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City Councilman Tony Avella has been making himself known around Brooklyn lately, showing up at a community meeting about Gowanus and supporting other politicians who’ve called for a moratorium on Atlantic Yards demolitions. The common thread is also Avella’s main talking point in his (longshot) bid to become our next mayor: Namely, that the Bloomberg administration has sold out to real estate interests, disrupting the fabric of neighborhoods and turning a deaf ear to community concerns. Voice blog Runnin’ Scared has an interview with the man who wants to replace Mike. Here are some choice quotes:

“You have so many communities throughout the entire City that need to be protected from overdevelopment. You have the Department of Buildings, which is in a shambles. And it has been such a huge effort to get even the smallest rezoning, even the smallest change done within the City Council. It’s bizarre.”

“Listen, a lot of my fellow councilmen seem to be more interested, along with the Speaker, in getting money from the real estate industry than stepping up and doing the right thing. I don’t need to tell you, there’s very little independence in the City Council. It’s amazing to me how nobody speaks up.”

“In my opinion the one campaign that you can draw from is the Obama campaign. In terms of somebody coming from nowhere. Really, he had no name recognition beyond his own state, to in effect get the Democratic nomination at this point. People want change, and I think that’s what my campaign is all about.”

Underdog Mayoral Hopeful on Quinn, Bloomberg and Obama [Runnin’ Scared]
Legislation To Boost Community-Based Planning [Brownstoner]
Photo by No Land Grab.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. I don’t know this site very well but I did read the New York magazine piece about it, and from that and the comments posted re Avella I get the impression Brownstoner appeals to a pretty reactionary bunch.

    Ibklyn

  2. Avella is the only candidate for mayor I’m considering at the moment. The only one speaking out against overdevelopment and the Fedderization of Brooklyn and Queens…he has fought Tommy Huang, the rapist of the Flushing RKO Keith’s and the blighter of neighborhoods from Maspeth to Fresh Meadows.

    Follow this link and see what Avella opposes:

    http://www.junipercivic.com/PressReleaseArticle.asp?nid=25

    http://www.forgotten-ny.com

  3. He is only representing the pathetic little group of NIMBY anti Atlantic yard jerks. Where were they for the last 30+ years of this being a dump? ANYTHING is better than what is there now, I would vote for fat Al before I even looked at Tony. Tony = anti-development scum. He didn’t get what he wanted at St. Saviours in Queens now he’s off to Brooklyn.
    Maybe taking a little bit longer due to all the B.S. lawsuits the nimbys keep losing but still D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!

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