The district included the mostly affluent neighborhoods of College Point, Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, Floral Park, Beechhurst, Malba and Auburndale.

On September 13, 2018, Avella was defeated in the State Senate Democratic primary by former New York City Comptroller John Liu.

[11][12] Avella earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

[13][14] His public service career began as an aide to New York City Council member Peter Vallone, Sr.

He served as an aide to Mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins, and as Special Assistant to late State Senator Leonard P. Stavisky and Chief to Staff to his widow, Toby Stavisky, who succeeded Leonard as a State Senator after his death.

[13][15] Avella also served as a member of Queens Community Board 7 and a Democratic District Leader and joined several civic and recreational associations.

[13] Avella served as the Chair of the Zoning and Franchises Subcommittee and was a member of five other Council committees: Higher Education, Housing and Buildings, Fire and Criminal Justice Services, Land Use, and Veterans.

[13] He received publicity for his stances in favor of animal rights,[19] commercial rent control for small businesses and against overdevelopment and Mayor Bloomberg's rezonings.

[20][21] In the 2010 elections, Avella ran for the 11th district of the New York State Senate, covering some of the same areas as his former City Council seat.

[24] The freshman senator was appointed ranking member of the Cities and Environmental Conservation Committees, and has at various points served on the Education, Aging, Banking, and Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs Committees, Children and Families, Social Services, Cultural Affairs, Elections, Environmental Conservation, Finance, Housing, Transportation, and Libraries Select Committees, as well the Senate Task Force on the Delivery of Social Services to New York City.

[39] In a reversal of their 2014 race, Avella lost with 47% of the vote to Liu's 53%, attributed to long-simmering anger at the former members of the Independent Democratic Conference.