Vallone Beer Bash A Success

Joining City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (second from r.) at a fundraiser at the venerable Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria last Wednesday were (l. to r.): state Senator George Onorato, Assemblymember Michael Gianaris, former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr., New York Attorney General Andrew Some 400 people flocked to the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden in Astoria on Tuesday, September 23 to honor the up-and-coming political career of City Councilmember Peter F. Vallone Jr. The event was hosted by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who voiced his support for Vallone and spoke at length about their families' shared history together in public service.

Guests at the outdoor venue at the Beer Garden were treated to free-flowing beer at the event, which raised around $50,000, putting Vallone well over $850,000 in total funds raised. The vast majority of the contributions were small, matchable donations, which will bring the ultimate total even higher.

Vallone told the crowd that he ran for office, "to keep our streets safe, our schools great and our environment clean", goals he continues to focus on today. He asked his audience for their support to be able to continue the fight to improve New York, and pledged that he will keep working hard to justify their faith in him.

As chair of the council Public Safety Committee, Vallone has worked vigilantly to make New York a better place by fighting to put more cops on the street and more assistant district attorneys in the courtroom. A former prosecutor, Vallone understands the need to be tough on crimes both large and small to make all of Queens' and New York's communities better places to live.

Cuomo heaped praise on Vallone for his work in the city council and encouraged the crowd to continue supporting his political aspirations. He spoke about their fathers, Mario Cuomo and Peter Vallone Sr., and the importance both placed on public service when their sons were growing up. He said that both families view public service as a means to improve all communities and contribute to the society in which everyone lives.

Vallone acknowledged that both he and Cuomo had big shoes to fill. He also mentioned other similarities between Cuomo and himself, such as both having been prosecutors who decided to pursue elected office.

Cuomo expressed confidence in Vallone's future. "Whatever office he runs for, he is going to win," Cuomo said. Everyone present commented on Vallone's strong work ethic and his commitment to keeping New Yorkers safe. Other Vallone colleagues who attended the event were state Senator George Onorato, Assemblymember Michael Gianaris and Councilmembers David Weprin, Eric Gioia and Helen Sears.

Vallone thanked his colleagues and reminded the audience about the upcoming debate on term limits. He joked, "Although the beer is free, there is a twobeer limit for elected officials—unless, of course, they talked amongst themselves and decided to raise that limit to three. Then they could have another beer."

Constructed almost 100 years ago, the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden was once one of 800 similar venues scattered around the city. Today, only the Astoria relic remains, still drawing thousands of visitors on weekends. Vallone held the fundraiser at Bohemian Hall to bring attention to the venerable neighborhood institution.