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State Sen. Tony Avella announces mayoral run – Metro US

State Sen. Tony Avella announces mayoral run

State Sen. Tony Avella announces mayoral run
tonyavellaforNewYork/Facebook

Pointing to New York City’s failure to resolve a chronic problem of homelessness, state Sen. Tony Avella announced his intention to run against Mayor Bill de Blasio in the 2017 primaries.

The Queens Democrat, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2009, made the announcement on Sunday in front of a Maspeth Holiday Inn, the controversial site of a planned homeless shelter, which Avella opposes.

Meanwhile, seven city councilmen pledged their support for the incumbent.

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Avella preceded his bid with a list of things “it is time” for, such as a small business survival act, incentives to bring manufacturing jobs to the city and making New York a more affordable place to live.

Avella expressed support for free tuition at CUNY for city residents and a 2-percent property tax cap, which is opposed by de Blasio, who has not raised property taxes.

He spoke against the mayor’s “crazed” proposals for bike lanes and “the de Blasio administration’s narrow-minded anti-motorist policies.”He called the Queens-Brooklyn waterfront trolley a “billion-dollar boondoggle.”

“And I might add: It’s called a bus. Why don’t we put a bus there?” he said.

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Avella is a member of the Independent Democratic Council, a group of rogue politicians who align with Republicans in the state senate.

City Council members said the de Blasio era has seen “progress.”

“What we should expect from our elected officials isn’t perfection,” Councilmen Ritchie Torres, D-Bronx, said, the New York Daily News reported. “What we should expect is progress, and under the leadership of Mayor de Blasio we have seen progress.”

“Every child who’s 4 or 5 years old has access to universal pre-K as a result of the leadership of Mayor de Blasio. That’s progress,” Torres added.

Democrats Ydanis Rodriguez, Margaret Chin and Helen Rosenthal of Manhattan, Brad Lander and Steve Levin of Brooklyn and Donovan Richards of Queens also endorsed de Blasio.

“Under Mayor de Blasio, crime just hit another all-time low, jobs are at record highs, the City is building and preserving affordable housing at a record pace, while graduation rates and test scores continue to improve,” a spokesman for de Blasio’s campaign told the New York Daily News. “We are happy to match that record against anyone.”