Forest Hills Finds Out Why Tony Avella Is the Best

Councilman Tony Avella told residents at the Forest Hills Community and Civic Association meeting last week that the city needs a change in leadership in order to protect the interests of every-day New Yorkers. Michael Bloomberg declined the civic group’s invitation to attend. President Barbara Stuchinski introduced Bayside Councilman Avella as a “great guy” who for “many, many years has always been involved in the communities” and is” “not looking for personal esteem. He really is a person to be admired.” Avella, who declined to run for a third term on the City Council after term limits were overturned by the brute power of Bloomberg, against the wishes of New Yorkers who voted twice against term limits, said he started out as a “civic activist… helping to address local problems” in northern Queens. He was elected to the City Council in 2002. “We’ve lost control over our own city government,” Avella said. If he were elected mayor, one of Avella's top priorities would be to stop overdevelopment and to take neighborhoods back from Bloomberg's hand-picked developers. “It’s about time we start paying attention to the unique character and charm of every single neighborhood.” Instead of Bloomberg and city planning officials in league with the real estate industry controlling what happens, Avella wants residents to have a say over their neighborhood. “Nobody knows their block better than the people who live there,” he said.