Peter F. Vallone
served as Speaker and Majority Leader of the New York City Council from 1986
through 2001 and represented the 22nd Councilmanic District in Astoria, Queens
since 1974. According to The New York Post’s late Jack Newfield, “If Peter
Vallone did not exist, the Democrats would have to invent him.” Vallone strongly advocates fiscal responsibility, passing eleven consecutive balanced budgets on time. Vallone created a $300 million reserve fund and increased funding to parks, libraries, cultural institutions, health care and youth programs. Vallone is also responsible for over $260 million in tax cuts.
In 1996, Vallone allocated $1.4 billion to school construction and textbook replacement, to ease overcrowding, replace coal burning furnaces and update textbooks from the 1950’s and 1960’s. His “Lessons in Values Education Program” has been implemented in schools throughout the City teaching students about respect, responsibility, freedom, honesty, kindness and non-violence. He has increased school security, cleaned up asbestos and lead pant and put more computers in the classrooms.
Vallone’s “Safe Streets/Safe City” program virtually restored the city’s criminal justice system, rebuilding the police force from a low of 26,000 in 1989 to 41,000 in 2001, resulting in the lowest crime rate in the City since the 1960’s. He also mandated security guards and/or cameras at City ATM machines.
He was the first to form a “Homeless Assistance Commission”, which changed the policy of the City from virtually ignoring homeless on the streets to transitional ways of finding help and homes.
Vallone has been a champion of the environment and quality of life legislation. He gave New York its first modern recycling program, led the fight to ban pornographic book and video stores from residential areas, and protected New Yorkers from second-hand smoke.
Vallone has worked to ensure that small business prosper in New York City and has led the effort to reduce and eliminate commercial rent tax and phase out burdensome business taxes. As a life-long defender of working families, Vallone continues to fight for sales, utility and earned income tax cuts. He consistently demands community input in the placement and zoning of megastores, gave city contract workers a “living wage” and initiated anti-graffiti campaigns. He has fostered and increased funding for programs in the Arts and after school programs.
Vallone strongly advocates on behalf of women’s health issues by increasing funding for breast, ovarian and lung cancer research and treatment facilities, and created a much heralded pilot biomedical research program, which attracts the brightest young research scientist to the teaching hospitals in our city.
He is justifiably proud of the Vallone CUNY Scholarship Program, which reduces tuition for all city students who graduate high school with a “B” average or better and maintain that “B” average in any CUNY school.
Vallone is a lifelong resident of Queens. His mother Leah was a Democratic State Committeewoman and his father Charles was a Civil Court Judge and Civil Rights Advocate. He and his wife Tena, a former school teacher, have three sons, Peter Jr. (NYC Council Member), Perry and Paul, who also practice law, and seven grandchildren. Vallone graduated from Fordham College of Arts and Science and received his J.D. from Fordham Law School, where he received the prestigious Francis Bacon Award for excellence upon graduation. He won the Statewide Democratic Primary for Governor in 1998, beating three popular candidates with more than fifty percent of the votes cast and lost to incumbent, George Pataki, and then ran and lost a close Primary race for Mayor of New York City in 2001.
In 2002, he rejoined the law firm, Vallone & Vallone, founded by his father, the late Judge Charles J. Vallone, after whom the new Civil Courthouse in Queens was named. He also is a member of the Governmental Consulting firm of Constantinople & Vallone, and serves on the Mayor’s Election Modernization Task Force.
Vallone served as Professor of Politics and Principles of Government at Fordham University and now lectures at the Peter F. Vallone Lectureship Government series of televised public lectures at Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs, and authored “Learning to Govern: My Life in New York Politics, From Hellgate to City Hall”, Chaucer Press (2005).
