and reached out to individuals from around the world who have been affected or want to help with her cause.

Most Outrageous Act

Bishop-Goldsmith has gone up against gun-toting folks who do not share her views on gun control legislation, and opened the MAG website to anyone who wants to state their views on gun control. Since the site does not screen negative comments, she has been bad-mouthed and criticized by gun owners.

As a well-known gun control activist, Bishop-Goldsmith is constantly harassed for her beliefs, but she continues to travel the world opening new chapters of MAG.

She is not afraid by the harsh words and comments, Bishop-Goldsmith is actually moved that people are paying attention to her cause.

“They can scream and yell and get involved but at least they’re paying attention,” she said.

The more the National Rifle Association (NRA) vents, the more she hopes they turn their negative energy toward her into positive energy that will keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people.
“The NRA and I both agree that guns should not be in the hands of young people,” Bishop-Goldsmith said.

Working Relationship

Outside of Smith and Cook, Bishop-Goldsmith has teamed up with Councilman James Sanders. And Speaker Gifford Miller mentioned getting Intro 454, regarding the purchasing and distribution of ammunition, passed by the end of this year.

“I’m going to hold him to it,” said Bishop-Goldsmith.

She also said that Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. has hopped on board to sponsor the passing of the bill.

– Raynelle Cerica Bull

Jeff Gottlieb

“Manhattan doesn’t have a patent on history.”


Age: 63
Neighborhood: Forest Hills / Central Queens
Favorite Issue: Preserving Jewish History

Jeff Gottlieb has access to insider politics of Queens civic causes as a special assistant to State Senator Brian McLaughlin, and he has helped fight for diverse issues ranging from revitalizing Jamaica as a major shopping area to opposing overcrowding in Hillcrest Estates, but it his role as the President of the Central Queens Historical Society that has earned him a place in this issue.

Greatest Achievement

A teacher of 35 years, educating comes easy to Gottlieb, and as a result he is known as a “repository” of Queens history. He has published books on the history of Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Jamaica, and has been selected as one of a hundred historians for the New York City 100: Greater New York Centennial Celebration. But his greatest work has been in the study and propagation of Jewish history, through his involvement with the Queens Jewish Historical Society, the now-defunct Queens Purim Parade, and the tours he offers, for free, of the Jewish Heritage Trail.

Community Character

“Who doesn’t know Jeff Gottlieb?” asked Councilman James Gennaro. Indeed, Gottlieb has been a fixture of Queens civic life since the early 1980s. Gottlieb is seemingly omnipresent in every issue, large and small, involving everything from park cleaning to historical preservation to legal aid to immigrants. By virtue of having worked in the offices of Frank Padavan, Alan Hevesi, David Weprin and Brian McLaughlin, Gottlieb is probably one of the most easily recognized faces on the civic scene even though few are aware of exactly what it is that he does, aside from his well-publicized historical tours.

Most Outrageous Act

Gottlieb is a trunk of a man who moves surprisingly swift, and it’s no wonder that his most outrageous acts involve using his stature for the benefit of the public. On one tour, their bus got stuck on Cypress Hills Avenue, a.k.a. “death valley.” It was a dangerous spot because the road twisted and the cars couldn’t see them around the bend, so Gottlieb got out and played traffic cop – and who wouldn’t listen to a man that large? During yet another bus mishap, Gottlieb put his muscle to the test.

“We were doing a tour of Jewish Queens one day. We left a synagogue and somehow we got caught on a side street, and we got stuck – we had a car in front and a car in the back,” recalls Gottlieb. “So we jumped off the bus and pushed one of the cars off the road so that we could continue the tour!”

Working Relationship

Gottlieb ran against James Gennaro for the 24th District City Council seat in 2001. Gottlieb, then a chief of staff for Councilman Morton Povman, was accused of using taxpayer’s money to finance his campaign, which Gottlieb admitted and promised not to repeat. However, even Gennaro is impressed with Gottlieb’s focused dedication to the history of Queens, as well as his civic involvement in issues affecting Gennaro’s district.

“He’s labored in the civic vine for a long time, and he’s been front and center on the scene. I think it’s very admirable,” said Gennaro. “In addition to the civic work, there’s a special dedication to preserving the history of our area through these walking tours. I don’t know if anyone knows the history of central Queens better than him.”

–Alex Padalka

Paul Graziano

“These are beautiful historic neighborhoods that I love that are in danger of being destroyed.”


Neighborhood: North Flushing
Age: 33
Favorite ISSUE: Zoning reform
and historic preservation

Even among the most obsessed, civic activism is often at best a hobby. It is often a cottage industry populated by dedicated amateurs—drawing on homeowners who hold down regular day jobs and focus on community work in their spare time.

Flushing native Paul Graziano is a rare exception. An urban planner by profession and crusading do-gooder by nature, Graziano combines his career with his passion for preservation. With a masters degree in Urban Affairs from Hunter College, Graziano has emerged as a gun-for-hire in the exploding fields of zoning reform and historic preservation, mixing paid consulting for politicians with pro bono work with an array of community groups in Northeast Queens.

Greatest Achievement

Born in North Flushing, Graziano returned to his native neighborhood after college and threw himself briefly into local politics—eventually challenging and losing to John Liu for the open City Council seat in 2001 on the Green Party ticket.

Following his brush with politics, Graziano decided to seek out a different sort of mandate with one of the most important constituencies in Queens: anxious homeowners. As a vocal advocate for zoning revision, he hooked up with Councilman Tony Avella in 2003 to undertake an ambitious zoning study of the entire 19th Council District, which includes Bayside, College Point and Whitestone. This study became the template for the upcoming zoning revision by City Planning, as well as a model for like-minded reformers across the borough.

Community Character

If there are people meeting to discuss zoning and preservation in Queens, Paul Graziano will be there. And while there is no shortage of activists consumed by these issues, Graziano sets himself apart in one key way: he actually has immense technical understanding of land use issues, which can confound even lifelong activists.

And the work, with both politicians and neighborhood activists, has paid off. As Graziano noted, the clamor for rezoning that he helped ignite is working: “Everything north of the LIE is being rezoned,” he said.

But the 19th District, where he did his most massive study, remains he top acheivment.

Most Outrageous Act

At 33, Graziano is one of the youngest faces to populate the civic activism game in Queens. But even at his relatively young age, he can still look back and make light of his youthful indiscretions.

Several years back, his rock band headlined a night of music at the Bohemian Beer Hall in Astoria—a night that ended in fistfights and broken furniture. By any account, and particularly Graziano’s, it was a “drunken brawl.”

Working Relationship

Through his new consultant firm, Associated Cultural Resource Consultants, Graziano works with political leaders from across Queens. But his first political liaison, one that led to his groundbreaking zoning study of Northeast Queens, stemmed from an alliance with Councilman Avella.

“His contribution has been immeasurable to my fight to stop over-development,” Avella said. “The study he performed, at a very minimal cost to my budget, would have cost ten times the amount with anyone else.”

–Aaron Rutkoff

Bob Harris

“Newspapers these days only cover bad news. Or they cover big news. But even the worst schools have good things going on.”


Nickname: civicperson (his email address)
Age: 72
Neighborhood: West Cunningham Park
Favorite ISSUE: Preserving Community Character

Bob Harris is a slight jovial man who favors shorts in the summer and is in desperate need of a tan – in short, he looks like a tourist, which he is a few times a year on his trips to visit his children or take his wife out to the Mediterranean. His stature is non-threatening, but the frequent smile on his face suggests that his stature may be intentional and that he knows things you don’t. It’s a good thing that he’s not a super villain, because Bob Harris is everywhere, and he knows PR.

Greatest Achievement

Harris has been president of the West Cunnigham Park Civic Association for the past 25 years, fighting to preserve community character and quality of life for the area and the value of houses for the homeowners. Standard fare has been preventing community facilities from expanding without compensating for parking, stopping big developments that threaten to bring waste and noise pollution to the area, and keeping the one-family home feel of the neighborhood. As the issue of rezoning is at its hottest all over Queens, Harris and his association are on top of pressuring the Department of City Planning to make sure nothing “too big” like McMansions is built.

Most Outrageous Act

Bob is a proponent of “shotgun therapy” when it comes to rallying support and spreading information about a cause he picks up.

“You go to a paper, find a young reporter,” he says, scanning the Tribune editorial office, “and you say – here’s the story. And when the paper comes out you include [the article] in the newsletter, send it to civic associations, send it to the various city departments.”

And just in case the young reporters don’t quite get it, Harris writes a column for the TimesLedger. When asked about his PR savvy, Harris attributes it to a few college courses and his job in the army – Harris was a projectionist, no doubt picking up the importance of a powerful message from Army-sponsored films.

Community Character

Bob Harris has opposed such projects as a public swimming pool in West Cunnigham, saying that the residents of the neighborhood would not feel comfortable with the “young people” the pool would attract. He was also against the building of a skating rink in Cunnigham Park, on the grounds that the park should be a more natural area. Both of the projects were stopped, thanks in large part to the association.

Harris does not eat children, however. On the contrary, Harris, a former social studies teacher at Thomas Edison, is a freelance public relations man for several area schools. He regularly writes newsletters and sends photos of school events to all the Queens newspapers, with an emphasis on student achievement, big and small.

“Newspapers these days only cover bad news. Or they cover big news. But even the worst schools have good things going on,” he said.

Working Relationship

“Bob is a very…,” says Diane Cohen, CB 8 District Manager, looking for the right word. “Bob is a very prominent member of Community Board 8. He’s been a mainstay of the community for so many years. He’s really out there, as they say,” she adds, perhaps referring to both the many civic causes Harris is involved with as well as his occasional similarity in speech to some of Christopher Walken’s crazier characters.

—Alex Padalka

Richard Hellenbrecht

“After they stop laughing, I think most people feel that I’m pretty fair, dedicated.”


Nickname:
“Nickname? I don’t know but the
Borough President kept on calling me Rick.”
Age: 57
Neighborhood: Bellerose
Favorite Issue: Residential Rezoning

The squeaky wheel gets the oil, but it’s the quiet, thoughtful wheel that gets to bang the gavel.

That quiet, thoughtful wheel is Richard Hellenbrecht, who’s been spinning around eastern Queens for more than 30 years, most recently as Chairman of Community Board 13, physically, one of the largest in the City.

From there, Hellenbrecht keeps an eye on the City’s largest airport, JFK, and the McMansions sprouting in clustered residential coves.

Greatest Achievement

The fight to keep the largest community board from housing the largest homeless shelter was a victory Hellenbrecht considers his greatest. The Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) ruled against the Saratoga Houses who wanted to expand their 349-room facility by an additional 151 rooms.

“We fought that with the cooperation of the civic associations, [Borough President] Helen Marshall, and the local elected officials, the Assemblymen, State Senators, everybody,” he said.
The victory, though, was short-lived.

“The Homes for the Homeless filed for an article 78, an appeal, and won,” said Hellenbrecht. “It was a big up and a big down”
With that, Hellenbrecht expressed optimism in his latest effort to maintain high quality of life Eastern Queens is known for.
Hellenbrecht is also a founding member of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy, and served as its first President.

Most Outrageous Moment

It’s not easy for this grandfather and community activist to pick out a moment when he’s been “outrageous.” When asked, he laughed off the notion and explained that you really don’t need to act outrageous when you’re fighting to keep oversized multi-family houses from squeezing into the neighborhood.

“I find it pretty easy to try to develop coalitions,” Hellenbrecht said. Hinting at the amount of effort he needs to keep that coalition in line, Hellenbrecht added, “Occasionally you have to put your foot down and say we’re going to do this.”

Community Character

The word most often used to describe Hellenbrecht is “thoughtful.”
In his three decades of community activism, Hellenbrecht struck a unique balance between longtime residents whose histories intertwine with one another, and newer residents still adjusting to the labyrinth of the neighborhood and city bureaucracy.

But Hellenbrecht is also well known for his sense of humor, which works wonders for disarming the various interest groups he is so often fighting against.

Working Relationship

“He certainly has a sense of humor,” said longtime associate and fellow community character Corey Bearak. After declining to elaborate or provide examples of Hellenbrecht’s funnier side, Bearak added, “The guy is really thoughtful on complex issues.”

Hellenbrecht and Bearak share a few laughs, but at times, find each other on opposite ends of a debate.

—Azi Paybarah

Bob Holden

“We were David and Goliath fighting in the rain storm.”


Nickname: Bullhorn
Age: Ageless
Neighborhood: Middle Village & Maspeth
Favorite ISSUE: Over-development

This town’s not big enough for the both of us,” is the message Bob Holden usually tells real estate developers looking to build big box stores, multi-family homes, and commercial space in his neighborhood.

Holden is the President of the Juniper Valley Civic Organization, the Public Safety Committee Chairman for Community Board 5, and editor and photographer for the group’s quarterly magazine, The Juniper Berry. He also has photographed, but not taken credit for, two professional produced banners decrying over-development that were hung from a Maspeth bridge over the Long Island Expressway.

Greatest Achievement

Holden’s strongly-held belief that Middle Village is overcrowded has led him into numerous fights with those looking to build in the area. The biggest fight was over the former site of the Elmhurst Gas Tanks. The property’s owner, Keyspan Energy, said they’d give elected officials some time to raise enough money to buy the property, which they said was worth more than $12 million.
Skeptical money would be raised in time, Keyspan began talks with private developers, who planned on opening a Home Depot, Commerce Bank, storage facility and other businesses.

Holden and other advocates used this fact to paint Keyspan as disingenuous in their negotiations with elected officials. That, combined with Councilman Dennis Gallagher and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, helped Keyspan sell the 6.5-acre property to the city for $1. Bloomberg then announced the city would create a park there.

Holden said the fight was an underdog victory of biblical proportions: “We were David and Goliath fighting in the rain storm.”

Community Character

It’s not hard to tell what Bob Holden is thinking. He usually lets everyone know. Loudly. He has organized dozens of protest and rallies in and around Middle Village and Maspeth. In his hands are either giant, colorful posters, or simply, a bullhorn. Either way, his thoughts get aired.

Subtlty is not the weapon of choice when battling development.
His ability to air his grievances through his civic group, their magazine, protests, or the community board, make him a force to be reckoned with. Who listens? Mayor Bloomberg, his predecessor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and Congressman Joseph Crowley, all of whom received Man of the Year honors from Holden’s civic organization.

Working Relationship

“Bob has redefined the role of a civic association president and community activist,” said Councilman Dennis Gallagher. “My most memorable moment with Bob Holden and Tony Nunziato [another character] was standing in the Keyspan site: that we were victorious, and defeated a huge commercial establishment on Grand Avenue.”

In fact, Holden’s tenaciousness got the best of him during that struggle. He organized a protest, made dozens of signs and got more than 100 protesters out early on a Saturday morning.
Only problem is that by the time the sun rose that morning, Gallagher got Bloomberg to secure a deal to buy the park, leaving Holden and his crowd to turn their protest into a celebration.

–Azi Paybarah

Andrew Ippolito

“I’m not a conduit for other people. People need to do things themselves. I’m just there to help them.”


Age: 74
Neighborhood: Bayside
Favorite Issue: Quality of life

Andrew Ippolito is one of those rare community activists who doesn’t try to do too much. He makes no bones about it: he’s not going to do your dirty work for you. You could say he’s a big DIY guy.

“I’ve always tried to bring people together to improve the quality of life in this area,” said the 40-year resident of Bayside. “I’ve always thought people need to be involved and they need to do it themselves. I try to get them organized so they can present their issues. I try to make everyone a community activist.”

He’s a semi-retired publisher who still finds the time to serve on the board of the Bayside Improvement District and the Queens Civic Council, as well as head up the New Property Civic Association.

Greatest Achievement

Every time he drives down the road, Ippolito says he’s reminded of one of his greatest achievements: trees. Back in the 1980s, he organized the planting of several trees along the streets of his neighborhood that over the years have come to be a source of great pride to him. “That was an accomplishment, getting everyone to come out and get those planted,” he said.

Community Character

Don’t think because Ippolito’s the guy who gets things done that he’s going to go to bat for you while you sit back and wait for results. That’s not his style.

Take a recent problem involving cars parked along the streets for days while their owners were out of town: “I’d get people calling me up saying, ‘Hey, Andy, do you think you could call about these cars?’ No. I’m not going to do this for you! You have to call. I’ll call too, but people need to know that people aren’t always just going to do things for them. I’ll tell them who to call, who to write to and have them do it. The problem with doing everything for them is, if I move away, what then? I don’t want to have people be in a situation where they can’t get anything done.”

Most Outrageous Moment

When Ozanam Hall was built more than 20 years ago near Ippolito’s home, he didn’t object to the construction of a nursing home, he objected to its size. He organized more than 30 people to block the entrance to the site of the 14-story building and they successfully kept the bulldozers out - for a little while.

“We mobilized a whole group of people and we stopped the construction, but it was only for a short time,” he said. “They were going to arrest us. They called the police and the paddywagon was brought in. Then we had a choice: we either move or we take a ride to the police station. So we left. It made us realize that we really needed to get to work!”

Working Relationship

Most people who know or have worked with Ippolito over the years are well-aware of his “do-it-yourself” policy. When the New Property Civic Association took a little hiatus a few years back, it was Ippolito who re-activated it: but he knew he needed the community’s help to do it.

“We can’t always rely on just one person to get things done and that’s really important to him,” said Henry Euler, a fellow member of the Association. “He’s always encouraging everyone to do their part and to work together. He’s very concerned about impacting his neighborhood, but he always wants to do it together. He’s a pretty low-key person but he’s very effective in affecting change because he wants everyone to take responsibility for the things in our neighborhood.”

–Jack Buehrer

Kevin Jemmott

“So often when we see something we don’t like, we complain to each other and we don’t take action. We should be about action not just talking.”


Neighborhood: Cambria Heights
Age: “I’m an adult.”
Favorite Issue: Beautification
of Cambria Heights

As president of the Cambria Heights Civic Association, Kevin Jemmott is actively involved in building up his community and keeping the culture alive. He is known for talking the talking and backing it up with his actions in a timely manner. Since elected as the president of the Cambria Heights Civic Association in June, Jemmott has created a rapport with individuals he feels will help make Cambria Heights a better place to live.

Greatest Achievements

Although Jemmott has a long list of accomplishments that he has made in eastern Queens, especially in his hometown of Cambria Heights, he feels creating the Townsunited.org website was one of his greatest. He began construction on the website in 2000, and since its inception he has linked over 20 civic associations and not-for-profit organizations to the site.

“It gives people a chance to come to one website to do everything. That’s where I’ve helped the largest number of people,” Jemmott said.

Jemmott has also put Cambria Heights on the map by networking with other activists and elected officials in the area. He said communication is the key to working together as a team.

By parlaying with various elected officials and community leaders, Jemmott has ensured that Cambria Heights will be down zoned by 2005. He attributes all of the advancements that he has made with his civic association to planning accordingly.

Community Character

Jemmott’s ability to get people involved and motivated about community activism is the key to his success as a local advocate. His first civic association meeting this fall pulled in 100 attendees, which is uncommon for most civic meetings.

Jemmott uses his previous managerial experience to create development plans, and gets higher ups to aid him in his goal of “transforming Cambria Heights from a nice community to a great community.”

Jemmott’s calm and quiet demeanor makes him easy to talk to and his ability to welcome suggestions allows everyone’s opinions and concerns to be addressed.

Most Outrageous Act

Being the refined man that he is, Jemmott does not feel the need to do anything outrageous. “Everything is done on the realm of normality to get results,” he said.

Jemmott finds that when people go to extreme lengths to be heard it only works for the moment.

The one thing that Jemmott did that he considers to be semi-outrageous was when he picked up a Cambria Heights zoning map and drove up and down the blocks to see if the homes were in an R4 zone, or if the areas needed to be down zoned.

Working Relationship

Jemmott has teamed up with Borough President Helen Marshall, who spoke at the civic association’s first meeting and he was also chairman of Senator Malcolm Smith’s Technology Committee. He has also worked closely with Councilman Leroy Comrie to have trash receptacles replaced in Cambria Heights, and Assemblywoman Barbara Clark with regard to down zoning.

According to all of the elected officials that have worked with Jemmott, he is an easy person to work with because he is organized and a genuinely good person. He does not harass elected officials into doing things that he wants them to do, which makes it easier for them to accommodate or consider his requests.

–Raynelle Cerica Bull

Richard Jannacio


Nickname: The Perennial Candidate
Neighborhood: West Flushing
Favorite Issue: Neighborhood Preservation
and Public Safety

Richard Jannaccio has been a well-known figure on the Queens civic scene for years, and his runs for office have earned him a place in politics as well. These days, however, no one seems to know where he is.

Greatest Achievement

Jannaccio’s greatest achievement has been his resilience in fighting for community causes both as an insider and alone as a concerned citizen.

As a co-chair of the Fort Totten Advisory Board he demanded removal of toxic waste from its site. As vice-president of the Democratic Club of Flushing, he supported term limits. As president of the West Flushing Civic Association, Jannacio was concerned with the air pollution and waste in West Flushing. He helped prevent the building of a Mobil MiniMart until its existing toxic waste was cleaned up, stopped the building of a supermarket on the residential Sanford Avenue and helped fine polluters and vendors who take over sidewalks. Jannaccio, who is a New York State certified science teacher and a former research scientist, has fought for cleaner buses, against marine transfer stations in Flushing, and against indiscriminate spraying of Malathion.

Community Character

Jannaccio is perhaps this era’s most eminent “perennial candidate,” and he gets a lot of flack for it from other politicians and activists. In 1999, Jannaccio ran for the State Senate 16th District seat as a Green Party candidate. Then, in 2001, he ran in the Democratic Primary against Councilman John Liu in the 20th District City Council. In 2002, Jannaccio moved over to fight for the State Assembly 22nd District seat. He lost all three, but he came awfully close in his bid against Liu.

Most Outrageous Act

Aside from failing to appear at the polling stations to rally his supporters in 2002, Jannaccio has been known to “burn bridges.” His opponents, however, agree that he can effectively rally on behalf of his community, and that he is a well-educated man.

What few may know is that Jannaccio has had a history of taking strong stands regardless of risks. In addition to going for bold civic actions, Jannaccio is not afraid to speak his mind even at the threat of losing his livelihood. In August 1987, Jannaccio was a science writer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he previously received his Master’s degree.

The University hired one Philip Sobocinski, a retired Army colonel, to help professors tailor their research to attract Pentagon-funded bio-warfare research. Jannaccio published a story disclosing Sobocinski’s mission in the student newspaper, the Daily Cardinal. The very next day Jannaccio was dismissed from his job.

Working Relationship

Jannaccio has not been very visible on the scene. He has not appeared at many Community Board 7 meetings or updated his Civic Association website since 2002. His former colleagues and political opponents did not provide any insight, but did wonder where Jannaccio was. The staff at the Tribune hopes that this article finds Jannaccio getting ready to re-enter the civic scene.

–Alex Padalka