With 3 Decades Behind Him, Padavan Will Continue In State Senate
BY JOHN TOSCANO
About a decade before the Gazette came into existence, state Senator Frank Padavan (R- C, Bellerose)

was elected for the first time. During

the ensuing 34 years, he has become a leader in state government efforts to improve schools, fight crime, preserve the environment, protect the mentally disabled and assist local community efforts to preserve and improve their quality of life.

The 72-year-old Northeast Queens lawmaker recently said he plans on continuing his work in these areas and in others where problems may develop.

"I have absolutely no plans to retire," he stated. "My health is excellent, my energy level is high and I am more involved with my work now than ever before in my life."

Padavan, a Republican who has represented Northeast Queens (Bayside, Douglaston; Little Neck, Whitestone, College Point, Bellerose and Beechhurst) over the years, has become a very popular representative of his district, beating back numerous attempts to unseat him.

A graduate of Newtown H.S. in Elmhurst, Padavan has also risen to a position of power in the Republican hierarchy that controls the senate. Along with Queens colleague Senator Serphin Maltese (Middle Village), he has fiercely protected the interests of New York City as the senate goes about its business from day to day.

Evidence of this can be found in the roles he played in reforming the city's vast public school system, instituting changes in 1996 which blocked the influence of political clubs in hiring local school officials and in enacting mayoral control of the system in 2002.

Padavan was also a sponsor of the Safe Streets/Safe City program, which was advocated in 1993 by then Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. of Astoria. The program keeps total police strength at a top level and was a major factor in reducing crime in New York City.

In other anti-crime initiatives, Padavan sponsored legislation to shut down "chop shops" which played key roles in auto thefts; blocked the sale of the drug angel dust and drug-related paraphernalia, and enacted legislation to fight graffiti.

In the area of health care and mental hygiene, Padavan's efforts secured funds to keep Flushing Hospital open and to refurbish the facility, as well as modernize and expand Jamaica Hospital.

As chair of a committee on mental health and addiction control, he secured basic group health insurance coverage for alcoholics and their families and created a procedure to give communities a voice in siting residences for the mentally disabled. The lawmaker also led the fight in Albany to prevent the consolidation of adult and child psychiatric centers in his district and throughout the state.

Looking ahead, Padavan said he will be working for continued improvements in the New York City school system, making healthcare insurance more readily available, preserving the environment and continuing to advocate for the mentally disabled and the humane treatment of animals.

Of these, Padavan and the rest of the state legislature will likely be devoting much attention deciding whether or not to authorize continuation of mayoral control of the school system. The original authorization will expire at the end of 2009.

Commenting on the new city Department of Education's operations thus far, Padavan said that the DOE had been very successful in implementing the system's five-year capital construction program. Reducing class sizes and other problems cannot be considered without first providing additional school facilities, Padavan said.

Padavan also noted that the new system adopted in 2002 had generally been successful. "If you add it up, beginning with the school construction program, there's probably never been anything like it in the city's educational history," he stated.

But, he conceded, there are still "some controversial issues", among them getting more parental involvement, which he called "the key to the education system". He said this and other issues will be the subject of public hearings and other discussion.

At present, he's leaning toward supporting continuation of mayoral rule, but "I still have an open mind" until all possible aspects are hashed out in public discussions.

Padavan, a resident of Bellerose in his district since childhood, went from Newtown H.S. to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now Polytechnic University) in Manhattan, where in 1955 he earned a bachelor degree in electrical engineering. He followed this with a master's degree in business administration at New York University, where he received the NYU Distinguished Graduate Award.

Before entering politics, he was employed at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and then served four years as a Deputy Commissioner (Operations) in the city Department of Buildings.

Padavan also has had a 30-year active and reserve career in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including service as commanding officer of the 411th Engineer Brigade and Chief of Staff, 77th ARCOM. He is a lifetime member of the Army Reserve Officers Association.

Padavan said that the present lawmakers with whom he works closely include Assemblymember Catherine Nolan, of Ridgewood, who heads the Education Committee, and Assemblymembers Mark Weprin and Barbara Clark. All are Democrats.

Among the assistants he termed most loyal and most effective, he cited John Googas, his chief of staff, who joined with Padavan 34 years ago as a college intern, and Administrative Assistants Linda Lanthier in Albany and Angela Fristachi in his district office in Bellerose.

Padavan's 35-year record in the senate is peppered with legislative victories covering a broad area of topics and issues, from education to the environment to real property taxation.

Education and school improvements, he said, have provided his greatest successes and satisfaction, while at the other end of the spectrum he has been continually disappointed by the state's steady dependence on revenue from gambling programs.

Padavan said, "It's no secret that gambling causes real harm to both the state and its residents. Promised funds for education have been slow to come in and are way below projected figures. The havoc that problem gambling has caused New York families far outweighs any perceived benefits."

With these views, it's no wonder that the veteran lawmaker has for many years been the state's leading critic of state-funded gambling, namely Lotto, casinos, Quick Draw and, more recently, slot machines at race tracks."

Padavan admitted that the state's continued expansion of gambling has been discouraging to him, but, he said, "I'll continue to fight to make sure, at the very least, we're doing everything we can to help prevent problem gambling and that those already affected receive treatment. And I'll keep working to make sure the system is open and available for public scrutiny."

As for education, he stated: "For years, I've been working to make education in New York City better. I will continue to work towards more fair and equitable education for the city's children by reducing class sizes, continuing to improve our schools and acquiring funds for necessary programs and materials."

In the last few years, he pointed out, "Great strides have been made to provide additional funding for education. It was not a fluke or a one-time deal, but a true reform to the way we fund our schools. Over the past 10 years, state aid to city schools has increased by more than 77 percent. That's more than any other county in the entire state, more than $2.5 million."

Turning his focus on the past few sessions, he noted: "Last year, we were able to send New York City schools a record-breaking increase in funding as well as reach an agreement with the state to pay half of Mayor Bloomberg's $13.1 billion, five-year capital [construction] plan. This aggressive and necessary plan will build new schools in New York City as well as modernize and expand existing schools to reduce class size at all levels."

Further major advances in school funding for New York City were made with the passage of the first budget of Governor Eliot Spitzer's administration. Democrats and Republicans came to an agreement to direct funds to more needy schools in poorer neighborhoods.

Padavan pointed out: "Now we are focusing on reducing class sizes- a key factor in providing a great education for our children- on continuing to bring spending in New York City schools up to par with that of other schools in the state, and making sure that our schools are accountable, well run and a safe place for our children."

Also on the education front, Padavan was responsible for creating and implementing the plan for construction of the Glen Oaks Campus near Creedmoor State Hospital. About 32 acres of land were transferred from the hospital's holdings and three schools now stand there.

Adjacent to the Glen Oaks Campus, on another 14-acre transferred state-owned land, stands the Padavan- Preller Complex, where more than 2,000 boys and girls from the HBQVB Athletic Association play their games. It is the largest such complex of its kind in the state, Padavan noted proudly.

Early in his senate career, Padavan, along with environmental, preservation and community improvement advocates, was the major force for several landmark projects in his district. Among these were:

+The Northeast Queens Nature and Historical Preservation Commission, a group which acts as a watchdog over the Northeast Queens shoreline.

+The Alley Pond Environmental Center and Padavan Pavilion in Bayside/Douglaston preserved surrounding wetlands and parklands, such as Udalls Cove.

+The Queens County Farm Museum in Little Neck, created out of 50 acres of former stateowned lands. It receives about 100,000 visitors a year, mostly toddlers, who come to get their first close up acquaintance with hundreds of farm animals. This facility is the oldest continually farmed land in New York state, says the lawmaker, as well as being an important historical colonial era artifact of Queens.

+Fort Totten in Bayside. Padavan secured public funds and, working with the community, framed legislation to protect, preserve and acquire the venerable fort as parkland. The Officers Club underwent a $1.5 million renovation with funds acquired by Padavan and now houses the Bayside Historical Society and its treasures. Padavan also secured public funds to rehab the old Army facility, which is now open to the public for guided tours.

"The newly opened parkland and playing fields of Fort Totten are true gems for the residents of Queens," said Padavan.

Several years ago, Padavan also led the community in blocking the state from constructing a mile-long section of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane of the Long Island Expressway going through Alley Pond Park and several blocks of homes in Little Neck.

Padavan recalls: "The successful outcome of a lawsuit that I filed against the state Department of Transportation got 12 acres of additional land transferred to Alley Pond Park, restored the park itself and created new walking trails, additional lighting and other projects that connected Alley Pond Park to the new acres."

In Albany, where Padavan chaired the strategic Cities Committee for several years, closely monitoring the many New York City-oriented legislative proposals filed each session, he was able at one juncture to block the city administration from raising property assessments to 100 percent full value, thus protecting homeowners from unbearable and unreasonable increases in property taxes. A law he also sponsored placed a cap on annual assessment increases for residential homeowners as well.