Exit interview: Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr.

Posted December 23, 2013 By Claire Moses

A self-described liberal who is conservative on police issues, City Council member Peter Vallone Jr., who is wrapping up his term this week, went from writing an anti-racial profiling law in 2004 to being at odds with some of his fellow council members on the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices. While unsure about his own next steps, Vallone, who is the outgoing chair of the council’s Committee on Public Safety, says he fears a rise in crime in New York City and the consequences of the Community Safety Act, which he predicts will keep “cops in their cars” lest they be hit with civil rights lawsuits alleging discriminatory stops. The sponsors of the bill, which Vallone calls “the most dangerous act ever passed by the City Council,” took it directly to the council floor to circumvent his opposition.

Outgoing Queens City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. Photo Claire Moses

On the Community Safety Act:

Hopefully saner minds will prevail, but the damage has been done. The morale is very low in the police department. And crime is back up. The most dangerous thing we face right now is the Community Safety Act.

What was the effect of stop and frisk on your tenure?

I led the way to reform stop and frisk, which was completely distorted in the last election. I lost the borough president’s race. My opponent sent mailers into southern Queens, saying that I support racial profiling. I’ve had my position distorted, and I paid the price. But I sleep well at night. People decided they were going to attack the NYPD as racist. There’s no way around it. If you believe stop and frisk is racist, you’re calling the most diverse, best-trained, most effective police force in the entire country racist, as a whole.

What are some of your most memorable moments in office?

Election day was September 11, 2001, so when I did take office and was elected by my peers to chair the public safety committee, the first order of business was making sure we were safe from future terror attacks. That’s not something any of us thought we were going to be dealing with when we were running for office. My first hearing was a massive hearing. We stopped at least 15 terror attacks on New York City.

What was it like being chair of the public safety committee?

People said we couldn’t keep crime going down, and we were able to lower it another 35 percent since 2001. While at the same time keeping us safe from terror attacks, two things that nobody would have bet on.

That’s a pretty daunting task. Did you ever wonder how you were going to do that?

For half a second. But then I realized, I have experience in law enforcement as a prosecutor and we are all where God wants us to be. And we would have gotten it done one way of the other. Tough decisions were necessary, keeping an aggressive surveillance policy, an aggressive stop and frisk policy: these things were necessary. They were done legally and they worked.

Any regrets?

I wouldn’t change anything. My brother [councilmember-elect Paul Vallone] is going into it now. I know what he’s facing. Luckily he has me and luckily I had my father [former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr.]. But it’s a lot to learn. Just trying to figure out the city budget alone — forget everything else you have to do, that’s a massive undertaking.

Any advice for your brother?

It’s corny but it’s true: to always do the right thing. You never have to worry about what you said at last month’s meeting or last year’s meeting if you’re always telling the truth and you’re always saying what you feel. You’re going to get a lot of grief from special interests and a lot of arm-twisting from the powers that be. But don’t give it to them. The worst thing that happens is you lose an election, and that’s not that bad.

What’s next for you?

I gave up the last year of my life to try to be a councilman and try to run for office at the same time while doing that I was literally working from 8 a.m. to 10 at night and on weekends too. So now I’m going to spend some time with my daughters. Public service is in my blood. Even if I take some time off, there’s a good chance I’ll be back. Politics change every day. We plan, God laughs. I am just going to take some time to relax and I am sure the future will be fine.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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<h1>Exit interview: Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr.</h1><p><i>A self-described liberal who is conservative on police issues, City Council member Peter Vallone Jr., who is wrapping up his term this week, went from writing an anti-racial profiling law in 2004 to being at odds with some of his fellow council members on the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices. While unsure about his own next steps, Vallone, who is the outgoing chair of the council’s Committee on Public Safety, says he fears a rise in crime in New York City and the consequences of the Community Safety Act, which he predicts will keep “cops in their cars” lest they be hit with civil rights lawsuits alleging discriminatory stops. The sponsors of the bill, which Vallone calls “the most dangerous act ever passed by the City Council,” took it directly to the council floor to circumvent his opposition.</i></p>
<div id="attachment_13298" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-13298" class="size-medium wp-image-13298" alt="Outgoing Queens City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. Photo Claire Moses" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/vallonejr-300x169.jpg" width="300" height="169" srcset="thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/vallonejr-300x169.jpg 300w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/vallonejr-352x198.jpg 352w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/vallonejr-500x281.jpg 500w, thenewyorkworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/vallonejr.jpg 568w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><p id="caption-attachment-13298" class="wp-caption-text">Outgoing Queens City Council member Peter Vallone Jr. Photo Claire Moses</p></div>
<h3><b>On the Community Safety Act:</b></h3>
<p>Hopefully saner minds will prevail, but the damage has been done. The morale is very low in the police department. And crime is back up. The most dangerous thing we face right now is the Community Safety Act.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>What was the effect of stop and frisk on your tenure?</b></h3>
<p>I led the way to reform stop and frisk, which was completely distorted in the last election. I lost the borough president’s race. My opponent sent mailers into southern Queens, saying that I support racial profiling. I’ve had my position distorted, and I paid the price. But I sleep well at night. People decided they were going to attack the NYPD as racist. There’s no way around it. If you believe stop and frisk is racist, you’re calling the most diverse, best-trained, most effective police force in the entire country racist, as a whole.</p>
<p><i> </i></p>
<h3><b>What are some of your most memorable moments in office?</b></h3>
<p>Election day was September 11, 2001, so when I did take office and was elected by my peers to chair the public safety committee, the first order of business was making sure we were safe from future terror attacks. That’s not something any of us thought we were going to be dealing with when we were running for office. My first hearing was a massive hearing. We stopped at least 15 terror attacks on New York City.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>What was it like being chair of the public safety committee?</b></h3>
<p>People said we couldn’t keep crime going down, and we were able to lower it another 35 percent since 2001. While at the same time keeping us safe from terror attacks, two things that nobody would have bet on.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>That’s a pretty daunting task. Did you ever wonder how you were going to do that?</b></h3>
<p>For half a second. But then I realized, I have experience in law enforcement as a prosecutor and we are all where God wants us to be. And we would have gotten it done one way of the other. Tough decisions were necessary, keeping an aggressive surveillance policy, an aggressive stop and frisk policy: these things were necessary. They were done legally and they worked.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>Any regrets?</b></h3>
<p>I wouldn’t change anything. My brother [councilmember-elect Paul Vallone] is going into it now. I know what he’s facing. Luckily he has me and luckily I had my father [former Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr.]. But it’s a lot to learn. Just trying to figure out the city budget alone — forget everything else you have to do, that’s a massive undertaking.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>Any advice for your brother?</b></h3>
<p>It’s corny but it’s true: to always do the right thing. You never have to worry about what you said at last month’s meeting or last year’s meeting if you’re always telling the truth and you’re always saying what you feel. You’re going to get a lot of grief from special interests and a lot of arm-twisting from the powers that be. But don’t give it to them. The worst thing that happens is you lose an election, and that’s not that bad.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3><b>What’s next for you?</b></h3>
<p>I gave up the last year of my life to try to be a councilman and try to run for office at the same time while doing that I was literally working from 8 a.m. to 10 at night and on weekends too. So now I’m going to spend some time with my daughters. Public service is in my blood. Even if I take some time off, there’s a good chance I’ll be back. Politics change every day. We plan, God laughs. I am just going to take some time to relax and I am sure the future will be fine.</p>
<p><em>This interview has been edited and condensed.</em></p>

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