By Nathan Duke
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said he will focus on crime prevention and economic measures during his bid this fall to retain his seat for a third term.
Vallone, first elected in 2001, previously set his sights on the Queens borough president race, but decided not to run against incumbent Helen Marshall after the Council voted to extend term limits last year and she opted to seek another term. The councilman has not ruled out a future bid for that office, though.
This year, Vallone will face off against Republican Tom Dooley, Green Party candidate Lynne Serpe and Jerry Kann, who previously ran twice on the Green Party line.
“I want to make Astoria safe and clean and make our public schools the best they can be,” he said. “There are still a lot of outstanding issues that I’d love to see to completion.”
The councilman said he wants to see the shuttering of the notorious Charles Poletti Power Project before he leaves office. The New York Power Authority is scheduled to close the plant, deemed the city’s worst polluter, in 2010.
Vallone, chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, said preventing crime in his district is a key component of his campaign. Crime is down 11 percent in the district this year, he said.
The 22nd Council District, which he represents, includes Astoria and Rikers and Randall’s islands as well as sections of Long Island City and Jackson Heights.
“The police have managed to do that without enough officers in the precinct,” he said. “The city is facing a faltering economy which is affecting our budget and not allowing us to hire the amount of police officers we need. And Albany’s elimination of its tough drug laws poses a serious challenge for the immediate future.”
He said he would also focus on the economy for this fall’s race.
“Locally, it has affected one of our major commercial strips on Steinway Street,” he said. “There are about 40 vacant storefronts. People take out high mortgages for those properties and then have to charge high rents.”
Vallone said he wants more retailers on the strip, such as a major book store chain.
Another significant issue this election year will be the proposed rezoning of Astoria, which will include upzoning and downzoning, he said. The community’s rezoning is the first in 48 years.
“We want to make sure that people are allowed to improve their properties, but as long as it is in character with the rest of the neighborhood,” he said. “This will also increase growth in our commercial strips.”
Vallone also plans to focus on environmental issues for the district, such as limiting where cell phone towers can be placed and preventing further power plants from being constructed in western Queens.
“We provide 60 percent of the city’s power, yet the state is trying to force another power plant on us,” he said of the district. “The neighborhood has no say in it. No one neighborhood should bear the burden of all power production for the entire city.”
NYPA is currently eyeing a site at 19th Avenue and Steinway Street for a new plant.
The councilman said improving public schools was also a key issue for his campaign. He supports mayoral control of schools and opposes large amounts of homework for younger students.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
