Joseph P. Addabbo

Joseph Patrick Addabbo (March 17, 1925 – April 10, 1986) was a New York City politician who served as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 until his death from a seizure in Washington, D.C., in 1986.

Addabbo was the Democratic nominee to replace Queens Rep. Albert H. Bosch, a Republican who left Congress to begin a judicial career.

In the post, he frequently sparred with President Reagan and was a favorite media source for accounts of the epic military spending battles in the early 1980s.

Although he usually sailed to reelection in his overwhelmingly Democratic and Italian-American Southwestern Queens district, a reapportionment following the 1980 census spelled trouble for Addabbo in his final two campaigns.

The Joseph P. Addabbo family health center in Queens, NY is named after the late congressman for his work in championing affordable healthcare while in congress.