Vallone Saves The Day For Ditmars Merchants
BY JOHN TOSCANO

Vallone is usually a major supporter of shooting movies on local New York City streets, which produces revenue for the city. In this case, he emphasized, blocking off activity on one of Queens’ busiest shopping streets a week before Christmas was “totally unacceptable”.

Quick action by City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. saved store owners along Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria from losing precious holiday shopping business last Monday as he got City Hall to cancel a movie shoot on the busy block.

Several merchants, still smarting from business losses from last summer’s power blackout, were furious that the movie shoot was going to eliminate parking at meters on Ditmars between 28th to 31st Streets, probably discouraging shoppers to go into nearby stores.

A quick telephone call from Jack Brucculeri, a local business owner and president of the Ditmars–31st Street Merchants Association to Vallone, eventually short-circuited the moviemaking plans.

There were no plans to shoot scenes, but the curbside parking would have been eliminated to make room for trucks to park and miscellaneous equipment unloaded.

Shutting down the stretch of the boulevard would have added insult to injury for the harried store owners. They would receive no compensation from the movie company because no filming would be done.

As soon as Vallone (D–Astoria) got off the phone with Brucculeri, he immediately contacted the Mayor’s Office of Film and Theater to tell them the permits had to be cancelled without delay.

Vallone is usually a major supporter of shooting movies on local New York City streets, which produces revenue for the city. In this case, he emphasized, blocking off activity on one of Queens’ busiest shopping streets a week before Christmas was “totally unacceptable”.

Fortunately, the Mayor’s Office readily agreed with Vallone and acted quickly, calling the production company in less than an hour and telling them that parking must be confined to side streets, Vallone reported.

Vallone then personally went outside to reassure the merchants that he had taken care of the parking situation and assisted them in removing the orange cones and posters that had been tacked up saying regular metered parking would be banned.

“This isn’t the ‘Miracle On 34th Street’, Vallone said, referring to the classic Christmas season movie, “but it’s close. I didn’t want this to become the ‘Year Without Christmas Shopping’ on Ditmars. We needed to do something and we needed to do it fast.”

Recalling the past summer’s power blackout, Vallone noted that two businesses in the area are still closed from the July blackout, and many others are still struggling, trying to recoup their losses.

But for one merchant, Vallone’s quick action was still too late. The business owner said the “no parking” signs had already caused him to close his store.

The movie being made on Ditmars is “The Accidental Husband”. Vallone said several other productions had already been filmed in the area recently, including the award-winning “A Guide To Recognize Your Saints”.