Costa Constantinides
{{Short description|American politician and attorney}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Costa Constantinides
| image = Costa (9058501267) (cropped).jpg
| office = Member of the New York City Council
from the 22nd district
| term_start = January 1, 2014
| term_end = April 9, 2021
| predecessor = Peter Vallone, Jr.
| successor = Tiffany Cabán
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|1|07|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Queens, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Lori Constantinides
| children = 1
| education = Queens College (BA)
Yeshiva University (JD)
| website = [https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/PersonDetail.aspx?ID=125474&GUID=A05597AC-8027-4543-81C3-D0E2F4A66F0C Official]
| caption = Constantinides in 2013
}}
Costa Constantinides (born January 7, 1975) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New York City Council from the 22nd district. The district includes Astoria, East Elmhurst, part of Long Island City, Rikers Island and part of Woodside in Queens.
In April 2021, Constantinides resigned before his term in office officially ended to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens.{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Allie |date=2021-03-31 |title=Council Member Constantinides to Leave Office to Take Job in Nonprofit Sector |url=https://astoriapost.com/council-member-constantinides-to-leave-office-to-take-job-in-nonprofit-sector |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Astoria Post |language=en-US}}
Early life and education
{{BLP unsourced section|date=January 2022}}
Constantinides was born and raised in Astoria, Queens. He attended local public schools P.S. 84 and P.S. 122, Constantinides graduated cum laude from Queens College with a bachelor's degree in political science and history. He then earned a Juris Doctor from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.
Career
He was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 2014.
Previously, Constantinides served as Deputy Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member James F. Gennaro of District 24. Constantinides is the first Greek-Cypriot American to hold elected office.{{Citation
| title = Costa gets right down to business
| url = http://www.qchron.com/editions/western/costa-gets-right-down-to-business/article_87d3d6c4-6d42-5fa8-9228-93b8c44fe4e1.html
| year = 2014
| author = Shepard, Laura A.
| journal = Queens Chronicle
| accessdate = 2014-02-02
}} Constantinides serves as the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection in the New York City Council.{{Cite web|title=Committee on Environmental Protection|url=https://council.nyc.gov/committees/environmental-protection/|access-date=2019-03-14|website=New York City Council|language=en-US}}
In 2013, Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. was barred from seeking re-election due to term limits. Constantinides won the Democratic primary to succeed him and easily won the general election later that year to take the seat.{{cite news |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130911/astoria/costa-constantinides-wins-astoria-city-council-primary-race |title=Costa Constantinides Wins Astoria City Council Primary Race |work=DNAinfo |date=2013-09-11 |accessdate=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925092422/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130911/astoria/costa-constantinides-wins-astoria-city-council-primary-race |archivedate=2015-09-25 }} He served as chair of the Environmental Protection Committee.
Constantinides was not able to seek re-election to the city council in 2020 due to term limits. After Melinda Katz was elected to serve as Queens County District Attorney, she was succeeded as Queens Borough President by Sharon Lee. Constantinides announced his candidacy for the special election to succeed Katz. Along with fellow council member Jimmy Van Bramer, Constantinides was defeated in the Democratic primary by Donovan Richards.{{Cite web|last=Goldenberg|first=Sally|title=Queens borough president race begins to take shape with Amazon in the forefront|url=https://politi.co/2OSHXOR|access-date=2020-09-27|website=Politico PRO|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Who Is Costa Constantinides, Candidate for Queens Borough President?|url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2020/03/14/nyc-elections-2020-whos-running-queens-borough-president-candidates-who-is-costa-constantinides|access-date=2020-09-27|website=www.ny1.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Campanile|first=Carl|date=2020-09-07|title=Crime emerges as hot issue in Queens borough president's race|url=https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/crime-emerges-as-hot-issue-in-queens-borough-presidents-race/|access-date=2020-09-27|website=New York Post|language=en-US}}
Costa resigned from the New York City Council on April 9, 2021, to head Variety Boys Girls Club.{{cite news |last=Acevedo |first=Angélica |date=2021-03-31 |url=https://qns.com/2021/03/city-councilman-constantinides-leaves-position-to-head-variety-boys-girls-club/ |title=Constantinides resigning as city councilman for leadership position at Variety Boys and Girls Club |website=QNS.com |access-date=2022-12-11}}{{Cite web |date=2021-03-31 |title=Astoria Council Member Constantinides Resigns For Nonprofit Job |url=https://patch.com/new-york/astoria-long-island-city/astoria-council-member-constantinides-resigns-nonprofit-job |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=Astoria-Long Island City, NY Patch |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/PersonDetail.aspx?ID=125474&GUID=A05597AC-8027-4543-81C3-D0E2F4A66F0C Costa Constantinides - New York City Council]
- [https://twitter.com/Costa4NY Costa Constantinides (@Costa4NY)]
{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Peter Vallone, Jr.}}
{{s-ttl|title=New York City Council, 22nd district|years=2014–2021}}
{{s-aft|after=Tiffany Cabán}}
{{S-end}}
{{New York City Council}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinides, Costa}}
Category:People from Astoria, Queens
Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni
Category:New York (state) Democrats
Category:Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni
Category:New York City Council members