I just read the most recent Dishing with Dee column by Dee Richard (“Padavan lost due to UFT backing Avella for Senate,” Nov. 25) and must correct an error. I live in North Shore Towers and had the pleasure of welcoming state Sen.-elect Tony Avella to our community on several occasions and introducing him to many of our residents.
We do not have 5,000 residents per building as she said. We have a total of 1,844 apartments with less than 3,000 total residents. Possibly as many as 40 percent vote in Florida and other Southern states.
While many of my neighbors may be active or retired teachers, our community is comprised of people from all walks of life, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) parents. We have lawyers, judges, small business owners and the like as do most other upscale communities.
Granted, Avella won the majority of the vote at North Shore Towers, but that was a result of his addressing the community and informing us of his planned agenda.
A glaring difference between Avella and outgoing state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) was their approach to woman’s issues. That, not the teachers union, was more likely the turning point in the decision-making of our residents.
Finally, there were only about 1,000 ballots cast at North Shore Towers, so while we did assist him in winning, the fact is he prevailed all over the district. It is important that his constituents know the truth and not some ill-conceived notion that we turned the election because we have thousands of retired teachers living here.
Dianne Stromfeld
North Shore Towers
