Barry Grodenchik (born February 12, 1960) is an American politician who served in the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

for the 23rd district from 2015 to 2021. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. The district includes portions of

Bayside, Queens Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fr ...

, Bellerose, Douglaston,

Floral Park Floral Park is an incorporated village in Nassau County, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 16,172 at the 2020 census. Floral Park is at the western border of Nassau County, mainly in the Town of Hempstead, while the ...

Fresh Meadows Fresh Meadows is a neighborhood in the northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. Fresh Meadows used to be part of the broader town of Flushing and is bordered to the north by the Horace Harding Expressway and Auburndale; to ...

Glen Oaks A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

, Hollis, Hollis Hills, Holliswood,

Jamaica Estates Jamaica Estates is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. Jamaica Estates is part of Queens Community District 8 and located in the northern portion of Jamaica. It is bounded by Union Turnpike to the north, Hillside Avenue to ...

, Little Neck,

Oakland Gardens Bayside is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fr ...

and

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose, Queens and Elmont, Nassau County to the ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Personal life and family

Grodenchik was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

. He grew up in Pomonok Houses, a

NYCHA The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in th ...

public housing neighborhood, and attended

New York City Public Schools The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

, graduating from

Jamaica High School Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education. Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...

in 1977. He would go on to attain a bachelor's degree in history and economics from

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. Grodenchik is a lifelong Queens resident. Grodenchik's brother, Max Grodenchik, is an actor best known for his work as the recurring character

Rom Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''.

State politics

In 1987, Grodenchik got his start in public service, working on the staff of Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, who represented portions of north-central Queens. He would work for her until leaving to become the Queens Regional Representative for then-

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

, where he worked for two years. Grodenchik would leave in 1991 to become the Chief Administrative Officer for Queens Borough President

Claire Shulman Claire Shulman (née Kantoff; February 23, 1926August 16, 2020) was an American politician and registered nurse from New York City. She served as director of community boards and deputy president of Queens Borough, before becoming interim borou ...

, and later served as Deputy Borough President for her successor, Helen Marshall. Following an unsuccessful bid for

in 2001, where he lost the primary election to James Gennaro, Grodenchik would go on to win election to the

New York Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

in 2002 for a new district centered in

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

. Grodenchik lost his reelection bid in 2004 to

Jimmy Meng Jimmy Kuang Zui Meng (, born 1944) is a Chinese-Taiwanese American former politician, who served as a member of the New York State Assembly. A Democrat, Meng represented the 22nd Assembly District in Flushing, Queens from 2005 to 2006. He is the ...

. Grodenchik announced a campaign for Queens Borough President in 2013, but dropped out to endorse

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 ...

, who eventually won election to the seat. He would go on to work for Katz after she took office.

New York City Council

In 2015, Councilman Mark Weprin resigned from his seat on the city council to take a position in the administration of

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

. Grodenchik entered the race for the special election to replace him. In a six-way Democratic primary election, Grodenchik defeated Bob Friedrich, Rebecca Lynch, Satnam Singh Parhar, Ali Najmi and Celia Dosamantes to take the nomination with 27% of the vote. He defeated Republican Joe Concannon, 55%–38%, to win the seat. Grodenchik was sworn into office on November 24, 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grodenchik, Barry 1960 births Living people New York City Council members Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from Queens, New York Binghamton University alumni Jewish American people in New York City politics Jamaica High School (New York City) alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature