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There is a new Vallone in town running for City Council, and he is determined to make a unique identity for himself outside of Astoria.
Paul Vallone, son of former Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr., is running for City Council in the 19th District, which includes Bayside, Whitestone, College Point, Douglaston and Little Neck. Vallone registered with the Campaign Finance Board several weeks ago.
Vallone is part of political dynasty in Queens that includes his grandfather, Charles F. Vallone, a judge in the area, his father, a City Council member who was elected speaker and ran for mayor and governor, and his brother, Peter Vallone, Jr., a current City Council member.
Paul Vallone, a north Flushing resident, is running in Councilman Tony Avella’s district. Avella is term-limited in 2009 and is eyeing a run for mayor.
Though the Vallone family has laid its roots in Astoria, Vallone is looking to make a name for himself in eastern Queens and create his own Vallone identity.
“I’m my own Vallone,” he said, adding, “They know my father, my brother, my grandfather … and now they’ll know me.”
Vallone is currently a managing partner in his family’s Astoria law practice, Vallone and Vallone. He also volunteers with community groups and civic organizations including the Boys and Girls Club, the Kiwanis Club and the City Department of Correction.
The event that triggered Vallone to enter politics involved a cell phone tower going up near the Church of St. Mel in Flushing, where his 7-year-old used to attend school.
“The cell phone tower issue is something that’s going to require the whole City Council to ban together,” he said. “We have to get them regulated.”
Vallone said he’s running on the platform of preserving the community and hopes to match Tony Avella’s commitment to the district. Issues like zoning and commercialization, he said, will be in the forefront of his campaign.
“There are not many districts like it,” Vallone said, referring to District 19 and its residential feel. Though he added, “Tudor homes are being replaced with monstrosities,” and this is one of the things he wants to prevent from happening in the district.
With the birth his second child just seven weeks ago, Vallone said he has not had much time to begin planning his campaign, though he expects that his initial fundraiser will take place sometime in the spring.