Avella Makes Enemies

Last week, this newspaper reported on the lawsuit filed by New York City against the College Point Sports Association (CPSA) and Enviro-Fill for illegal dumping at the College Point ballfields.
The city is suing to recover $16.5 million in damages after removing toxic fill and building playing fields at the site. Now there is rapidly growing concern about the man many see at the root of the troubleCity Councilman Tony Avella.
In light of the shocking disclosures outlined in the citys lawsuit, Senator Frank Padavan called for the district attorney to investigate what the senator termed as "Avellas reprehensible behavior."
Senator Padavan referred to Avellas track record with many community organizations as a strong indication that his (Avellas) mismanagement of the CPSA was hardly an isolated incident.
But Senator Padavan is not the only voice that speaks of the disturbing pattern of indiscretion and indifference surrounding Avella.
Many community residents and religious leaders have been quick to offer further testimony and shared with The Queens Courier their experiences with Councilman Avella.
The Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church has been holding their Annual Cultural Festival in Whitestone for over a decade. Members of the church and the community all agree that while there have been issues with the festival in the past they have all been problems typically associated with street festivalsvendor permits, parking and noise complaints.
In 2002, the issues all seemed to have been laid to rest and the festival went off without a hitch. This year, however, when the church sought permission for the event they were faced with startling opposition from Councilman Avella. His response was termed as absolutely disgraceful by a shocked congregation.
"The councilmember indicated that the church and its members were not wanted in the community," said Argie Giampilis of the parish council. "His suggestion was that the Greek community should move the festival to another place because of the inconvenience it posed on the Whitestone community."
One church member who asked not to be identified said, "I have never seen or heard of anyone, let alone an elected official, use such insulting and inflammatory language as he [Avella] used on Father Nick."
Giampilis went on to say that church members who heard the verbal barrage aimed at Pastor Nikolaos Kouvaris were outraged by the intemperate language used in addressing a member of the clergy. "We had never witnessed such a level of insensitivity in targeting an entire ethnic group," continued Giampilis.
The Greek community, however, is not alone in their frustration and bitter disappointment in Councilman Avella.
In a conversation with The Queens Courier, Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky spoke of his plans to develop the Yankel Rosenbaum Community Center. "Our synagogue is packed to the gills and our hope in developing this center was to provide to the congregation and the community at large a place where classrooms, a library, and a synagogue could all be under one roof." Instead of recognizing the value of such a center, Rabbi Blesofsky continued, "Councilman Avella turned his back on us and led a charge to stop the project."
Avella repeatedly stoked community fears about further traffic congestion and other problems he associated with the development of the center. "He didnt stop there," said Blesofsky, "he went to the Board of Standards and Appeals and publicly lied in the testimony he offered." Avella claimed to have met with the architect for the project to discuss modifications for the plan that might make it more suitable. However, Rabbi Blesofsky said the meeting never happened.
"Avellas judgment is deplorable. What he did was to oppose vehemently a project which would serve a very large part of his constituency," Rabbi Blesofsky said. "He slapped us in the face and has never made any attempt at reconciliation. His blatent disregard for our particular community represents only one demonstration of his disconcerting behavior toward an entire community of all different religious and community affiliations."
Additionally, local civic groups have been victimized by Avellas petty behavior, instead of being supported by his involvment.
In March 1995, while attending his first meeting as the newly-elected president of the Bayside Historical Society (BHS), Tony Avella addressed the board. Current President Geraldine Spinella told The Queens Courier she was at that meeting and was appalled by what she heard. "He [Avella] stood up there and told the members that he was the president of six other organizations and that this [BHS] was not a priority." The "outlandish" behavior continued, according to Spinella, when Avella went on to inform the board that their meeting night was not at all convenient for him and that it would have to be changed.
Nine months later, Tony Avella stepped down under extreme pressure from the board. Geraldine Spinella was at that meeting too. "When he resigned, he swore the BHS would be shut down in six months. Its eight years later and were flourishing."
Perhaps those most damaged by Avellas lack of concern and demonstration of ethics are the College Point residents who resent Avellas repeated bows over zoning proposals that go unpassed while College Point and other areas in his district continue with the surge of overdevelopment. Still others are incensed by his role playing as the victim in the entire CPSA debacle.
College Point resident Joanne Colurundo is a parent who felt the sting of Avellas mismanagement and poor handling of funds for the CPSA. "He was the president. He signed the checks. He signed the contract with Enviro-Fill. He dumped on us alright."
Colurundo spoke bitterly about the time and money lost for the children in the CPSA. "Even if we forget about the six seasons of lost play, we cant forget about all the squandered funds for unexplained legal fees and bad investments in the stock market. He cost the taxpayers millions of dollars and he caused many area programs to suffer because of his gross negligence."