Growing up in Woodside in a family of Queens florists, including his cousin, Councilman Eric Gioia, Nunziato had a contentious tenure on Community Board 5, where he chaired its Environmental Committee with a zeal for green issues unmatched by many in his own party.
   And like many others in Queens, Nunziato is deeply cynical about the borough’s rapid development. “Even the dumbest teenager who plays Sim City knows if you don’t do the substructure before you build up... it’s devastation,” he said.
   Even with positions on development and environmental issues out of lock-step with the national GOP, Nunziato faced an uphill struggle to market his candidacy to an overwhelmingly Democratic district. In his latest filing with the state elections board, Nunziato had $21,439.07 on hand, compared to $18,768.98 for Markey.
   Calling out Markey’s vote against the commuter tax, Nunziato characterized the four-term assemblywoman as a cog in the county and state Democratic machine, led by Congressman Joseph Crowley and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, respectively.
   A spokesperson for Markey listed her accomplishments since her election in 1998, including working to turn Maspeth Town Hall into a community center, installing traffic lights at dangerous intersections and helping to bring new businesses to industrial parks in Queens.
   Nunziato attributed his abrupt exit from the community board in 2006 to “political paranoia” generated during disgraced Councilman Dennis Gallagher’s tenure. “He was trying to make sure I didn’t make the papers,” he said.
   Positioning himself as a neighborhood activist, Nunziato listed more street lights and planters on Grand Avenue as some of his accomplishments during his time on the community board and as president of Maspeth Town Hall. “Most of the people in Maspeth and Middle Village know me already,” Nunziato said of his campaign, which will focus on door-to-door outreach. “It’s all grassroots, from the buttons to the signs in the store and the meet and greet of the people.”
   As owner of Enchanted Florist on Grand Avenue in Maspeth, he listed several donations for large-scale tragedies, including funeral pieces for the families of the victims of the 1990 Happy Land nightclub fire in the Bronx that killed 87 people. He pointed to the unique place that florists occupy in a community, privy to sad events and happy occasions. “A florist is like a dry bar,” he said. “Your hand is on the pulse of the neighborhood.”
   Still, Nunziato acknowledged the tough road ahead, insisting that he planned to work hard throughout the race to increase his name recognition, tout his stances on neighborhood issues and try to convince the distict’s solidly Democratic neighborhoods to give the party of Lincoln a green light in Albany.
   “People say, ‘What line are you on?’ I say I’m American. I’m representing the people,” Nunziato said. “No matter what party, there’s some good and bad in each.”