Costa Constantinides (born January 7, 1975) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

from the 22nd district. The district includes Astoria,

East Elmhurst East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars ...

, part of

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

and part of Woodside in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Early life and education

Constantinides was born and raised in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

. He attended local public schools P.S. 84 and P.S. 122, Constantinides graduated cum laude from

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

with a bachelor's degree in political science and history. He then earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Career

He was admitted to the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

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. Constantinides serves as the Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection in the New York City Council. 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. Constantinides cannot seek re-election to the city council in 2020 due to term limits. After

Melinda Katz Melinda R. Katz (born August 29, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from New York City, serving as District Attorney of Queens since January 1, 2020. A Democrat, she previously served as the Queens Borough President. Katz was also a N ...

was elected to serve as

Queens County District Attorney The District Attorney of Queens County is the elected district attorney for Queens County in New York State, coterminous with the New York City borough of Queens. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. ...

, 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 Donovan Richards, Jr. (born April 9, 1983) is an American politician serving as the Borough President of Queens. He is also a former New York City Council member, having represented the 31st district. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His ...

. Costa resigned from the New York City Council on April 9, 2021, to head Variety Boys Girls Club.

References

External links

Costa Constantinides - New York City CouncilCosta Constantinides (@Costa4NY)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinides, Costa Living people People from Astoria, Queens Queens College, City University of New York alumni New York (state) Democrats Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni New York City Council members 1975 births 21st-century American politicians American people of Greek Cypriot descent