A weed-choked lot in Whitestone has proven to be fertile ground for the simmering rivalry between Republican City Councilman Dan Halloran and Democratic state Sen. Tony Avella.
After years of complaints, the property at 24-19 Francis Lewis Blvd. was cleared late last week.
And it’s turned into the hottest “whodunit” political mystery in northeast Queens.
Halloran, whose office is just a stone’s throw from the site, stars in a video and photos that show him clearing dirt on the lot with owner Robin Singh.
The video, posted by Halloran For Congress, notes cheekily that “there is a place for dirt in politics.”
While Halloran, who is hoping to replace retiring Rep. Gary Ackerman, dons jeans for the event, Singh is wearing a dress shirt and slacks.
Avella, who has held several news conferences outside the blighted property, posted his own pictures of a meeting with Singh late last week.
“Listen, I’m not saying Dan Halloran didn’t do anything but the majority of the work was done by my office and we’ve been working on this for a long time,” said Avella, who is also Halloran’s predecessor in that Council seat.
Avella said it was “disturbing” that Halloran apparently gave Singh a pass by saying he wasn’t aware of complaints from the neighborhood. He also pointed out the property has liens on it from nonpayment of taxes.
“It’s clear Councilman Halloran didn’t know the history of the site or he would have known the true facts,” Avella said.
Halloran’s spokesman Steven Stites maintained his boss got the long-time problem resolved.
“The facts speak for themselves much louder than I can,” said Stites. “The councilman actually spoke to the property owner and tried to work with him to make this site better.”
He also took a dig at Avella noting the Council has “primary oversight over city land issues.”
One weary political insider from Queens said they should have just turned the 3,900-square-foot lot into a big sandbox for Avella and Halloran.
“You would hope they would have a workable relationship despite their hatred for one another,” said the insider.
Not surprisingly, officials from the city Buildings Department and Singh lauded both elected officials.
Singh said the next step is seeing if they will help him work with the city to develop on the property. He was told the lot is just 100 square feet shy of the requirement to build.
“If I can’t build on it, it will stay a vacant piece of land,” he said.
lcolangelo@nydailynews.com
