Peter Fortunate Vallone Jr. (born March 23, 1961) is an American judge and lawyer. Vallone was a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

representing the 22nd district, encompassing

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeas ...

and the surrounding communities from 2002 to 2013. Vallone served as Chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee.

Early life

Vallone is the son of former Speaker of the City Council,

Peter Vallone Sr. Peter Fortunate Vallone Sr. (born December 13, 1934 in New York City) is an American politician. Background His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone (1901–1967) of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons b ...

, and his wife, Tena. He is also a grandson of Judge Charles J. Vallone of the Queens County Civil Court.

Education

He graduated from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a private Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its original campus is located, Fordham is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit un ...

in 1983 and from

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

in 1986.

Career

Before being elected to the City Council, Vallone worked as an Assistant to the Manhattan District Attorney for six years. His notable legislation included several anti-graffiti bills. He has been honored by the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City, the Immaculate Conception Youth Program (ICYP), the League of Humane Voters, and other organizations. In February 2014, Vallone Jr. was named one of America’s Top Ten Animal Defenders by the

Animal Legal Defense Fund The Animal Legal Defense Fund is an animal law advocacy organization. Its stated mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. It accomplishes this by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect an ...

based on his long career of helping animals. Vallone opposed proliferation of power plants and represented C.H.O.K.E. (Coalition Helping Organize a Kleaner Environment) and Astoria residents in court, winning a victory against the New York Power Authority leading to the closing of the Charles Poletti Power Plant in 2010. Vallone also opposes

water fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding ...

in New York. In April 2009 Vallone supported a proposed ban on

pit bull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

s, Dobermans,

Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat ...

s, and other dogs weighing more than 25 lbs. in NYC public housing. In 2013, Vallone ran for

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough president but lost to

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a ...

in the primary held on September 10, 2013. He received 37,132 votes, or 33.7%, falling short of Katz's 48,975 votes, or 44.5%, and came second in a four-way race. Having been term-limited out of office, Vallone was succeeded in city council by Costa Constantinides on January 1, 2014. In 2015 Vallone was nominated to be a Criminal Court judge in Queens and was sworn in January 2016. The term of a Civil Court Judge is 10 years. This is the position his grandfather,

Charles Vallone Charles J. Vallone (1901 – March 15, 1967) was an Italian-American judge. He served on the Queens County Civil Court. Vallone was born in Italy. Robert F. Wagner, Jr., the Mayor of New York City, appointed Vallone to the Municipal Court in 1 ...

, had served in.

Personal life

Vallone was invited to play against the Chinese National Ping-Pong team on ABC's Wide World of Sports, was Co-Captain of the Astoria Civic City Champion Football and Softball teams. He is a professional musician, playing four instruments. graduated ''magna cum laude'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

from Fordham College and from Fordham Law School. Vallone is also a Roman Catholic. He was married to Kristen Anne Canberg and has since been divorced and has two daughters, Catherine (Casey) and Caroline. His brother,

Paul Vallone Paul Angelo Vallone (born June 2, 1967) is American politician and attorney who served as the Council member for the 19th district of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2021. He is a Democrat. His district included Alley Pond Park, Bay Ter ...

, was elected to the City Council in the 19th district in 2013.

References

External links

Official NYC Council Website member page

Campaign Website

Map Of District 22
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallone, Peter Jr. Fordham University alumni New York (state) state court judges New York City Council members American politicians of Italian descent Living people New York (state) Democrats New York (state) lawyers People from Queens, New York 1961 births Vallone family Recycling in New York City